Crown Hotel Motel

The room had not been cleaned for a long time so it was a pleasant surprise to have fresh clean linen. The broken security latch on the door facing the river prevented leaving it open for air so tried to sleep without using the ac; room was so stuffy that had to use ac but it kept turning off and on noisily every 3-5 minutes all night. People speaking outside the room several times during the night made for one of the worst hotel stays of my long life. I tried to phone the owner before doing this review, left a message but no returned call. Such a great location poorly serviced. Pity as it has so much promise.

Simple, comfortable and lovely bedroom with views off the balcony over the Clarence River. Warm, friendly welcome from staff upon arrival and throughout my stay. Very easy booking process beforehand and check in on arrival. I highly recommend Grafton’s Crown Hotel

Setting off on a road trip, I had researched a few places in the town for our overnight stopover and there was not much difference in prices. I think I was swayed by the words on the Crown Hotel Motel website, "The only riverfront accommodation in town", so I booked a riverfront queen room for $150- It was an easy walk to the shops and restaurants as were some of the other places I priced. Check-in was ordinary as there was no-one in attendance at the office so I proceeded to the bar and got the attention of a staff member who took my money and gave me the key to room 53. The room was clean but quite old, the few power points were hard to find and the light switch was hidden behind the curtains which surprisingly looked reasonably new. The lighting was poor with 1 central fluorescent light and a small one over the bed. No bedside lamps and only 1 chest of drawers beside the bed. The bathroom was very tiny, a plastic curtain screened the shower and the glass shelf over the basin was in a precarious spot to bump your head when cleaning your teeth. The bed was comfortable and although it was a Friday night, it was quiet. Overall it suited our needs for 1 night. We were self catering and the little table and 2 chairs provided a setting to have breakfast before our departure. If you haven't got time to sit and relax by the river or require more than an overnight stay, I would definitely look at other options.

Exceptional value, food, rooms and service. Rooms are simple but perfect. Come, warm and easy check in. Absolutely what you need when rolling into town. Then the food... Seriously one of the best feeds we had down the East Coast on our big ride. Don't hesitate, it's a winner.

Firstly and positively, the pub and staff were lovely HOWEVER….stayed in the pub upstairs in a double en suite room. Room 11. No headboard on bed. Pillows were awful. Sheets WERE clean. No hangers in wardrobe. Curtains didn’t adequately cover windows, holes in wall that had been plastered over but not painted…looked like someone had vomited to R side of bed and they had done a very poor job of cleaning (didn’t smell but yeuk!!!!) 2 basic strip lights, no kettle. Carpet hadn't seen a vacuum in a VERY long time. Bathroom very dated (though shower was ok) Walls paper thin…kept awake by person in next room snoring all night and when the residents started to get up to go to work you could hear every bit of chat outside the rooms on the top landing. Possibly one of the worst hotels i have ever stayed in.

Though not the fault of the hotel, it's more about the people that frequent there. The room was a little old and basic, but it was exactly what we expected. Clean and serviceable. It was freezing cold and the wind was howling so the ill-fitting screen door and windows were loudly rattling. This would could have dealt with and not a biggie. However as soon as it was dark, the car park which was right outside the unit's door filled up with young men screaming and yelling at each other as though that had not quite yet reached puberty. The language was foul and then after a little meet up in the car park they thought it was a good idea to do donuts and burn rubber. Silly thing only, I know but not when your own car is sitting out there amongst it. This was a bit concerning as this was happening before they even had had a drink. What bothered us was what would happen after their Sunday evening session once they got back to the carpark and would drive off doing burn-outs partially tanked. We decided to drive home to Brisbane instead of staying as we were on the end leg of a road trip. Like I said, not totally the accommodations fault but a fenced off carpark would have given more security.