The Esplanade Motel

The pool was clean and enjoyable, the staff nice, and the location is good. There's an excellent Vietnamese restaurant next door and a nice coffee place not far away. For the price, the accommodation was decent enough. One of our rooms smelled strongly of air freshener from the cleaning service when we arrived, but the staff were helpful about moving us to a more pleasant room, which I appreciated. Some facilities are aging: the bathroom door doesn't lock properly, the toilet door locks a person inside, which must be a mistake, and one window was missing its locks, a security risk.

The room was clean enough and in a good location, but it felt old and dated. The bed wasn't the best, though I've slept on worse. After I left ratings without comments, the owner or manager messaged me through Booking.com. They seem far too sensitive for hospitality. Stay away if good service is what you're after.

We'd stayed here a few times before, which made this especially upsetting. We drove about six hours from NSW and got there at 2:05 pm, before the 3 pm check-in time, only to find they'd given our room away. They said they'd called me three times, but I showed them my phone and there were no missed calls. Thankfully, the RSL motel down the street had a room for us, and it was cheaper, too.

We've stayed here a few times and it's met our expectations each time. The rooms are large, simple and clean, and there's a fully functional kitchen available to all guests, like a camp kitchen. Service and location are great. We'd definitely stay again.