BEST WESTERN Tall Trees Canberra

The location was decent and the parking was shaded by trees, but I was disappointed by the room. I’m usually not fussy, yet this one wasn’t clean: the carpet was stained, the shower was dirty and had no hot water, and there was a spider living in the bathroom drain. The TV looked about as old as I am, with a faint picture mostly out of frame. It might do for one quick night if you have to, but I wouldn’t stay longer, especially without hot water in the shower.

Tall Trees was perfectly fine for my stay. It isn’t a luxury hotel, but the room was clean, quiet, spacious, fairly priced, and had a comfortable bed. I even got upgraded to a room with a balcony. The bathroom tiles were the only small drawback: they’d been painted instead of replaced some years back, and the paint is peeling in places. It seems like renovations are happening gradually. I tend to review whether I’m satisfied or not. People may be more inclined to post when something disappoints them, but I wanted to share that I was happy enough here.

I used to love staying here when visiting Canberra, but after tonight I don’t plan to return. I’ve been here more than 20 times under the previous management and had a pricey January stay booked during Summernats, which I’ve now decided to cancel. The new management seem not to care about maintaining the old standards, which is a real shame. In the first room, tiny bugs crawled over me and the bed until I couldn’t take it and asked to move at 4am. Then a large roach started flying around, and I ran to my car. Staff had to be woken before they gave me another room. There were about 20 of the same small bugs across the pillows and sheets in there too, and when I moved a pillow, found a roach underneath. I called reception again and got a terrible attitude. She came to the room as if she couldn’t see the bugs. I showed her zoomed-in videos from my phone, and she rolled her eyes and said, “we get bugs here because of the lights”. That’s no excuse. This is a health hazard, not something paying guests should have to put up with. My skin kept itching nonstop. Reception offered a third room, but I chose to leave. The two rooms were at opposite ends of the motel, so it seemed to me there could be bugs and roaches throughout. At 6am, with no sleep and itchy skin, I had a five-hour drive ahead of me. Nobody at reception apologised, and I felt like a nuisance for reporting a genuine health hazard. I’d suggest the owner talk with the foreign man and woman who were working reception after hours. If they treat everyone the way they treated me, I doubt I’ll be the only guest who doesn’t want to come back.

The room had tea and coffee, a mini fridge, and everything worked, including the hot and cold water and toilet. It was spacious and suited what we needed for the night, though the carpets and general upkeep looked tired despite being clean. The decor is dated and could use a refresh. There was plenty of parking, and we didn’t feel unsafe. We were in town for a cricket game at Manuka oval and had booked the Large Family Room, with a queen bed, bunk beds, and a single bed. Since we expected to arrive late, we called reception for after-hours check-in details. The staff were very helpful and gave us a lock-box code that was easy to use.