Boat Harbour Motel

There are palm trees around the property, and some rooms look over the park towards the water. The Basin cafe downstairs is a lovely place for breakfast, and the area has a nice feel, close to the main beach. The motel is very old, and its air conditioners are ancient and noisy, though ours worked well. It’s fine for a short visit, but not a luxury stay, and it still wasn’t especially cheap.

Once the car is parked, there’s little reason to use it again, and parking is free, unlike at the fancy hotel nearby. We’ve returned to Boat Harbour Motel for years because it offers good value in such a great spot. There are views over Wollongong Harbour, a lovely coffee shop below, and an Italian restaurant in the central courtyard. The bed is comfy, too.

The harbour view from our room was nice to wake up to, especially from the balcony. The motel has a cafe downstairs and an Italian restaurant on site, plus a good fish and chip shop nearby at the harbour. There seemed to be enough on-site parking when we visited. We drove up from ACT and arrived around noon; luckily the room was ready, so we could check in early. The staff were friendly and gave us useful local advice. We were in town for a wedding at the Botanical Garden, with the reception at City Beach Function Centre. The motel worked really well for that, about a six-minute walk from the function centre and a short drive to the Gardens. It’s an old building that’s showing its age, but that doesn’t bother me much since I care more about location and price and spend little time in the room.

I chose room 309 for its lovely view over the boat harbour, since I enjoy watching both sunrise and sunset. The room was clean and pleasant, and the balcony view was beautiful. Check-in and check-out were warm and friendly, and the prices are great. I’d recommend this nostalgic motel.