Royal Exchange Hotel - Broken Hill, New South Wales

Ray P

Positives - The pub has that old and grand feel about it. It is an interesting building. Note that it is basically accommodation only. No meals or operating bar is happening. Excellent location. All rooms are upstairs; no lift in service. Being old and grand can be visually pleasing but in reality the room was a little small and nowhere near as comfortable and spacious as a decent motel. Front desk staff were very helpful||Negatives - I use a walking stick. To get in the bath/shower I had to be part contortionist as I "hurdled" the toilet bowl to step into the bath. I felt like an accident waiting to happen. The balcony was a significant selling point but in reality the balcony is a rather windy, barren and uninviting space. The TV is an older KOGAN standard TV. No Smart TV capability. At approx $230 per night I would hope for a little better.

Phillip Y

This nice old hotel is well worth a visit. We recently stayed two nights and would certainly return. It offers an elegance not seen in more modern accommodation. Our room was on the1st floor so one has to navigate larger staircases but it is worth it. Staff are attentive and the room spacious with high ceilings and a very good bathroom with excellent shower. The bed and pillows were very comfortable ensuring a good sleep. It is only metres from the main central area of Broken Hill, whilst not having dedicated parking there is plenty of street parking next to the hotel. On a previous visit to Broken Hill we had dined here in the beautiful old restaurant but nowadays that is closed we believe as chefs cannot be recruited in regional areas since Covid – and we certainly saw proof of that in other towns. A continental breakfast is offered and worked well. There are some good restaurants a short walk down the main street so we were not inconvenienced. All in all, the Royal Exchange is a great hotel right in the heart of this fantastic town.

Shane Clifford

Room was great. Comfortably well-appointed.
However:
Noise all night from room next door ... TV/Music etc. most of the night and right through to between 6 and 8am. No clear way to deal with this, not expecting it to be the party hotel, reluctant to go 'door knocking', and without a clear out of hours management contact.

At $225p/n, it really couldn't hurt to provide complimentary bottled water rather than gouge $4 per bottle (probably an 800% mark up on supermarket price). Maybe consider just building this into the tariff? It wouldn't break the bank, and shows goodwill. Most places we stay do this, especially in hard water areas.

Finally, check out is 10am.
Yet, housekeeping were doorknocking at 9.40. Really ...?
My wife answered to see what was going on, saying "I thought checkout is at ten! It's only 9.40".
The reply: "It was quiet so I just thought I would check" (to be perfectly honest) was utterly irrelevant. Just another invasion of privacy after a disturbed nights sleep.

And word to the wise: the location is perfect on a Friday night if you enjoy the 'dulcet' tones of local rednecks' lapping main street in their v8s.

A friendly greeting/welcome, and comfortable room ... but that's about that.

Even a parting comment about maybe making the bottled water charge clear (rather than being squirreled away with the bar fridge booze list in some drawer) was fended off with 'so do you want to pay for that with your credit card'. No apologies, nothing, just a poker-faced 'so sad, too bad' - much akin to the proforma response to others' constructive reviews.

Debra H

It’s a quaint old hotel that used to be a pub. It’s centrally located in town and we walked everywhere. It was quiet, clean and comfortable. We liked the ambience and art deco style. We were promptly greeted by a happy staff member. The squeaky floor boards walking up and down the stairs made it feel old worldly and added atmosphere to the place. Our room had a comfortable king bed with balcony access. Shower/bath set up. Spacious room with fan and aircon. Breakfast $15pp if needed. We didn’t eat in. Plenty of cafés around town. Street parking. Night access key to front foyer door. No lift.

swsss

Parking is a b!tch but other than that this is a charming hotel |Check in was smooth with a friendly staff member the room was lovely and clean and appointed nicely |You can hear people|Walk along the corridors with the old floor boards but that is part of the character I will stay here again

mae E

Extremely nice service from two lady's both named Jo!! Rooms are beautiful and very clean.

Judith W

We would stay here again . It’s central and quiet and although maybe a little tired it is still very charming with its gorgeous Art Deco features . Our room was very clean and our bed was very comfortable . The shower is over the bath . The continental breakfast was actually much better than the way it was described and a perfect start to the day .There are two cafes across the road if you want the bustling vibe but we were very happy with our hotel breakfast in the lovely quiet dining room . Staff are helpful and obliging and I think cooked breakfast is available if you ask .

Andrew B

A hotel with too much potential but little in the way of delivery, feels like it's all about cost cutting. ||Staff pleasant enough, but they wont call a cab for you. ||Rooms pleasant but paper thin walls. ||Wrap around balcony is a highlight. ||WIFI was completely useless, had one bar at best, and connection kept dropping out. ||The dining room is grand but sits idle until breakfast, and the front doors were closed by 6pm so the all round feel was a little gloomy. ||Open the bar, add a restaurant, spice it up a bit, return it to a bit of it's old grandness and you'd get a 4.5, plus more guests.