Goldenray

We found it very good value, with easy access to everywhere we wanted to go in Castlemaine and close to the town centre. It’s a charming period home with good facilities. A shared kitchenette has a microwave and toaster alongside the usual tea and coffee. The outdoor dining spot is private and sheltered from the wind. The generous bathroom has been tastefully modernised while keeping its period character. There are only two guest rooms, so sharing the bathroom wasn’t inconvenient. The house is quiet and comfortable.

The bathroom and toilet are shared with other guests, though the lower nightly price allows for that. The house is close to town, the old historic prison, the antique mills and Iga for food. It’s a very clean, tidy Edwardian home with period details and antique furnishings. Tea and coffee are provided, along with a microwave and toaster, but bring your own bread and breakfast. Each room has a mini fridge.

There’s a real estate for sale sign out front showing off the house’s charms, and it felt as if the owners couldn’t be bothered welcoming guests because they didn’t want to be there. The country-home welcome promised on the Goldenray website was a joke. I expected the usual country hospitality: a warm greeting, fresh produce and a smile. The website made it sound that way, but the welcome ended there. It felt like a façade to entice people to book, followed by a dark corridor of disappointment. I should have guessed there’d be no human interaction when I got terse texts explaining how to let myself in. Once inside, I was shocked. There were quasi-country “antiques”, presumably salvaged from town shops to create a country look, but little that was practical. Instead, the A4 double-page “rules” told me to inform all the other guests what time I wanted my allocated 15 minute shower. My hackles rose as I read them and looked around the room. My room seemed to be used for storage. A spacious closet was locked, leaving me nowhere to hang clothes or put my things in a drawer. There was a second power outlet behind the heavy bed, but it didn’t work. I had to keep switching the only bedside lamp between my laptop and mobile phone through the night. The bathroom was down the dark corridor, with the light switch outside the door, which I thought was novel. It was crammed with faux plants, plastic plants in a country setting, apparently. Guests aren’t encouraged to leave wet towels on the bathroom drying rack. Instead, you’re meant to take yours back and hang it on the only hook behind your own door. In short, don’t book it.

Really nice place. I highly recommend it.