Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld - Dunkeld, Victoria

Penshursttourist

Arrived to a spacious apartment with balconies off both rooms but view of carpark and wall of restaurant. Quiet with some wildlife but living area poorly laid out with. Pokey shabby 2 seater under the stairs. Not comfortable. Staff polite and dining experience was great, loved the food. Minibar reasonable. Breakfast limited, inky granola - nit great for||Kids - no room||Service. Accomm just needs some work and updating, and a little more bleach.

John F.

The pulled pork sandwiches were very good, but everyone else got them not me. I got the 'crispy' wings with spicy sauce. The sauce was great but the wings were battered (? Maybe?) and whilst the batter was crispy, the wings were rubbery. Anyone expecting a buffalo wing type experience should avoid these. I also got a side of the local olives which were excellent and plenty enough to share!

Maryana L.

We stayed at the Royal Mail Hotel over the Easter holidays. The hotel is set in the beautiful Grampians, with amazing views of the mountains. We chose it because we were looking for something small, quiet, special, and exclusive.

The highlight of our trip was definitely dining at Wickens, which I have reviewed separately — it was truly exceptional.
The staff at both the restaurant and the hotel were super nice and welcoming, and we appreciated their friendliness throughout our stay.

However, the first impression upon arrival at the hotel was a bit disappointing. The property felt somewhat tired — you can tell it might once have been a truly exquisite place, but now it looks worn and even neglected in parts.

The room was bright and clean, but that’s where the positives ended. The artwork was a little odd — one wall had beautiful birds that made sense given the surroundings, but another featured rusty cars, which felt strangely out of place. Despite the hotel being surrounded by gorgeous natural vegetation, there wasn’t even a simple flower in the room to create a welcoming feel.

The air conditioning unit was extremely loud, so much so that we chose not to use it. The balcony view was lovely (we had booked a mountain view room), but the balcony windows were dirty — it wasn’t clear when they had last been cleaned.

Breakfast in the room was nice, good coffee and nice tea selection, point for that 🙂

The amenities, too, were disappointing on closer look. The pool setting could have been beautiful, but there were hoses lying around everywhere. It’s understandable they are needed, but they could have easily been tucked away to maintain a more polished atmosphere. The pool towels provided were old, faded, and not pleasant to use.

Overall, the Royal Mail Hotel is a good hotel, but when you position yourself as a boutique property, there’s a responsibility to offer something outstanding and to go the extra mile — which simply wasn’t the case here. In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, where guests have endless options through outstanding Airbnbs and genuine boutique hotels, it’s no longer enough to rely on old fame. Attention to detail and consistent upkeep are what truly make the difference.

Chinlanneo

We stayed in Apartment 23 and the smoke alarm was beeping for both nights which interrupted our sleep. We advised reception after first night but the issue was not fixed. There were rattling noises when the air conditioner and fan were switched on. There was water leakage in the Nespresso machine. However the food & service at Parker Street was great!

ianandraebutler

A wonderful location ,breakfast can either be supplied or support local Brick House cafe. Enjoy the tranquility of the bush and native garden.A must do for your bucket list is enjoy an evening meal at the famous Wickens restaurant.

Graeme S.

Big shout out to all the staff at the Royal Mail Hotel. A true oasis! Spent 3 nights here and enjoyed the Wine Cellar tour and a degustation at Wickens (see other post). Beautiful views from the rooms. Very quiet. An hour to Port Fairy or Warrnambool. Plenty to do around the Grampians. I rode the Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail - about 4 hours return if you go at a decent pace.

56ianw

Great location and excellent reception. Just an issue with a smoke alarm which did cause a problem from 3am in the morning. Once reception opened, it was dealt with. Great little town and efficient service.

Katie L.

This is a truly excellent hotel the restaurant is superb, excellent food and lovely staff. We had planned to stay in a different accommodation but found ourselves locked out of that after dinner! The fellow on reception at Royal Mail was so helpful, gave us a room very late in the night on the spot, and he really went above and beyond for us and saved our little getaway weekend from crisis. Couldn't have been happier. The room was lovely, clean, with nice view onto garden and grampians, big shower and comfy bed. Highly recommend this hotel, restaurant and their excellent staff.