Longreach Outback Adventures

It's budget accommodation, just what it says on the packet. The room was a good size and clean, with a fridge, TV, desk and good Wi-Fi. One of only two places that allows pets, which suited me and my dog Pumba. I was passing through and just needed somewhere to sleep, so it was perfect for us 🙂

The shared toilets, showers and hand basins mean you have to walk outside to use them, which is a real problem with small children or if you need the bathroom in the early hours. Some toilets have out-of-order signs after earlier reports of dirty, broken ones, leaving only about half the facilities available, and the ones still working weren't clean. This is run-down, batch-style accommodation, perhaps converted from old shearers' units, as in the second photo. The fitted air-conditioning was hard to programme and kept switching off. There's no running water, tea or coffee in the room, just an exposed outdoor kitchen. It's freezing on winter mornings and evenings, with no fly screens or cover from wind and driving rain. We'd booked ahead and paid $120, and were very disappointed. We tried to report a fault to the Albert Park Motel, which controls the site, but couldn't find anyone and our calls went unanswered. Avoid if possible.

The only positives were how handy it was for the Qantas Founders Museum and the Stockmans’ Hall of Fame. The accommodation was disgusting, bathrooms weren't cleaned daily, and dog droppings on the verandah were left there for the final three days of my stay. There were TVs in the rooms but no chairs to sit on. Pay extra and stay somewhere else.

This was overpriced, unsafe and felt like a health hazard. We were told the accommodation would be unlocked before we arrived, but it wasn't, and we had to find reception ourselves. The toilets were filthy, some broken and leaking, and there were frogs inside. Every toilet had some kind of problem, and they were a long way from the bedroom. The bedroom smelled of smoke, and the fridge was disgusting, with old food still inside. We needed an iron for an event but wouldn't let our clothes touch it. It was filthy, with a hornet's nest and feces on it. The shared kitchen and laundry were worse, with rat droppings and filth everywhere. They eventually gave us another room but didn't tell us its number. We waited for hours and had to call to find out. They said the delay was because “they don’t speak English.” The second room was even farther from the already terrible toilet and shower blocks. The nearby ones had already been used or were filthy. Avoid this place.