The Wine Vine Hotel

The staff were super friendly and helpful, the bathrooms modern, and the aircon great. The location’s good too. The rooms could use some TLC and a deep clean: there was only one pillow, lots of dead insects that hadn’t been swept up, and no table. Loud noises from the roof or building at night made it hard to sleep.

The room was noisy at night, with very loud settling sounds from the pipes and roof, which made it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. I also didn’t like the smoking setup: reception gave me a judgmental look when I asked where the smoking area was, then sent me to a metal ashtray in the open car park with no cover or seating. We wished we hadn’t tried to save money by choosing the cheapest accommodation that wasn’t a hostel. This was incredibly overpriced for what it was, and we wish we’d known what to expect. We’d have paid extra for an actual hotel, or booked a motel knowing what we were getting. The private little ‘patio’ we were excited about turned out to be two old chairs and a side table facing a sad fence and an open, field-like space. There’s no privacy from neighbours once you step off your patch of concrete. There are no secure entry or exit points either, so anyone from the street could try your front or back door. The ‘renovated’ motel, formerly named The Barossa Motel, is in no way a hotel. Calling it one is incredibly misleading. The beds weren’t very comfortable, the pillows weren’t great, and the duvets weren’t warm. Heating and aircon are capped at 25°C. There was no table, no kitchen bin beyond a tiny open bathroom bin, no microwave, and the drink fridge was ridiculously small and apparently opens by itself. At least I mainly eat plant-based, so my meal prep didn’t spoil and create a biohazard. The water jug in the fridge was less than a quarter full. Lovely. The disability access room we booked wasn’t usable for showering or reaching the sink from a wheelchair. There’s just a handrail around the toilet and a shower stool in a thin, long, open shower cubicle. The sink is in the bedroom and is insulting. I’m 157cm tall and had to go on tiptoes and put an arm in the sink to rinse my mouth while brushing my teeth. It’s so shallow you can’t even fill a reusable bottle there. There was mould on the bathroom wall near the window, and I doubt it had been cleaned before we arrived. Long dark hairs were in the shower and there was a skid mark in the toilet. Mosquitoes seemed able to get into the whole unit even with the doors and windows permanently closed. I’m allergic to their bites, and on our last night my partner kept waking up to kill the ones we could hear and see getting in and stinging us. After our first night, he woke with a rash near his collarbone and thinks it could be bedbugs, though he has no other explanation.

The rooms and linen were clean and fresh, and the rooms were comfortable and well ventilated. Reception service was satisfactory during my three-night stay at The Wine Vine Hotel. It’s a relaxing place for a getaway, and I highly recommend it.

We had two rooms with some older teens in our group. The pool area was lovely and clean, Sai at the front desk gave great service, and Tanunda was well located for us. The rooms were quiet, spacious, clean, and had comfortable bedding. A privacy door between the beds and the kitchen/toilet would make changing easier. Hooks or a ledge in the shower would help keep towels and dry clothes out of the water. Some flowering plants around the pool would be nice too, and the fence feels a little too close. A gem in the rough.