We booked this place at the last minute without any research and headed off with an open mind. Travelling from Sydney with 2 kids we took the scenic 5 Ferries Drive (cross the rivers on car ferries) and stopped at the Wiseman's Ferry Pub for lunch. The kids were able to safely run around in the paddock below. We headed across the river and arrived at the Settlers Arms about 3pm in the afternoon. We waited a while to go into the rooms as the Saturday tourist crowd were all still settled in the grass padock adjacent to the rooms. Once they all cleared out the kids had run of the place. We loved the old convict buildings and charm of the place. We booked a table for dinner and loved the crisp white tablecloth put over the original timber table on the roadside. The meals were lovely. I had a salmon with pork belly and fresh greens. What we saved on the room (very basic) we spent on food and wine! Great mix of locals and tourists. Mingled with everyone and had a great experience. The kids swam in the pool and we did lots of bushwalking the following day. The breakfast was a bit slow but lovely with homemabde jams etc. Really enjoyed it - perhaps even more so as we had no expectations.

I took my parents visiting from out of state from sydney all the way out there. It's a nice drive and the hotel itself is quite nice, you can feel the history in the place. The food is pretty expensive but passable but the whole experience was ruined by the bar staff who were amongst the rudest I've encountered anywhere. Customers were treated like an annoyance, they were downright rude and if not for the fact that my parents were hungry, I would have just asked for my money back after ordering because they didn't deserve our custom and I HATE rewarding bad service and bad behavior.

Maybe it was just the Sunday staff, maybe she was just having an off decade, but I'll tell you one thing, they'll never get a single dollar off me ever again and I'll never recommend anyone go out there again either.

A great recommendation for any hotel (or restaurant) is that it is frequented by the local community. The Settlers Arms certainly is!

The public bar had a blazing log fire and I was greeted by the buzz of friendy conversation when I went arrived for a pre-dinner drink. A spirited darts match was in progress and, after chatting with one or two of the locals over a glass of the 'amber liquid' (and being thoroughly thrashed by the local lady darts champion!), I retreated to the sandstone dining room at the rear of the pub, (and another blazing log fire), where I joined the publican and his wife for an excellent dinner cooked by his daughter.

On the table was crusty bread and butter, fresh Salmon smothered with a pepper sauce and accompanied by a sweet potato and parsley mash, all washed down with an excellent full bodied Shiraz. Yum!

My bedroom was located away from the main building - so it was wonderfully quiet and private - in a log cabin facing the spacious back garden. In the cente of the lawn was the most ancient, character filled Lilli Pilly tree I had ever seen - the branches worn smooth by the shoes of kids who had climbed it.

Each room (there are four) has it's own en-suite with an excellent shower and copious amounts of scalding hot water. Tea, coffee, cookies, chocolate treats and milk in the fridge are provided, along with a small basket of fruit along and a vase of (real) flowers on the antique scrubbed pine wash stand.

The traditional iron beds are are good and my room had brand new pillows and doona (quilt) and an independent heater so I could adjust the temperature to my own liking.

The bedrooms don't have telephones or televisions - so I was forced to catch up on my reading after dinner. How civilized! However, I must confess I didn't get too much reading done - what with the fresh air and zero traffic noise, I don't remember my head hitting the pillow!

If you are looking for a truely warm and memorable heritage experience - staying in a convict built sandstone hotel (that was built over one hundred and sixty years ago), I can't reccommend this family run hotel highly enough. On the other hand, if you expect 24 hour room service, telephone and internet connections, and a silent, anemic, marble public bar, they you are probably better off staying at a Ramada Inn.

I stayed for five days and enjoyed every one of them - including the locals I met and talked to.

I was very excited coming back to The Settlers Arms for an overnight stay this weekend, having visited for a Sunday lunch a few years before. I was however severely and abruptly disappointed on our arrival. We arrived at about 6.30pm and after being intimidated out of the main bar by what seemed to be a meeting of the local elders, were left waiting in the “reception” area with the resident dogs, all of whom have certainly left their individual marks in the area, which also happens to be very close to the hotel kitchen. We were asked to complete a registration card with personal information, the reverse of which had already been completed by a previous guest.
Once we were checked in and shown to our room we were advised that the TV would be turned on at 7pm in the main bar. The room was warm and comfortable looking, the bathroom and crockery could do with cleaning, I don’t think they have been cleaned properly for a long while. I am just waiting for lab results to come back from samples taken from the glassware.
The only saving grace is the food, not for the price as everything seems extremely overpriced for what it is. What is served is almost passable for good fare. The service defies believability, if you are lucky enough to be served by the lovely Karen, then you are in for a treat. This place is Australia’s own Faulty Towers. People, go with an open mind, and wallet or don’t bother.
It is a shame as it is an amazing building in an amazing location, the owners and staff really let the place down, it could be a gold mine again. Shape up or ship out guys.