Australian Alpaca Barn - Hunter Valley Gardens

Kim was fantastic - never seen a more enthusiastic and kind shop manager like that. Plus she has an excellent eye for fashion. The products are top notch and the selection is broad - really worth a visit. Well done and thanks so much Kim.

If I could do zero stars I would. The service in this store was shocking. I am not one to leave Google reviews but in this instance I feel as though it is integral. We were followed around the store and watched closely. An assumption of criminal activity was incredibly insulting as we were just trying to enjoy a sunny winters day in wine country. After spending about 5 minutes or less in the store we were asked if we were going to ‘buy anything’. With high prices and a lot of stock, we were still undecided. After answering we were very passive aggressively (aggressively!) asked to not touch anything as ‘people actually have to buy these things’. How disgusting. The implication that 1. We would not be paying customers and 2. Our hands would hinder product quality, is horrific. We felt thoroughly disrespected. These comments only began after showing interest in purchasing two bride alpaca plushies. This is for my daughter’s lesbian wedding. This homophobia I will not stand for. Is touching alpaca wool products not an integral aspect of the purchasing process? Deprived of an important sense, we did not purchase. Disrespected, we did not purchase. We will not be entering this store again and advise that you do not either. The woman working was obviously deeply offended by laughter, joy, and queerness. Disgraceful. I was incredibly excited to visit this store specifically on our trip to the valley. Looks like I will need to find some unique gifts elsewhere. Zero stars.

I purchased a Peruvian cardigan and a Peruvian blanket for my son. Second time I've purchased their blanket (it's labeled 'tablecloth' but works great as a blanket as its lightweight and keeps you warm). High quality, easy to maintain, worth the cost.

The owner or shop worker was a bit strange. I popped in just to browse, but she immediately got involved in a conversation. I couldn't escape or even browse properly. She started asking questions like we were in an interview. “What do you think of the weather? Where are you staying tonight? Dinner plans? Where are you from? What do you do for work? Where do you work?” I ended up just saying goodbye and walking out. I don’t mind a chat and politeness in customer service, but it was really odd. It was as if she was sizing me up. Specially with the work questions.