22 on Bowen Motel

The air conditioner kept returning to heat, even though it was 30° outside. Its remote was hard to use, and a staff member helped reset it. We turned it off overnight, but when we switched it on the next morning, it had gone back to heat again. The family room was also small and dated. We were told to keep our cats in their cages, which made feeding them and dealing with toileting difficult for their welfare.

Brenda was really accommodating with our booking, keeping the reservation without hesitation despite the uncertain weather. One of our two rooms had an air con issue, so she moved us, and it was repaired that afternoon. Great location, and although it’s an older style motel, it met our needs completely. Excellent customer service. We’d stay again without hesitation.

Please confirm the pet arrangements before you go. We’d called ahead to book, explained that we had an English bull dog, and drove 11 hours to Roma QLD based on what we’d been told. At 10 pm, after we arrived, the owner said the dog was too big and they couldn’t accommodate it because of its breed. I offered to pay the $20 pet fee in cash the next day since we’d had such a long drive, and explained that the dog was only a 15-month-old puppy, but she wouldn’t accept that. There weren’t other pet motels nearby, so we were desperate and had to drive another four hours overnight after the 11-hour trip. Emerald motel arranged a room for us in the middle of the night. It wasn’t a smooth experience.

The room was small but clean, and felt a bit overpriced. The walls are VERY thin. It also took the a/c over an hour to bring the room below 30°C.