Name: Raffertys Resort
Address: 1 Wild Duck Drive, Cams Wharf, Cams Wharf, Cams Wharf, 2281, Australia
Rating: 6

Smoke-free property

Garden

No elevators

General

Family room

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

English

Languages Spoken

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Picnic area

Fishing

Barbeque

Recreation

Parking

Indoor Pool

Outdoor pool

Seasonal outdoor swimming pool

Pool and beach

Business center

Event facilities

Meeting and presentation facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Tennis court

Sports

Doctor

First Aid Kit

Beauty and wellness

Children's playground

Children swimming pool

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the resort

Wallarah National Park

Newcastle Airport

Raffertys Resort

Cams Wharf

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Our family of 6 spent 3 nights in one of the resorts 3 bedroom free standing cottages in the April school holidays (2023). It was a spur of the moment trip that I booked the day before checking in.
After I  had booked I read some reviews on here, and was stressing for the next 24 hrs (most of the recent reviews were far from flattering). After opening the door (with fingers crossed) I was like 'phew!!' Our cottage exceeded my expectations (the hopeful expectations I had before review readings that is). We were in number 81...
Firstly, I had no idea we'd have a garage, so that was a bonus. Ducted air con throughout the whole cottage (YAY..worked great!) Our cottage had hardwood flooring from the entry throughout the kitchen, dining and lounge. All bedrooms and stairs were carpeted (nice carpet that you could lay down on without feeling the need to have a sheet or blanket between it and your body, and that you could walk on without socks!). All  bedrooms were a good size, with plenty of storage. Our 4 'kids' are aged 15 to 22, and could all hang out in one bedrrom together comfortably. We were all excited that 2 of the bedrooms had 2 singles in them so we could avoid the 'I'm not sharing the double bed' debate that we often have. The majority of 3 bedroom places we've had only have one bedroom with singles. 
All kitchen and laundry appliances were practically new. The lounge was huge, we all fit with room to spare. 
I won't pretend the whole place was brand new. The kitchen and bathrooms weren't new, but there was nothing wrong with them. Nothing was falling apart, they were clean. Showerheads had really good pressure. For $330 a night I'm not expecting granite benchtops and marble bathrooms. I've paid a lot more per night at places that I've felt the need to clean upon arriving at (no, I'm not the type to go rant at someone about that, I'd rather just do it,  whine to my family as I  do it 
 and never go back again).
All our beds were comfy, all the linen and towels felt and smelled fresh. On check-in I was given pool towels which I read somewhere you had to hire (they're free). There was an enclosed courtyard at the front and a huge verandah overlooking a big  park area at the rear. On holidays my husband and I like to relax with a drink and occassional cigarette if we're in the mood. Smoking on our verandah was allowed with doors and windows shut. It's annoying when you can't do that at places. They want to hide you in a dark corner in no-mans land where you sneak in a cigarette like a criminal. We'd never walk around in public smoking, or smoke inside, or on a balcony where it's going straight to the person next door. But if I want one at night it's nice to not have to get my husband to escort me and my coffee to what is usually a grubby, smelly little concrete square with nowhere to sit. Or if there is a spot to sit, it's filthy and you can't chat without every smoker in the area hearing you. It's probably not PC these days, but smokers exist, and we are people too lol. The verandah was probably due for a hose down. But it looked like the exterior, the inside and the verandah roof were painted not long ago. Maybe verandah rails were next and they were waiting to be able to do it before scrubbing it down). Idk. The outdoor setting was clean and a verandah needing a wash would only bother me if I had young kids who would be crawling over it and licking bits of it. And honestly, I think if that was your situation and you told reception, they'd hose it for you. Or if you're the DIY type let you hose it down.  It's a 10 minute job. Our upstairs bathrooms flyscreen had fallen onto the roof below it. I told them when checking out (because I wasn't worried about it for our stay, but if nobody tells them those things, they won't know).. Their handyman was out the door to fix it before I'd gotten back in the car to leave. The pools, tennis courts (there were racquets in our cottage, reception offered me balls on check-in, but I'd thrown some in from home) and shared BBQ areas were all really good. The place looked well looked after. We had no noise issues at all. The lake is amazing, I wish we'd had a boat. I'll end (yeah I know, it got long lol ) by saying it was great value for money, ample room in the cottage, if you're  the daytrip type drive an hour any direction and there's plenty of other beautiful places to see with good eating out options. Swansea is an easy 10 min drive up the road for groceries, fuel etc. We could have easily stayed a lot longer. It's on my list of places I'd go to again. 
If you got to the end of this.. we'll done ;)

Excellent stay!

We stayed 3 nights in the Easter break with family and friends. 
As it turns out we made a mistake with the booking date (a future date was booked) and the friendly lady at reception gave us a beautiful terrace apartment (upgrade) that was available for the same price. 
The rooms were comfortable and clean and it was a luxury to have two bathrooms to ourselves. 
Restaurant, pool and facilities were also superb, including the opportunity to be able to hire kayaks and stand up boards. 
Kids, friends and us had a wonderful time. 
Not to mention the beautiful sunsets we saw right by the lake.

Highly recommended place!

Amazing Resort

I have been visiting Raffertys since 1997.  Have always been incredibly satisfied with resort.  We rent one of the larger houses and it has never disappointed.
Our group ordered various meals from the onsite Restaurant.  I ordered the Pork Belly, Salmon with fennel.  Both meals were next level exquisite!!  Friends had the prawns...OMG, I want the recipe!!! Steaks were cooked perfectly. The squid was "best I've ever had"  This is by far one of the BEST MEALS I have ever had.  Well done to the chefs (who work in a small kitchen BTW).
The onsite water sports company were fabulous too!

Weekend Getaway

We have been returning to this resort for well over 10 years. It is family friendly and we love it.
The Resort's Manager Stewart is very welcoming and caring person, he goes extra mile to look after the guests.
We will definetely come again.

Great family resort

Overall good experience around the resort. Beds could be a little more comfortable and wi-fi range could be better. Found that not having toilet facilities downstairs in unit an issue. Facilities all good. pools should be cleaned more often. Found the Cafe excellent with a good choice.

Rafferts Lake McQuarie

We just came back from a 3 night stay in the 3 bedroom free standing cottage. The accomodation was run down, with cobwebs everywhere, broken screens, dilapidated couches and dust covering majority of surfaces. This was highly disappointing given how costly the room was. There is no phone or wifi in the room......that being said there is also no phone access to the reception staff, which is again strange in a resort. It almost felt like we were staying in a random persons house as there was no indication that it was part of the resort, no book or folder with information about the resort and area, no evacuation plan/map etc. The resort pool was lovely. The indoor pool was good too but also fairly run down and in need of an upgrade for the price. 

Overpriced accomodation in need of refurbishment

Dirty and tired.
I had to ask at reception for some cleaning items as the kitchen was dirty. l was informed that the housekeeping manager would be along to take a look - she never appeared.
Had to wear shoes on the “white” carpet as it was so unclean it made the soles of my feet black 🤢
The whole grounds are a fire hazard, branches and leaves everywhere, all gutters full of debris, made me very uncomfortable.
Clumps of hair in the heated pool.

Give it a miss - nothing resort like here

Charged $100 for breaking a lamp. Cleaner said when she picked it up to clean that the bottom fell off so hey it must have been our fault. Everything was old and dated. It was average to begin with. None of the attention to detail you would expect. No Salt & Pepper, not enough knives, forks or plates. Uncomfortable lounge. Tiny balcony. No view or outlook. The heated pool was the only good thing. We stayed in number 98. I'd avoid that one. Property Manager looking after owners not customers.  We would have told them if we broke something. Won't be back.

Average

Stayed in a loft villa for two nights in November 2021. 

Starting with the positives:

- Nice location by the lake
- Spacious and quiet
- Great outdoor spaces for BBQ’s

However there were severe deficiencies:

- No WiFi. While they want to state that Wi-Fi is available at the business Centre, a basic default assumption is that WiFi should be available in each apartment. 
- Villa had weirdly uncomfortable couches so hard to relax in apartment 
- Creepy upstairs area - in a cupboard was a weird and creepy mini bed that looked recently used and had to check underneath to make sure no extra people in villa. Also had a musty smell. 
- On site restaurant is of disappointing food quality.
- Came back to my car with a sign on windshield stating that I should park elsewhere. Given I was in a visitor park as close to my villa I am not sure where else I was supposed to go.  

Overall the excuses for these deficiencies by management of individual owners of buildings is not really relevant when the accommodation is worse than most private resident AirBnB accommodation. 

Would not recommend this place.

Disappointing, overpriced, no Wi-Fi

The beds were by far the most uncomfortable I've stayed in. Our room furniture was very dated, I don't think anything had been changed for around 20+ years. The lounge was quite smelly, just the vibe that thousands of people had lounged on it. 
We woke up every morning tired from a crap nights sleep and sore from the hard brick mattress. I'm actually really shocked that Raffertys don't have a policy where mattresses need to be changed frequently. If they do, then the owners of our room definitely purchased their mattresses 2nd hand. They were SO old. you could see the lumps and bumps through the sheets. 

The kitchens have VERY limited things, we had 1 blunt knife, so couldn't cook, 2 small bowls so cereal was out. IT was just more frustrating than anything else. 
Don't eat at the restaurant, its terrible quality for what you pay. 

however it all depends on the room you get, 1 family in our party received a free upgrade and their room was lovely, all modern furniture, new beds, kitchen full. 
but majority of the families in our party had the dated rooms with all the same complaints we had. 

The only highlight are the pools, great for kids. 

Don't stay here, it's not worth it.

Raffertys Resort

Main amenities of the hotel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

General

Rooms

Accessibility

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Languages Spoken

Recreation

Parking

Pool and beach

Business

Sports

Beauty and wellness

Kids

Pets

Health and Safety Measures

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Paid on the spot

Additional information

Payment