Rowan Brae Historic Guesthouse

Everything about the property was fantastic and we really appreciated the tour Joel gave us of the original 1890 home - a brilliant renovating job. Our room was extremely comfortable with a lovely ensuite. The all-day breakfast was excellent and always well stocked - great variety for all tastes. Loved the location in the Blue Mountains, Blackheath is close to all the best lookouts and just far enough away from the tourist chaos of Katoomba.

Loved it all!!

Great location

Works underway which we didn’t know about - so far expected noise and workers outside our room. Was expecting verandah and sitting rooms but only the one space which was rather cramped .

The grounds are lovely. Bedrooms and bathrooms are comfortable.

The kitchen is tiny - only one person can fit at a time. The dining space was also small so people had to eat in their rooms. There is no area to relax with friends apart from the breakfast area.

I would rate this property as just okay. Great if you want to pack some boiled egg sandwiches and apples for lunch as breakfast was available all day.

I was expecting access to the beautiful grounds shown in the main photo but this is apparently not part of the accomodation so it was misleading on that front. In fact, we entered through a back door accessed through a lane rather than through the grand entrance shown on the advertising. The room was the smallest they had and admittedly as it was a long weekend and the only room left, but also a significant birthday for me so kind of disappointing. The pokey room was clearly not reflected in the price which was excessive for what we got. The mattress was too soft and the small room became quite stuffy and uncomfortable to stay in for too long. The bathroom was cramped and the dining room was tiny and uninviting, not somewhere to linger over a coffee. The breakfast was basic (boiled eggs, toast, cereal...). Other guests who praised this accomodation must have stayed in the bigger rooms and sat on beautiful balconies overlooking greenery, but not us. I don't like leaving negative reviews but I feel like I was duped by the beautiful photos in the advertising and would have preferred to pay less and stay in a motel.