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!

Become one of our many followers to keep up to date on any travels we manage to do, places we get to see etc ....


.

The RiverBoat Lodge at Echuca!

Recently we traveled by train to Echuca, just for a few days ... Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia.

We decided at the last moment to leave on the Wednesday. I quickly looked on-line for accommodation, discarding any that did not have a website! We needed to locate any accommodation within walking distance to the town as we were traveling up by train and wanted to walk to any of the tourist area's.

Our first call was to the Campaspe Lodge for accommodation but found they were already fully booked. The next one on the list was the Riverboat Lodge.

on their website it has:

Our location in the heart of Echuca!
The Riverboat Lodge Motor Inn boasts one of the most central locations in Echuca. Leave your car with us and simply walk to the heritage port area, shop in the variety of stores in High and Hare Streets and dine in the local cafes, restaurants clubs and pubs. If you choose to visit by train, bus or plane we offer a free courtesy bus pickup and return on your departure!

When I called, the manager (Grant Casbolt) was very pleasant and offered a "three night package" to which we accepted.

The package included breakfast each morning, a dinner voucher at Antonio's Restaurant for $40.00, a "Devonshire Tea" for two at the Wisteria Cafe, pick up and drop off at the rail station and a cruise on the Murray River onboard the EmmyLou.

When I enquired about the WiFi he also added that into the 'deal' as well. I find it strange that hotels and motels usually charge extra for a service that should be free. Or at the very least, packaged into the room cost. In all of the traveling we have done, certainly in the past six years, we have never had to pay the extra daily fee for WiFi ...... . except of course when we were at The Westin in Berlin!

Anyway, it was included in this 'three night package' so we were grateful.

The room we booked - as above - was advertised as follows:

DELUXE SPA ROOMS - Queen sized bed, electric blanket, direct dial phone, refrigerator, tea & coffee making facilities, toaster, microwave, table & chairs, sofa, 32" LCD TV, DVD player, AM-FM clock radio, R/C air conditioning, hair dryer and ironing facilities and large 2 person spa in bathroom.

Now I have read the reviews on TripAdvisor and some of the negative comments written.

BUT ...guests should always check the rating of the motel/hotel so they have an idea of the standard expected. The RiverBoat Lodge is a 3.5 star motel (RACV Rating) so do not expect 5 star service!

People that complain about a motel or hotel being 'old' always amaze me, how can you expect a hotel to be 'new' all the time. Even our homes become old and tired eventually!

Check the websites, look at the architecture, the cost of the room, the star rating, what is included etc .. all of these will give you a clue as to what you might expect.
 
I agree the motel is no longer bright and sparkly or brand new. If it was, you would be paying a higher price that's for sure! To me it looked rather 'tired' and certainly could do with a 'freshening'. But I did notice the manager (Grant) painting, so can only assume he is working his way around to a full makeover!

 
The pool is very small and is located close to the rooms, its not a pool for swimming, just more for a bit of playing or a dip. The garden area needs a little TLC, but even that is not a 'complaint'.

Like anyone else, I am very happy to stay in 5 star resorts, but if there are none available or cost is the issue, then you need to rethink the situation. Just so long as it is clean and comfortable, the people are friendly, the service is good and it's value for money, then that's all I ask for.

We found the RiverBoat Lodge to be fairly good value for the "three day package" that we had booked, plus Grant and the cleaning staff were very friendly and helpful at all times.

Customer Service is always top of our priority list!

RiverBoat Lodge is ideal for a 2 or 3 night stopover and is in walking distance to town and all the restaurants.

Riverboat Lodge Motor Inn Echuca

Hosts: Grant and Wendy Casbolt
476 - 484 High Street
Echuca, Victoria, Australia 3564

Phone: (03) 5482 5777
Fax: (03) 5482 6279
FREE CALL 1 800 033 134 (within Australia)

email : info@riverboatlodge.com.au

*please note*

the above blog post was not for a social media event, this particular post is for the interest of our loyal followers !!

We, however, are available for Social Media work at anytime. Be it bakeries, restaurants, festivals, wineries, galleries, cafes, coffee shops, markets or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!

email:

Leone and John Fabre

URL's that maybe of interest:

The RiverBoat Lodge

traveling by train to Echuca

Afternoon Tea at the Wisteria Cafe

  TripAdvisor

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

If you live anywhere along the Western Freeway, Victorian  Central Highlands or near Bacchus Marsh, Greendale, Ballarat, Daylesford or Ballan, this is a friendly reminder that the BALLAN FARMERS MARKET is on again this coming Saturday.

A couple of months ago I did a blog post on our first visit to this friendly little market in the town of Ballan and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

If you would like to read about our visit, click HERE.
The Ballan Farmers Market website is HERE, which will give you any updates and how to contact them too.

... and of course there is always Facebook!

So don't forget the market is on this coming Saturday rain, hail or shine ... its still worth visiting for the fresh produce and a warming cup of hot chocolate maybe.

can't miss it, follow the traffic and the crowds along Inglis St.

overnight trip to Bendigo

Last weekend we spent a night in Bendigo, the main reason to go was that one of our very dear friends was turning 50.  There was a big party being planned at her home, everyone was invited except us.


But we were sneaky and had told her we would not be back in Australia until the "end of March", so no invite was in the mail. Little did she know that we had made arrangements with her family and friends that we would be there......  what a surprise for her and what a great night it was for us!


Bendigo is not even one and a half hours from Ballan, so a nice overnight trip.

above image is the front entrance to the Golden Reef Motor Inn - a member of the Sundowner chain.


We stayed at the Golden Reef Motor Inn - a member of the Sundowner chain.


Our visit to the Motor Inn was not an 'invited' social media event, but rather our own personal choice. We were impressed with the cleanliness of our room - which was just a basic double - and all the extra little things that made this Motor Inn a good choice.

There was the Queens sized bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a small refrigerator, small table with two chairs, a small 1.5 seat sofa, TV, plenty of hanging space, an iron and ironing board, a well appointed bathroom. Extras that we were not expecting were the hairdryer, the can of fly spray, the over head bedside lighting and the mugs for coffee as well as the cups and saucers.

above images: inside our room


The internal lighting - as usual with motels - was very poor, with one main light over the bed and one light where the tea making facilities are.


This is an ideal Motel / Motor Inn for business men and families with plenty of car parking available. 

The bathroom was small but adequate. We are used to the larger sized showers and bathrooms in hotels. Main thing was that it was clean!

The swimming pool was extra small, in fact barely large enough to be called a "swimming pool", but then we are used to the wonderful resorts of Asia with multiple pools attached to the hotels, so we shouldn't 'judge' the size of them here. Though it still was extra small by any standard!

Like I mentioned above, it is a well appointed Motor Inn with good staff and would be an excellent place for families and business people to stay.


We hope to return in the next couple of months as we are intending to see the Grace Kelly exhibition that is being held in Bendigo.


please note we are available for any Social Media work. Be it bakeries, restaurants, wineries, cafes, coffee shops, or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!

email:

Leone and John Fabre