Let me begin by saying that I wish I could give this place a glowing review, as I love staying in the Barossa Valley, and Lyndoch Hill was the go-to accommodation solution for my fiancé and I whenever we wanted an overnight getaway.

The first time we stayed there a couple of years ago, it was quite good. Last year, it was pretty average. This year, it was terrible. I'm not sure if ownership has changed or simply given up on trying, but alas, we must now take what pleasant memories we might salvage from earlier trips, and promise ourselves never to sully them further by staying there again.

Am I being too hash? I'm sorry, but when the soap dispenser falls off the wall as soon as you touch it because it appears to have been attached with double-sided tape or something similar, the management has clearly checked out on the quality issue.

As the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for", so for a cheap and cheerful $145 booking I tried to stay as upbeat about the apparent downgrade as possible, but mystery crust on the bathroom floor aside, a place should simply not be allowed to market itself as a "high-end retreat" when they can't even clean the toilet properly.

As someone with children I have plenty of patience for families with children. I know very well that kids yell and slam doors and are still learning to be considerate of other people, but when you've come for a romantic getaway with your future spouse, and somehow end up sandwiched between two such families in rooms on either side, you quickly discover how paper thin the walls of a place like Lyndoch Hill retreat actually are. There is no mood killer like the sing-song voice of a stranger's child opposite the bedhead while you are trying to get freaky.

One positive worth mentioning is that the gardens surrounding the accommodation are quite lovely. The Lyndoch restaurant I do not include as part of this review - it was actually very good and shouldn't be lumped in with our poor experience.

Checked in for 2 night stay for Gourmet weekend. Got wine & cheese as a welcome gift. Friendly staff who are very knowledgable. Looking forward to free breakfast.

We had been sold a weekend of luxury by Sunseeker holidays, pay $75 and then upon booking the balance of approx $200. The website shows a glorious building, beautiful gardens and quite a story of how gorgeous it is. Yes there are probably 3,000 roses but in August they are pruned sticks !!!!! The room was a besser block style room with one plastered wall with an airconditioner on it. The balcony was really just for smokers but sounded good !! The Tv was a big clunker type but was satisfactory. The bathroom was very dated with tiles from the 50's, they had tried to glam it up but not so well. The lighting was terrible, thank goodness for the large window by the balcony, but at night you had to struggle to see let alone read. It was such a disappointment with the wonderful building on the website to be in a 50's type overnighter you see on the highway's for next to nothing. Breakfast was included but no "normal type' cereals, just the basics, juice, coffee, toast . We didn't stay long in the room each day we made off very quickly...i had imagined lazing around reading papers, chatting, etc...but everyone was out of there just like us .Perhaps the website should show you the rooms, then you would get what you expected. We could have stayed anywhere in the valley for almost the same money as the $75 first paid was for the commision on selling the deal. No we would not go back

Approximate cost: $275