This resort, better described as an out of the way retreat, or off-the-highway work conference…read moregetaway, is, actually, really quite nice. The Rydges Eagle Hawk Resort is situated just over the NSW border from Canberra. It's on the right heading north, taking the Eagle Hill exit, then right onto the overpass, right after the overpass and should be pretty hard to miss. Ambience **** Australiana, meet sophistication. I love the smell of eucalypt getting sunburnt in summertime, and it's not amiss here. If you want to stay somewhere wild and safe at the same time in the outskirts of the ACT, this is pretty much it. In the first of five days, we saw a handful of wallabies, a baby blue tongue, blue wrens, and bunnies. At the same time, the hotel and it's rooms are nigh perfect. I've stayed at some dodgy Rydges in my time, but this one is pretty top notch. It's most certainly family friendly with a pool and playground, and worker bee friendly with wifi in the main building, and a gym. If you're 'getting away' from the office, there are conference rooms and well set up restaurants and bars. They can pretty much cater anything out here, and it'd be worth your while to ask. Service **** I've only two gripes so far (we're on day 2 of 5). First, that we had to ask twice for an extra pillow (we both like sleeping on two, and while there's a spare in the room, we really missed the other one), and secondly, there's a $5.00 tray charge for room service. Not keen on that, even though when you look at the pics you'll see why - the rooms are huddled into groups of 4 in little buildings a way from the reception/ main building. The concierges are really friendly and willing to do anything you ask - if they remember - and the bar and restaurant staff at the Wintergarden restaurant are equally as attentive. Nathan comes to mind, who was particularly memorable as quick on the floor checking on guests' needs. Housekeeping is on the ball, almost to a fault as they were early coming round to clean rooms - I thought checkouts are 10am but I'm almost 100% our door was knocked on before then for a refresh. Not a problem as we were heading out anyway, and it was nice to know they were definitely doing the rounds. Accommodation **** The room we're in is a double, and looks really nice; clean, relatively new furniture, full tea and coffee facilities, flatscreen (with lame-o channels), air conditioning, an iron, extra blanket, etc. The towel to rail ratio is, as usual, under for towels, and if you're a lady with a man, you'll need to ask for an extra towel for your hair. Which housekeeping will take away, even though you've followed the instructions to indicate you want to keep it (trying to 'be green' and all). I was disappointed to find we are without a bathtub (don't have one at home, and LOVE a good bath). And I almost forgot, the showerhead. Oh, mercy! I could not stop laughing when I saw hubby using the shower. If you're 5'4 (165cm) or shorter, you'll be fine. Hubby isn't, and the showerhead comes to eyebrow height, meaning he needs to duck to wash his hair. I had a good chuckle at that. Food & Drink **** I loathe the sight of 'beer battered barramundi' on a menu. It's the first sign to me that a kitchen orders 'fresh frozen' food - I've been there, done that too many times and know better. Same goes for any kind of chicken wrapped in prosciutto - to me it just shows a lack of creativity whether by budgeting constraints or lack of patrons. On the other hand, the Eagle Hawk burger and the Hawk pizza were a welcome bit of difference. The burger is typical 'Aussie' with an egg, and beetroot, and the pizza is a spicy affair with chorizo and jalapenos. I'm yet to try the desserts, but I want to, and I'm hoping they're not bought in. I had the grilled chicken pizza, and the garlic and oregano on that was perfect, the garlic sliced thickly and char-black and sticky at the same time, the oregano just enough to give it that real earthy kick. The hotel has promos for each night of the week - Fridays are 2 for 1 pizzas, Saturdays are $7.50 cocktails, and the rest are a blur. I can't wait to hit the bar tomorrow to test the bar tender's cocktailian mettle. Additional This Rydges is technically far out of Canberra, but in saying that, it's really only a 10-15 minute drive, depending on traffic, and you don't have to change lanes or follow directions to get to the city centre. It's nice to get out of the city anyway, and with service and facilities like this for the price, it's definitely worth it!

My partner and I enjoyed a relaxing meal at the Wintergarden Restaurant…read more The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, the hostess was lovely. I had the Atlantic Salmon with salad and chips - amazing! Huge plate, 2 large steaks of salmon. Salmon was juicy, the salad was fresh and crisp and the chips were beautiful. My partner had a Beef Burger with chips and said it was delicious. The salmon was the nights special, so with the burger, an entree of spring rolls and 2 glasses of soft drink it came to a surprisingly cheap $50. Would come here again!

Great hotel with an amazing Restaurant inside. Good sleep and great food, there is nothing more to…read moreask. We will come back again for the hotel and the food

Friendly welcome. I had done online checkin so grabbed the key and off I go. Lovely Deluxe…read moreCourtyard Loft Room. Nice bathroom. Room seemed a little tired but suits the atmosphere I guess. Pillows quite hard. No Foxtel isn't ideal. Good breakfast in the morning. Can recommend.

Amazing venue for our strategic planning days. I was fortunate to have the one bedroom apartment,…read moresimply amazing, well appointed great view of black mountain amazing indoor pool great service. The bed was amazing, great food at the event dinner and our coach driver was fantastic with a rockstar style executive coach with leather seats and USB wifi to top it off. Simply the event venue to book in Canberra.

From the owner: Enjoy our hearty hot buffet breakfast which is inclusive in all accommodation rates, 7 days a week.read more

The service was fine, and the restaurant attached to the lobby really is that good…read more When I booked my hotel there was no information that told me that there was a huge construction site right outside. I went to work every morning which made the stay reasonable, but Monday - Saturday the construction crews worked from 7AM sharp to about 430PM. The construction also majorly screwed up my walking route to work as I had to cross multiple streets in L shaped patterns. This would have been fine, but crosswalks in Canberra are green for about 5 seconds. The fridge was OK, but filled with minibar junk I wouldn't touch. No complimentary anything. Bathroom was clearly built by UK designers as the shower overflowed onto the bathroom floor and the glass window which could have easily been 1-2 feet longer or use a door (what a crazy idea!) was just short for no reason so I had to mop my floor every morning. There's no breakfast option as I mentioned before there's a restaurant in the lobby, but you pay a la carte for everything, even coffee. It's good, but honestly just having a working coffee machine with one or two pots going is normal for even the most basic of motels. I would give the place 3 stars had it been half the price I paid. They really need to refund people's money if they expect them to stay in a place that has construction noise most of the day and construction that makes foot and car traffic awful. It's not really near anything as most of the places you want/need to go are due north or northeast of the hotel. QT seems out of the way for absolutely no reason, I really don't know why I stayed here.

If I could give this a 3.8 or 3.9 rating, I would. The hotel staff are nice and willing to help…read more The hotel restaurant and bar are good. If you just want drinks at the bar you need to pay with a credit or debit card as the employees don't want to go behind the front desk to get you change. If you have the exact amount, you're good. The hotel was recently renovated in 2018. However, each room seems to have a different thermostat from new to old, and the people I traveled with said their room AC either worked well or didn't. The cleanliness of the hotel was ok. There cobwebs in one corner of the room, and the bathroom floor looked like it hadn't been mopped in a while. Overall, it was ok, but if you're looking for a hotel in Canberra, do your research.

Loved it, from the welcome at the front desk , to the minute I walked into my room, just loved it,…read morewas just what I needed for a 2 day business trip. The rooms are a good size for one, the bed is to die for, just melted into it, it was so good first morning I slept in, I don't sleep in so I must have been comfortable all night, get the $14 bacon and eggs , was the better of the 2 choices, same spot for dinner 2 nights running , menus need to be up dated, mine was n 2 bits ripped down the middle but that's no big guy, the food is really good,the staff are brilliant, would I stay there again, yes, without arguments But the 1960s wallpaper needs to go from the ceilings in the rooms, and a easier remote control for a old fart like me lol , but the showers made up for everything,,,, Only thing against it was lack of power points and light in hallways

This hotel is quite nice. I arrived around 4pm on a Saturday and the very, very friendly…read morereceptionist got me situated immediately. She was even able to turn my Australian coins in to larger denominations (about $11, not much), which was great. Awesome service by her! My room was not large, but was certainly comfortable. It had all of the standard comforts - good sized bed, desk, decently sized TV with good channel selection. The bathroom was quite large, and the shower was heavenly. On a cool winter visit, this was a big plus. Also, free WiFi that was fast and reliable! No view to speak of, though - I looked across a courtyard to another building. So be it. Location wise, you're less than 10 minutes walk from the bars and restaurants of London Circle, at most. You're right off of a great path for running/biking/walking. There are a few cafes in the area, and they use one of them (A. Baker) for breakfast. If breakfast is included, you'll get a special menu at A. Baker with 5 or so choices, plus coffee/tea/juice. All of the choices tend to be pretty inventive, so if you're looking for a simple breakfast I might recommend looking elsewhere. But it was good. The in-house restaurant, Bicicletta, is okay - not great, not bad. With tons of other choices nearby, it's worth skipping. I would certainly stay at the Peppers Gallery hotel again when in Canberra.