Pinjarra Motel

The room was new, refurbished, and nicely equipped with a bar fridge, two hot plates, a sink, plates and cutlery, and tea and coffee gear. There was no milk in the fridge, though. The shower had good pressure and warm water, but water escaped the cubicle onto the main floor, making the tiles slippery. There were no holders for soap or anything else in the shower. The room itself was tidy and nice, but the bed felt like a plank with thick blankets on top. The double doona didn’t cover the king bed, so we had to use the thin blanket and keep the aircon temperature up to stay warm overnight. At check-in, staff asked for ID, which their website says they do. They then photocopied it. When we asked for the copy back, they said it was policy and part of the room hire conditions, and that they had to keep and dispose of it. They refused again when we pushed, saying they were a legitimate business and weren’t doing anything dodgy. That kind of reassurance raised a big red flag for us. We’re very concerned about what they’ll do with our personal information, so we can’t recommend the place. After reading other reviews, we’re also worried we may have a fight on our hands to get our $200 bond back smoothly. Here’s hoping it’s easy.

They take room bookings at their own price even when they have no rooms available, then put you in cheaper accommodation and pocket the difference. That’s fraud and should be reported. I’ll be calling the ACCC.

The room was clean and tidy, with decent cooking facilities, and might be nicer than a three-star hotel. But soundproofing was very poor, so we heard every noise from outside and the neighbours. The wifi was slower and less reliable than my old dial-up connection. There were also unprogrammed wifi power sockets flashing bright red and blue lights all night. At $217 a night, it felt steep.

Terrible service from the male staff. We’d booked online but didn’t have physical ID, so they made us book another room under my partner’s name because he had ID. It felt like a scam, and we were charged twice for a terrible room. We had no other options, or we would have gone somewhere else. The owners seemed money-grabbing, and the service was awful.