North Gregory Hotel

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Winton, home of Qantas, is a historical town in so many senses of the word, and the North Gregory Hotel is one of several historical pubs in the town, and often the first thing you see in tourist promotion about Winton. I couldn't believe that I even got a room there - for it was tourist season, but as a bonus, the management - upon discussion of my customer feedback - sent me some publicly displayable photos to assist me in better promoting the establishment.

What follows is some explanation and experiential information about the many aspects of a stay, a meal, a hot tub, a van space and a drink (or two). The write-up has things I have seen, touched and tasted whilst a guest there. The background to obtaining professional-standard photos is because I was busy touring the Australian Age of Dinosaurs four-hour tour and just chucked my luggage all over my nicely made-up room, so I wasn't going to review it. Instead, I tried the pub's restaurant, The Daphne Mayo Dining Room, and ordered rump steak with mushroom gravy, buttered seasonal vegetables and mash all for $24 for just a 200 gram rump - but a 400 gram rump steak and other tenderer cuts are available on a pub menu with that 'hint of quality over quantity of menu items.' My impression was what they did do, they did it well! For the right price as well!

Rooms
Below are photos of the rooms in suitable light, yielding a concept of the range of pub rooms offered. There is plenty of space behind the main building to park a caravan for a cheaper overnight rate. In tourist season, a proper room with an ensuite is advertised for approximately 120-150 dollars per night. So I paid $125 for two single beds, tea and coffee, bar fridge, kettle, en suite with shower, several towels and the beds weren't on wheels (so they had a fair bit of stability) and doors on two sides of the room are highly useful for safety. Note I can't make promises about safety, but the safeness of Winton at least to me was encouraging me to book extra nights and time there.

The entire building of the North Gregory Hotel houses a cafe, a hairdresser, as well as a laundromat and the opportunity to purchase boulder opal jewellery. Unlike at North Gregory Hotel, most pub rooms in Australia don't come with an en suite. While I can't comment on noise over the long term - the night I was there they had a proper entertainment night with bush poetry and music and it only lasted till 8.30 PM - hence that to me felt about right, so they could offer entertainment and restful sleep to guests. I must add, I slept well during my overnight there but forgot to switch off my light, so I think the management of the different services the pub is offering and how they interact seems sensible - why wouldn't it be for that matter? They'd lose too much business if they had scores of guests unable to sleep - especially with long drives to and from the tiny town.






Food and Drink
For further information or a copy of the menu, see northgregoryhotel.com/menu , with my experience described in the introduction of the article. However, upon check out, I paid for a roast pork roll chef's special and ordered a Heaps Normal non-alcoholic beer . I mentioned that because they had several non-alcoholic beers to choose from, so despite the remoteness of Winton itself, it had all aspects of an accessible and inclusive pub - a modern pub so to speak. Examples of Facebook images of the food, endorsed by the author who had steak dinner as a takeaway on check in day, and a chef's special consumed with a Heaps Normal non-alcoholic lager on check out day - are shown below.

Note below photos from facebook.com/NorthGregoryHotel , address 67 Elderslie Street, Winton, phone (applicable to kitchen orders) 4657 0647.





Exterior of Hotel
Rebuilt in 1955, the iconic North Gregory Hotel is quite a large building and has even more space behind it to house visiting caravans. It's more or less the iconic face of Winton tourism . It is a photogenic and professionally-maintained building - especially due to its significance. I can recommend that had the initial building (prior to being rebuilt in 1955) survived to this day I don't doubt the building would be heritage listed, and some buildings on Elderslie Street are in fact. But it is a significant landmark in Winton's and even Qantas's heritage.





Foyer
As seen below, the reception foyer is very spacious, yet you can wear thongs and a singlet there if you like, despite such a grand old look to the place.






Spa and Entertainment Area
The artesian-watered spa is beside the entertainment area with its stage and seating, that way, both are accessible to room guests (down the stairs at the back - rather than walking through the main foyer in your swimmers). I doubt that is allowed, might be on certain occasions though, but with the back stairs, you can access your room and maintain some privacy. As stated, the noise filters upstairs like most pubs but quietens nice and early based on my experience.




History

For the history of the hotel, see the About section on the website at northgregoryhotel.com/about .

The North Gregory Hotel slightly surprised me with better than expected food (200 grams of steak, two sides, no takeaway surcharge and a delicious plentiful side container of sauce all for a mere $24) ($38 if ordering the 400 gram rump steak), a fun-loving and quite caring set-up as well as a clean bar area that was clearly inclusive of all types of people. The room had an en suite hence had to be charged at motel rates. I think I underestimated Winton to a degree, I don't know much about Australian country life, and I am more of a city dweller in terms of time spent in both settings, but for those who hadn't realised, Qantas couldn't really exist without this pub, so it's certainly well run for a good reason. Despite Winton's remoteness, don't miss out on this accommodation experience - especially if interested in Australian country life although it is a fun-loving and inclusive place, so all are welcome.

Note photos in this review courtesy of the North Gregory Hotel in 2024.

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