Gladstone Motel

We walked in, then walked straight back out and found somewhere else to stay. There were many permanent residents who appeared to have drug problems, with dozens of people milling around, smoking, playing loud music and shouting. We felt completely unsafe. I’d booked a twin room, but there was only one bed. They brought in a broken, tattered cot from another room, but it was unusable, with dirty sheets, black grime, hair and springs sticking out. The room was filthy too, with dust, dirt, hair and grime everywhere. Old food was crusted on the only fork and spoon. We made the mistake of taking our shoes off, and our feet were black with grime within seconds. When I asked the manager for a refund so we could stay elsewhere, the response was aggressively hostile. I eventually got a refund through Agoda and booked another place. I can’t imagine what might have happened if we’d stayed the night in such an unsafe environment. An elderly or young guest could be at risk here. There were about eight camera recording or monitoring systems in the office, which made me wonder why one courtyard needs so much CCTV, or whether there are cameras in the rooms. For an extra $10-30 a night, you can stay at a much cleaner and safer hotel just up the road. Run away from this place. I’d give zero stars if I could.

Very good service. We called reception really late at night, and a lovely lady managed to get us a nice, clean room. Highly recommend.

Don’t waste your money. Reviews from a year ago said the motel was well maintained and had good ratings, but the owners have changed and things are pretty bad now. I wouldn’t book it. The breakfast food was expired, apparently bought cheaply. I told the lady the Weet-Bix had expired two years earlier and that some of the other food was close to its expiry date. She apologized, then came back with another batch of expired food. The bathroom drain smelled awful, and the place was noisy.

Half a star for the room, absolutely terrible customer service, and my car was stolen overnight. Avoid at all costs.