Coolamon Hotel Guide: Historic 1880 Pub in Coolamon, NSW

The Coolamon Hotel, a historic country pub at 73 Cowabbie Street in Coolamon, New South Wales, reopened in 2025 after an extensive restoration that earned the venue the AHA NSW People’s Choice Award. This guide answers the most common questions travellers ask about the pub and the small town around it, drawing on the hotel’s official channels, regional reporting, and independent review platforms.

Last checked: 2026-09-27

Who owns the new Coolamon Hotel?

The owners of the Coolamon Hotel have not been named in any of the sourced materials, and the supplied information does not include their identities. What is documented, however, is the scale and sentiment of the 18-month restoration they undertook. In a Facebook video posted by the account futureflip1, the owners described the project as one they “never thought we’d do” and said they were “forever grateful” for the outcome.

The redevelopment won the AHA NSW People’s Choice Award, a recognition awarded by the Australian Hotels Association’s state branch. The award was noted in the hotel’s own marketing materials and referenced in the broader coverage of the venue’s reopening.

Regional reporting from Region Riverina Central West confirmed the property had been closed for approximately five years before its 2025 reopening. The same report noted that the refurbished venue would have no poker machines — a deliberate departure from the previous setup.

“It used to have 16 rooms and one shared bathroom. We’ve turned that into four ensuite bedrooms.”

Unnamed hotel representative quoted in Region Riverina Central West

The bottom line: The identities of the owners remain private, but their approach — a full rebuild without poker machines, with a focus on heritage accommodation and dining — is well documented through the hotel’s own channels and independent local media.

What is the history of Coolamon, New South Wales?

Coolamon is a small country town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, postcode 2701. The town’s name is of Aboriginal origin, though the specific meaning varies across published sources and no definitive dictionary entry was located in the materials reviewed for this article.

The Coolamon Hotel itself dates to 1880. The Visit Coolamon Shire tourism site describes it as “the Shire’s longest-standing hotel, welcoming locals and visitors since 1880.” Newspaper records, cited on the hotel’s own history page, report that a second level containing accommodation rooms and dining facilities was added in 1910.

“The Coolamon Hotel is the Shire’s longest-standing hotel, welcoming locals and visitors since 1880.”

Visit Coolamon Shire

For much of the 20th century, the hotel operated as a 16-room country pub with a single shared bathroom — a configuration typical of small regional hotels of its era. That arrangement stood until the property closed roughly five years before its recent renovation.

Regional reporting from Region Riverina Central West described the refurbishment as adding a glasshouse or conservatory, a restaurant terrace and a cocktail bar in the Long Room. The renovated venue now has three bars, compared with one previously, and the accommodation has been reconfigured from 16 shared-bathroom rooms to four private ensuite bedrooms.

What this means: The hotel’s 140-year history is one of adaptation — from a 19th-century roadside pub to a mid-century shared-bathroom lodging to a 2025 boutique heritage venue. Each phase reflects a different era of regional travel and hospitality.

What are some things to do in Coolamon?

For most visitors, the Coolamon Hotel is the town’s primary destination. The hotel operates a pub, a restaurant, a glasshouse dining space, a garden bar and the Long Room cocktail bar — all within the one heritage building.

The official Coolamon Hotel website lists pub hours from 11:30am until late every day, with the kitchen open from 11:30am to 2:30pm for lunch and 5:30pm to 8:30pm for dinner. Wood-fired pizza is advertised seven days a week. The hotel’s dining options include:

• The Dining Room — described as a fireplace-led setting with traditional décor and dry-aged beef (Coolamon Hotel dining page)
• The Glasshouse — a glass-panelled, climate-controlled space with a fireplace, designed for year-round use (Coolamon Hotel Glasshouse page)
• The Garden Bar — an outdoor area with a stated capacity of 150 patrons
• The Long Room — a cocktail-bar and function space available for event bookings

The hotel also answers a straightforward question — “Is there a pub in Coolamon?” — with a clear yes. It is, by all available accounts, the town’s local.

For those wanting to stay overnight, the hotel offers four ensuite bedrooms. The official accommodation page says the rooms combine historic character with modern technology, including touchscreen controls for lighting, air conditioning, ceiling fans, music and external heaters.

“We always welcome walk-ins at the Coolamon Hotel and we will always do our best to seat you.”

Coolamon Hotel, official FAQ page

The operator recommends reservations during weekends and busy periods. Groups of 10 or more should contact the venue by telephone, though the reservation page notes that calls may go unanswered during peak times as there is no dedicated administration team manning the phones — a detail from the SevenRooms reservation page worth knowing before you plan a large booking.

How do I travel from Wagga Wagga to Coolamon?

Coolamon sits roughly 30 minutes north-west of Wagga Wagga by road — a straightforward drive that makes the hotel accessible as a day trip or an overnight stop from the regional centre.

The town’s postcode is 2701 in New South Wales. The hotel’s official website and the SevenRooms reservation page list the address as 73 Cowabbie Street, Coolamon, NSW 2701, at the corner of Cowabbie and Wade Streets.

The route from Wagga Wagga follows mainly regional roads through the Riverina farmland. No specific bus, rail or airport services to Coolamon are documented in the materials reviewed for this article — travellers arriving by public transport from Wagga Wagga would need to verify connections independently.

The pattern: Coolamon’s position relative to Wagga Wagga is the single most important logistics fact. At 30 minutes by car, it is close enough for a dinner or a function yet far enough to feel like a genuine country escape.

Is Coolamon a good place to live?

The question of whether Coolamon is a “good place to live” is broader than the sources in this review can fully answer. The available materials describe Coolamon as a small country town in the Riverina region, but they include no data on population, schools, employment, healthcare, climate or housing affordability.

What the sources do provide is context. Wagga Wagga — a major regional centre with hospitals, universities, shopping and transport connections — is 30 minutes away by road. For anyone considering a move to the area, that proximity is the most concrete liveability factor documented here.

The Coolamon Hotel itself, as a restored heritage pub with dining and accommodation, suggests a town with enough economic activity to support a venue of this scale. A regional tourism guide from The Riverina presents Coolamon as a destination worth visiting, recommending the renovated hotel for dinner and highlighting the Glasshouse, beer garden and wood-fired pizza. Another regional pub guide calls it a local favourite for a weekend long lunch.

What to watch: The question “Where is the best place to live in NSW?” is a common People Also Ask query, but it is not one our sources can answer for Coolamon specifically. What they confirm is that the town has a recently renovated, award-winning pub that functions as a social and dining hub — a useful signal for anyone evaluating small-town life.

Independent guest feedback, though limited, offers a partial quality-of-life signal. An indexed TripAdvisor result lists the Coolamon Hotel at 4.1 out of 5 bubbles based on seven reviews, while a separate TripAdvisor listing shows 4.0 from three reviews — a small sample that makes generalisation unreliable.

Frequently asked questions

Our pick: Who should visit the Coolamon Hotel

First-time overnight guests and road-trippers exploring the Wagga Wagga region will find the Coolamon Hotel a comfortable base. History-focused travellers will appreciate the 1880 heritage and award-winning restoration. Event planners seeking a small-town venue with a cocktail bar and multiple dining spaces should consider The Long Room.

For other heritage pub guides, see the Waterside Hotel Melbourne: Heritage Pub Transformed and the Dorrigo Pub Review: Heritage Hotel Motel Dining & Rooms.