Ceduna Motor Inn

After eight hours on the road with my wife, who was seven months pregnant, we arrived already feeling that $99 was too much for a budget room with a curtain instead of a bathroom door. Then they charged another $40 on arrival, saying the owners had changed and raised the price. We expected at least a clean room. Instead, around 10pm I woke to a cockroach crawling across my face. When I turned on the lights, they were all over the place, including the air conditioner remote and side table. I hit the shower curtain and about three or four fell onto the floor. I squashed and flushed at least eight, then took photos to show the host. The ones in the photos were the small ones left after we’d killed the big ones. I don’t know how I missed them at check-in, though we were only in the room for about half an hour before going to sleep. They were there and came out at night. No paying guest should have to deal with that. A staff member came down after 10pm, saw the photos and moved us to another room. The next morning I checked the reviews and saw that someone else had already reported cockroaches in that room. Why put guests back in it without fixing the problem? We checked out on Sunday, when no one was in the office to discuss a refund. On Monday we called about it. The staff member I’d shown the photos to said he hadn’t seen the cockroaches himself and asked why I’d waited until 10pm to complain. It sounded like he was suggesting they hadn’t been there at check-in. I was frustrated, but stayed calm and tried to sort it out. His tone and volume got more offensive, and we couldn’t have a useful conversation. There was no professionalism. Later I called the business to get his name, but two employees refused to give even his first name. Eventually they said Hari, though I can’t be sure that’s right. That felt like avoidance and a lack of accountability. We left feeling disrespected, ignored and horrified by how the business handled this. Based on our experience, I strongly advise avoiding Ceduna Motor Inn. Spend your money somewhere clean, honest and professionally run. This place wasn’t any of those.

We had two rooms. In one, the window wouldn’t lock because the lock had broken off, and the shower curtain smelled odd. In the other, motel lights flashed outside all night. There was also a power outage lasting several hours. It seemed planned, but nobody told us about it. Reception was often unattended. The sign said to ring, but the phone went straight to voicemail, so at one point we had to knock several times on the front door before anyone served us. They also closed an hour earlier than the 9pm time we’d been given. The room smelled like a wet dog, and I’m not sure how hygienic the motel is. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

I needed somewhere to sleep for the night, but the room was barely acceptable for what I paid. There was an extra $70 charge for my dog, and the person at the counter asked for my card details without clearly saying what the charge was for. It costs a lot for a one-night stay, seemingly because it’s a midway point between Adelaide and Bordertown. I didn’t feel it was worth the money and came away feeling ripped off.

Clean, comfortable room for a good price, with excellent facilities. We arrived very late and the staff stayed up to check us in and help us out. They were so friendly.