The Apple Inn

I had left booking a motel until late in the day, I googled a bit and found this one... I called the lady who runs it and she was quite lovely. Batlow is not a big town, in fact its population is under 1500 but it really is something special. This motel isn't going to wow you like a city motel, it's going to offer you a comfortable bed in a small town with country hospitality. It is easy to locate, driving in the driveway had me wondering where to park, so I parked against the grass at the back of the property. The room has seen better days, I wasn't sure if the door was locking and to be honest, it didn't automatically like I had hoped, but you push a switch at the back and it locks. I only found this out after walking to the nearby supermarket and returning to find that I didn't need to put the code in. And let's talk about that supermarket... it's literally doors away from the motel, so it's really easy to grab your staples... or if you are like me, your dinner and breakfast. And again, it's a small town business that makes your trip just a bit more immersive. But let's talk about breakfast. The motel offers breakfast options for $2- very reasonable. Whilst they prefer cash for these, they will also upon request add them to your bill. As for eating options ... the RSL is next door or the pub is a block and a half away. It's an older room so there was a shower leak ... I noticed water at the back of the shower after the neighbouring room had a shower... I had not and the water wasn't there when I arrived. The bathroom was clean and generous with it's shampoos and conditioners. I slept really well here and found the experience to be quaint. It was quiet even being on the main road. Mattress was good and the pillows were much better than where I had stayed on the previous night.

They don't change bedsheets & pillow covers & quilt covers and don't admit it. We stayed in a family room, which has a big double bed and a single bed for the child. My partner found the bedsheet and pillow cover were dirty and had lots of hair on them. I noticed that the bedsheet on the single bed was ok. We felt disgusting and we called the reception but no response. We had to use our sleeping bag that night. On the next day morning, we spoke to the receptionist about the issue. She said she did all the cleaning, and that's because the washing machine can't clean the hair well, she noticed that and talked to the boss about this issue before. I expressed my doubt because if the washing machine is bad, all the bedsheets should have hair and be dirty, which is probably an even bigger issue. Why is the bedsheet on the single bed clean? She didn't respond to my question and just repeated her explanation. I felt it was waste of time to continue the conversation. I said, "ok, I have to leave, but I have taken the pictures and will give a review" She suddenly said, how about giving you one free night? We refused. The interesting thing just began... On the next day, I received a message from booking that want to confirm if we were no show at the Apple Inn. That's so weird to me because it is obviously wrong. Later I was aware of her purpose because I couldn't find this booking in my booking history, which means I couldn't give them a review! I had to call booking and provide my credit card statement as evidence to make this booking visible again in my history. I am pretty sure the receptionist is a big liar. She didn't change the bedsheet. She didn't admit it. But she gave me one free night offer. And she lied to booking that we were no show. Because she was fear of my review.

Old motel. Reasonably clean, albeit there was dead bugs on the windows sills. TV was faulty as it rebooted all night. Bed and towels clean, we had a good sleep. We stayed on a Monday; Batlow shuts down so think about a feed before you arrive.