Hunter Valley hotels among the best in Australia

"Hunter Valley Wine Country, right on the doorstep of Australia's gateway Sydney, has gained recognition as a premier destination," Chairman of the Hunter Wine and Tourism Association, George Souris said.

Based on more than 200 million traveller ratings on Trivago.com.au, Hunter Valley hotels have been ranked amongst the best in Australia.

Two Hunter Valley towns, Rothbury and Lovedale top the New South Wales list for online hotel reputation, with hotels in Rothbury receiving an average rating of 88.13, and the destination ranking 1st in New South Wales and 3rd in Australia.

In New South Wales, Lovedale follows in second place with an 86.78 rating and the destination featuring in the national list in 11th position. Pokolbin and Cessnock also feature among the best in New South Wales, ranking 12th and 22nd in the state, respectively.

Spicers Vineyards Estate is the top rated hotel in the Hunter Valley, featuring in Australia’s top 50 list of best rated accommodation and receiving an average user rating of 94.67. The property also ranks 2nd in New South Wales and 8th in Australia and has jumped from second place last year, where it ranked 3rd in the state and 25th in the country.

Although Rothbury and Lovedale performed best based on their online hotel reputation, the majority of hotels in the Hunter Valley’s top ten are from Pokolbin. Two hotels from Pokolbin came in first and second place, and the town is the only Hunter Valley destination to have its accommodation featured in the national list of best rated accommodation.

"With growing tourism numbers both from domestic and international sources, the Hunter Valley has a lot to boast about: premium restaurants; a full range of accommodation; spectacular attractions; golf resorts; and the wines and their cellar doors," Mr Souris said.

Trivago is the world’s largest online hotel search site, comparing rates from over 900,000 hotels on over 250 booking sites worldwide. Trivago integrates over 200 million hotel ratings and 14 million photos in order to make finding the perfect hotel easier for users.