our one night stay at Newstead .....

driving to Newstead a couple of weeks ago , we stopped in Creswick for our usual break at Le Peche for a hot chocolate and something delicious to eat!

The delicious, lemon meringue tart!

We have never been disappointed in any of the foods or drinks they serve.

From there we drove north via Smeaton including a wander around Andersons Mill before continuing on to Newstead.

Andersons Mill at Smeaton.

You may have already read in my previous blog post about the issues with booking a weekend away.  Sad but true, it is not simple, easy or low cost!

So after a lot of time spent on the phone trying to obtain accommodation anywhere in the region, we managed to book into Whispering Gums Motel at Newstead.

The following is the review I did for Trip Advisor:

This weekend was to have a look around Maldon / Newstead areas of Victoria. Tried to locate accommodation in Maldon, but due to some sort of festival (Vintage?) nothing was available, so called Cameron at WG Motel where he had one room left. :)

I was not expecting a full 5 star motel (it has a 3 star RACV rating) so WG was as we expected. A little on the tired side, but not detrimental to our stay. We were not expecting a resort nor there to 'wander around the garden' or go swimming anyway!

On arrival Cameron was very helpful & informative with what we could do, where to eat etc.

The room was no larger than we expected, having the usual DB, sofa, bench space etc. We were also welcomed with chocolates (always a winner!) But It is rare to find a motel with the added 'extra's' that are often needed but rarely seen.... WG Motel had it all.

Apart from the usual tea / coffee / sugar / milk / kettle, refrigerator, there was:

a toaster,
chopping board,
Microwave, Iron,
Ironing board,
flyspray,
flashlight,
spare globe,
glasses & mugs,
tea towel,
hairdryer,
shampoo / shower creme (good quality)
extra blanket & pillows
large screen TV & DVD player

so the room was well equipped.

We don't have any 'complaints' as such, but things we noted were:

room was stuffy so we opened the windows. Unfortunately our 'neighbour' was a smoker so we had to close the windows and turn on the A/C (never like to use them) and this was no exception ... it started out OK, but it ended up being a 'rattler' and so we turned it off and opened the windows again. Had to put up with the smoker instead of the rattly A/C!

Glad we always take a "soy travel candle" to burn, we don't like using aerosol air fresheners & the candle is always a winner to create a warm fresh smell in the room (always get a good quality soy candle) as the bedding had that slight dusty / musty smell. Again, am not complaining... it's just that we are a little on the fussy side with our bedding. Especially as we have managed Motels / Hotels etc ourselves and we travel often. I often wonder why some Motel Managers do not open windows to 'air the rooms' when they know that they have guests coming in .... especially when there are only 5 rooms? (am I expecting too much?)

The bed was a DB and John found it a little on the short side for him, I was OK with it though.

Bathroom was clean and spacious. Shower was excellent. Full pressure and plenty of hot water. The shower creme supplied was of good quality (not the usual cheap runny liquid!)

Towels were large clean and white - love good clean white towels!

Large TV screen & DVD player worked well. No problem at all. We brought along a TV series we had been meaning to catch up with and this weekend was the perfect time to do so.

We had a good nights sleep and were looking forward to having a bit of a sleep in, something we rarely get to do! But alas, 'twas not to be as our neighbours were up and leaving by 6:30am. Banging the wire door constantly as they went in and out their room, talking loudly and generally being thoughtless. This has nothing to do with the management, so no blame to them... but making note of it here so that hopefully the reader maybe reminded to also be a little considerate when staying in a Motel. :)

Thanks to Cameron for a comfortable stay, thanks also for the info on where to eat, special thanks for the chocolates and yes, we will come again!

Chocolates are always a nice addition!

Clean bathroom with good quality shampoo etc

bed area and sofa

the room was a little over the top and 'too busy' for our taste,

am very happy that I always take the 'travel' candles to cut out the musty smells

so yes, that was our one night stay at Newstead a couple of weeks ago!

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