Aruma: Aitkenvale Reviews

Stephen Dubos 2026.05.10

     

Great concept and idea. Beautiful grounds and staff all awesome. Visited the restaurant to try the famous gluten free schnitzel. Sold out which is odd as menu is limited. A staple dish should have enough in reserve to cater for a mid week lunch. Missed the farm tour but would be good to do. Gift shop seems overpriced, would have expected the locally produced macadamia would be at market or lower price but seems more like supermarket pricing.

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Lola Henderson 2026.05.05

     

This is a must-do while in Ballina. Very interesting little Farm.

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Suzi Mould 2026.04.22

     

A nature lovers cafe and reasonable pricing. lots of places to enjoy a snack or meal with loved ones. Plenty of space and options here.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.23

Hi Suzi, we're so glad to hear you enjoyed your time at Summerland Farm's cafe. We aim to keep a diverse menu while keeping prices realistic so its great to hear you found pricing to be reasonable. We hope to have you and your loved ones back soon!

Steven Holt 2026.04.19

     

helpful with my ask for help

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.21

Hi Steven, thank you for your 4 star review of our Armidale Hub. We're so glad our team was helpful and able to answer your questions. We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback

Sue-Ellen Shortiss 2026.04.14

     

Great food and got drinks. Friendly and hard working staff. Beautiful grounds.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.15

Hi Sue-Ellen, thank you for your feedback about our food and drinks at Summerland Farm. Our staff pride themselves on being hard working and approachable, especially as a social enterprise, so we really appreciate it! We hope to see you back soon.

Frank Barbara 2026.04.09

     

Great place to visit, the food is great also.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.12

Hi Frank, thank you for your 5 star review! We appreciate you taking the time to leave this for us and have passed the good feedback onto staff, we hope to see you again soon.

Chelsea Tahau 2026.04.09

     

Visited during Easter school holidays and wow wee what an amazing place!! We did the small animal encounter experience and the farm tour - The tractor ride with the kids, snacking on mac nuts and learning all things about this social enterprise business was FANTASTIC!! If I could give this place 11/10 I would!! Amazing to see what your doing with local community, how amazing you are at supporting your workers and the programs you have set up to provide jobs for local community is so great… Coffees, Hot Chocs for the kids and ice creams were delish!! Grounds were so well maintained, clean bathrooms, friendly staff - we will defn be back next time we are in Ballina 💛💛💛

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.12

Hi Chelsea, we're so glad you have such a great time at our farm! It sounds like you had a great day and we can't wait for you to come back during your next visit to Ballina. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we really appreciate it

Chloe Heyse 2026.04.05

     

Went for the first time on Saturday and I was very impressed! The whole day was lovely, the farm tour and activities they had planned were great for families! It was busy and the wait times were a little long but it was an Easter event and that was expected!

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.06

Hi Chloe, thank you for your feedback. We're so glad you had a great time with your family at our farm, your bunny baskets turned out lovely! We hope to have you back again soon.

Melissa Dos Santos 2026.04.04

     

Don't come during events not enough staff rostered. We came to the Easter event and the staff were stressing. Only 1 team member at the animal encounter. We couldn't get food at the cafe so went to the resturant and waited over an hour for our food amongst other customers with small children wasn't ideal.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.06

Hi Melissa, thank you for your feedback and we're sorry to hear this years event didn't meet expectations. We're actively working to improve wait times and service flow on busy days like these and appreciate you taking the time to share feedback.

Melinda Davis 2026.04.04

     

We have been coming for the Easter Saturday hunt for the last couple of years. Although always busy, the staff have always shown care and have been really friendly. However this year, was not the case. Staff were stressed, the wait for food was ridiculous and we were sent away from the Cafe to the restaurant to get coffee. There were clearly not enough staff on and definitely not the same feel as past years. Very disappointing.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.05

Hi Melinda

Thank you for your continued support over the years, we really appreciate it.

We’re sorry to hear this year didn’t meet expectations. It was a very busy day, but we clearly missed the mark on wait times and service flow.

We’re reviewing this to improve for future events and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.

Lauren Shaw 2026.03.29

     

Took the farm tour led by Sean/Shaun, he was great! Very knowledgeable, I learnt so much about the process of the farm; stuff I had no idea about such as their involvement with the NDIS and providing jobs to disabled folks; very interesting and for $10 each I HIGHLY recommend the farm tour. Very interesting for all ages.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.04.12

Hi Lauren, thank you for taking the time to leave this review about our amazing staff member Shaun, we've let him know he did a great job. We're glad you had such a great time and hope to have you back soon.

Lee Jordan 2026.03.13

     

Took my elderly mother to her great grand daughters birthday party here and was so disappointed that she had to walk so far. I was astonished that they had no wheel chairs availability for the elderly or frail, considering it is a disability enterprise.

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.03.17

Hi Lee, we're sorry to hear your visit to Summerland Farm wasn't as expected. We've taken your feedback on board with the team and we'll review our accessibility processes moving forward. We're always open to feedback so if you'd like to discuss this one further, please give us a call on 02 6628 0610 or email hello@summerlandfarm.com.au, and we'd be happy to chat through improvements we can make.

Ralf I 2026.03.07

     

Great place for a meal, coffee or cake

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.03.08

Hi Ralf, thank you for your review! We're so glad you enjoyed your time with us and hope to have you back soon!

Nishani Udayaratna 2026.01.21

     

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Luke Turner 2026.01.09

     

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Mell F 2026.01.05

     

Kids had a lovely time, Kitty in the animal enclosure was wonderful. Very engaging & careful with the kids. You can tell she has passion about the animals and was a good laugh. Great idea for a few hours in school holidays

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Shannon Harvey 2026.01.02

     

Summerland Farm is an absolute must do! There is something for the whole family here. The high tea was the most delicious, fresh assortment of food, and the service was second to none. We’ll absolutely be returning!

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.01.04

Hi Shannon, thank you for your positive review. It's this great feedback we strive for when curating the experiences at the Farm and we can't wait to share this with the team. We're so glad you enjoyed our high tea experience and will see you again soon!

Camille Collins 2025.12.26

     

Aruma Mudgeeraba Club is a welcoming and friendly place with a great sense of community. The staff are kind, supportive, and always encouraging, creating a positive and inclusive environment. It’s a wonderful place to connect and feel supported. Highly recommend!

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.01.04

Hi Camille, thank you for letting us know you had such a great experience with our staff! We strive for everyone to feel connected and supported so we'll definitely pass this positive feedback onto the team.

Camille Collins 2025.12.26

     

Aruma Logan Village is a welcoming and supportive place. The staff are caring, respectful, and genuinely committed to supporting people to live well. There’s a strong sense of community, and you always feel valued and supported. Highly recommend!

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2026.01.04

Hi Camille, we're so glad you had a great experience with staff and felt valued and supported. We'll pass this feedback onto our staff, thank you!

JAN KENT 2025.12.17

     

I brought my group of older folk here for a casual morning tea stop, as they were keen to support this very worthy business. The gift shop certainly drew us in, leaving with many Christmas gifts. Staff were pleasant and competent, so thank you to all concerned for what you do. Next time we'll do a farm tour

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Reply from Aruma: Aitkenvale 2025.12.18

Hi Jan, we're so glad you all had a great time and enjoyed our gift shop. We appreciate the support for our business and have passed the feedback onto our staff. We look forward to having you stop by for a farm tour soon!