Tea Gardens Motel

The lady at reception in arrival was lovely, very friendly and welcoming. The room was clean & comfortable

There was only 2 coffee sachets :-) a few extra would have been better/nice 😊

Lovely staff, very clean and welcoming, will defiently be back.

n/a

I always go there and really enjoy it

In the past, I have enjoyed staying at the Tea Gardens Motel. This time was very different but not in a positive way.

We advised the motel in advance that we would be travelling with two small, well-behaved dogs, and this was approved before our arrival. On a 38 °C day, we checked in, settled into our room, and left briefly around 5 pm for a walk. When we returned, the manager noticed our dogs and immediately became aggressive, demanding that we leave the property. She admitted that she had not read the booking correspondence noting the dogs and stated that this was “our problem,” while also claiming the motel had a no-dogs policy—despite having a room designated for pet stays. The manager phoned her superior and alleged that we had “snuck” the dogs in, which was completely untrue. Due to a tradie ute being driven around reception, we could not park near the office as we exceeded the maximum height clearance. Given the extreme heat, the dogs were kept safely in the air-conditioned vehicle until we returned to the room. During the discussion, the manager initially stated that we would be refunded, but later retracted the offer. As a result, we were forced to leave late in the day, in extreme heat, despite being over six hours from our destination (Canberra), during the peak summer holiday period when alternative accommodation was fully booked. During the confrontation, the manager’s large German Shepherd was outside, positioned opposite the reception, making it difficult to avoid. The dog was behaving aggressively, with her daughter visibly struggling to restrain it from our small poodle. The lack of professionalism, poor communication, and aggressive handling of a situation entirely of their own making means I cannot recommend this motel to anyone—especially pet owners.