Royal Hotel Guyra

Almost exactly 4 months after finishing up our last Royal trip in Nundah, it was time to hit the road once again. The destination this leg was the New England region of New South Wales. And the first stop: the Royal Hotel Guyra.

It was far from smooth sailing making it up to Guyra in the first place. The plan was to fly up to Armidale and head up to Guyra on a Thursday arvo. After a couple of hours delay we did fly up to Armidale, only for Qantas to decide it was too foggy and turn around and fly us all the way back to Sydney for the night.

So it was a slightly beleaguered crew of John, myself, and Bert who finally arrived in Guyra around lunch time on the Friday instead. We were also slightly disappointed at the lack of snow on the ground when we did arrive. Less than a week earlier there had been 60cm of snow on the ground in Guyra. But alas, as we drove into town past the amazingly named Mother-of-Ducks Lagoon, it was apparent that all of that snow had since gone.

But as cool as a couple feet of snow would’ve been, we were here for a Royal. As we approached, it was immediately apparent that this was an old school Royal. Not one of those ye olde ornate country beer palace type Royals. Just an old school Royal.

We walked in and the interior did nothing at all to dissuade us of our first impressions. It definitely had a classic feel. But it was very much well kept. Tons of wood and brick everywhere. Plus a bunch of TV’s and some classy art just for good measure.

Given the winter chill in the air at our highest altitude Royal on the tour, we decided to go for some dark beers with a round of Tooheys Old and then went to settle in to the main dining area next to the fire.

It was just before noon on a weekday so we were the first ones in the pub. The bartender was rocking tracky-dacks and a pair of Uggs. Which, to be honest, made everything feel very relaxed and comfortable.

By the time we got around to ordering some lunch a couple of local tradies had wandered in as well. The menu was pretty massive and when the food arrived the portion sizes matched.

It took us a while to work our way through the three respective mountains of food that were placed in front of us. But after a long trip, there are definitely worse things than mellowing over a good feed and a few schooners in front of a fire.

There was nothing overly unique or super special about the Royal Hotel Guyra. But that’s not to say it isn’t a good pub by any stretch. And to be fair the portion sizes were pretty special. And the food was good too. Massive quantities isn’t all that great if the food is crap. But this food was pretty damn good. We ended up hanging out for a fair while in Guyra. But eventually we had to get this leg of the tour on the road. So we headed back out past Mother-of-Ducks Lagoon one last time and headed on to the next Royal.

Royal Stats

• Town/Suburb: Guyra, NSW
• Population: 2,077
• Date Visited: Thursday, August 7, 2025 Friday, August 8, 2025
• Visited By: Cory, John, and Bert
• Beer Sponsorship on Sign: Great Northern
• Beer Consumed at Pub: Toohey’s Old
• Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $7.50
• Unique Award: Highest Altitude Royal
• Tour Progress: 68.1% (92/135)