Never been before but The Feddy popped up on my fb events radar; hosting a Smoke Off between their…read morepub and Smokin Hot & Saucy. I love meat so it was the perfect incentive to venture out to Branxton. A nice pub holding a prominent corner location. Wasn't hard to find; just follow the crowd, the sound of children playing on equipment and of course the delicious aroma of smoked meat. It was a bit squishy downstairs but the upper level was far more spacious and relaxed. Still featuring a bar but more so for food service. Despite my free samples I still had space to order the pulled wagyu roll which was delicious. So much meat! No skimping. The chips were hot and crisp. I loved my meal. Cute little library where you can donate pre loved books or take one home from the titles already on display. Walking through to a more private area with a few extra dining tables. Perhaps used for events? I really enjoyed the feel of this pub and liked the Smoke Off event for a bit of fun.

Good pub dinner on a trip to wine country. Our Airbnb host recommended this place, and my boyfriend…read morenever says no to a pub. Good value, great food. I had the lamb shank, and he had a steak with pepper gravy that, in my opinion, stole the show. They also make their own olive oil, and we'll be getting a few bottles to bring home as gifts.

Understand this is a get-away in a pricey area, and its at the top of the its mark in terms of…read moreservice and offerings... you will get a lot for your money, but you will spend a lot to get it. We had a wide variety of places to visit and travel to in our quick 2 weeks down under, but this was one of those locations I decided to splurge on our trip and spend 2 days exploring Hunter Valley. You could do a lot worse. The estate is quiet, the wine is not even sold like other places here, its so small you have to belong to buy, but there is no cellar door. The food was AMAZING, truly. The service was excellent, the staff was friendly, offering after hours cell contact and all the amenities you could want. The room had but a few minor issues, like the upstairs noise was a lot more than promised, and the stairway next to our room as quite loud, so reserve upper if you can. But it was luxurious, plenty of space, fireplace pre set up with wood, and heated everything, floors and towel bars and a private patio to enjoy. The local animals were always present and a nice country add to our quite stay, in room pests were not welcome and reported but there is only so much you can do about them, so that is something they can do to earn a 5... mind you not much more as they are very close to it already. Worth the stay if you want to have a bit of luxury, but be prepared- its going to be one of the more expensive places in the area.

Feels like a recently built guesthouse. It's a really good hotel. It's small, so you don't bump…read moreinto many other guests. It was full on the weekend we went up to the Hunter Valley and we felt like we were the only ones there. It has a restaurant onsite called Botanica which has excellent food. We arrived on the Friday night from Sydney and service was excellent on checkin, as was the cocktail on arrival (they send cocktails out to all the rooms at about 5 or 6pm. We stayed for a couple of nights and had breakfast in the restaurant each morning which was very well done. A good selection of their food is grown onsite, and they also have some pigs onsite as well for restaurant use. I really like that, making it as local as possible. We also had inroom dining on the night we arrived and it was very well presented - usually inroom dining tends to be bumpy and cool by the time you get it. Inroom dining from Spicers is hand carried from the restaurant and very professional. It's easy to get to and it's local to most of the Hunter (with a car). The guesthouse has some nice features - pool, very large checkers and chess set and also a massage place onsite. Will be going back.

I've always fancied myself a bit of a hunter. I love animals too much to ever shoot one but if…read morethere was, say, a pack of feral refrigerators or a rogue VW beetle threatening a farmstead, I would be all up in that business kicking ass and taking names. Hence why Hunters Habit Cottages appealed to me. The name got me. Well played, whoever named this joint. HH is part of the Rothvale Winery, and comprises 5 x separate cottages sitting on empty, wonderfully peaceful pastoral land about 15 minutes past Cessnock. We had cottage 2 and arrived just after dusk. Drove down a dirt road and I'll be buggered if we could find the place. We stumbled around in the dark for a while until an old man popped up from a foxhole or something and pointed us in the right direction. The cottage was surprisingly large, and - wahey! - there was a welcome bottle of white wine and brie and cheddar cheese with crackers awaiting us on arrival. Which didn't last long, it got smashed within minutes. It was fricking freezing at night, lucky the cottage comes with 2 heaters to keep you toasty. The best part of the whole place is sitting on the back porch looking out at green grass, distant trees, deep, rich skeins of stars and Milky Way and listening to nature, pure nature, with no lights or cars or humans or any other trapping of civilisation around. The place to smash a good book, or write one. Reception is crap but then, what do you want reception for in a place like this?