The comfortable, clean and quiet rooms had all we needed, and more. .
The welcome was warm and helpful. The best shops and restaurants - and the ocean - very near. Bathroom perfect. Safe parking included.
Wish we could have stayed longer.
We had the ultimate misfortune of being allocated a room directly above the roller door to the underground car park. This infernal contraption sounds like a rusty medieval drawbridge powered by a tank engine. And it goes up... and it comes down....and it goes - well, you get the picture. Just plain annoying and grating during waking hours and you don't want it, but when it starts in the middle of the night it is the stuff of nightmares. Except of course, you're not asleep. The next day, on enquiring about another room, I am told, "We're booked out". Possibly by the Society for the Hearing Impaired, I am tempted to say. Surely someone must have complained before, I venture. " It's a new gate" I am told. I purchase industrial grade earplugs and brace myself for the next night. At 5.34 a.m the first insomniacs leave. Better than the previous night, but I don't do 5.34 a.m when I'm on what I had hoped would be a relaxing and restful break. Very soon, light begins to fill the room, with its easterly aspect and woefully inadequate curtains. That's it for sleep. Yes, the place as almost as many steps as the Great Pyramid of Cheops and no lift, but anything else, good or bad, pales into irrelevance when you are chronically sleep deprived and disappointed. We left feeling old and tired, rather like our impression of the place itself.
The room was clean, and had a great little balcony. It was central to everything, and I would definitely recommend you stay here for location. Checkin staff were great. The only downside was the lighting in the communal hallways that was on all night and shined through the curtains on the window on that side. Having good lighting in those areas was great and made for a safe location. However, it was quite bright in the room. After 2 nights we were able to rig a blanket up over this window which worked a treat. Despite this, the location was awesome and we would stay here again and would recommend.
Room and balcony was a great size, all appliances were new inc dishwasher, washing machine, aircon, microwave and stove. daily towel service. Super friendly staff, especially maryanne.
Room gets cleaned (vacuum, linen change) every 4 days. Suggest this could be more frequent due to all the sand that gets in the room.
Will stay again, but probably during the shoulder season due to price being very high between Xmas and new year.
We were unsure if we can take a vacation in Dec 2020, due to covid and its hotspots throughout the year. but when the numbers started going down in NSW and restrictions started lifting a bit, early Nov, I decided on visiting Byron Bay for a 5 days. By that time, most people were smarter than me and had booked the highly recommended apartments and hotels in the area. So after some research, I settled in on the Byron Bayside Central apartments and Motel for my stay. Booked directly with them and got around $50 lesser than the hotel booking sites.
On the day of travelling to Byron from Sydney, due to traffic incidents on the Princess Motorway and the hailstorm after Grafton, we were quite late to checkin (almost 8:40pm). I called the Reception manager in the afternoon and mentioned my approx arrival time and how to check-in, as being a Sunday I thought they would close the reception and leave. But they were super nice and stayed on till I arrived. Was very impressed by the customer service and care shown.
What worked well for me and my family at this hotel?
1. The hotel and amenities- The rooms were cosy, just the right size, good comfortable bed with clean sheets and good pillows. A handy kitchen, small fridge, enough cutlery and utensils, microwave, electric kettle, though we didn't cook in our room owing to the restaurant choices in Byron. It had a big balcony attached to the room which was really great for a cup of tea or a drink with the family and to dry your clothes are a beach splash. The bathroom was small but just enough space. The big bonus was that each bathroom had a washer and a dryer, which I felt was the best amenity provided. But my best amenity which I felt the hotel provided was an underground secured covered carpark for each of the rooms with numbers on the car parking lot. In Byron where you dish out $4 per hour parking charges throughout the city, this I felt was a superb addition to the rest of the amenities which the hotel provides.
2. Customer service - The hotel staff were very customer centric and was very prompt in their service if requested for. They changed the towels and tea/coffee/milk sachets everyday, and if you are staying for a week, they provide a full room cleaning service mid-way.
3. Location - The location was simply superb, just 350-400m from the main beach and bang at the heart of Byron CBD which made all restaurants, shops and pubs within 5-10 mins walking distance, yet slightly detached from the main thoroughfare which made it a peaceful place to retire in the night.
So, this motel/serviced apartment was an absolute value for this room at this price.
What can be improved so that we return to this hotel when we return to Byron in future?
1. The washbasin/sink taps next to the washing machine in our room (#4) didn't work. I asked the hotel staff to check it out, but they mentioned that its only in our room that it doesn't work! Not that it made a big problem for us, but after a beach activity, your clothes are all covered in sand and you would like to use that washbasin to rinse your clothes before you dry it out in the balcony. Instead, we used the other bathroom washbasin which was quite small, but we managed.
2. The doors (main door, bathroom door) were all making creaky noises and the first night, my son & wife, being light sleepers woke up every time I used the toilet! But the customer service of the staff was fabulous as next day when I requested the reception to fix it (apply WD40 on the door hinges), they promptly attended to it.
3. The hotel provides only 1 room key to the guests. This I found quite strange as most motels or hotels provide atleast 2 keys to the guests. So when my wife and kid were resting and I was out for a walk, I always had to either wake them up and take the keys with me which switched off the aircon in the room and it was quite hot and humid and not suitable. Such a simple thing, which can add to problems of the guests. Didn't know if I should ask for another key or not, as the reception always seemed to be busy, so just adjusted for those 5 days.
4. The bathroom shower's water pressure was very low. You need to be an extremely patient human being to not get frustrated and wait till it did the job. Took us quite sometime to rinse off the shampoo and take a bath, especially if you are a "well rounded" person like me! I didn't face this water force problem in any other hotels in Ballina, so not sure if its only in this hotel, or in my room or in Byron general.
5. Last one which I always feel should be basic amenity, is an exhaust fan in the toilet. Helps in keeping the room moisture free and smell free and quite basic & cheap. They had part of the window open, but doesn't always do the job!
Another problem which probably not in the hotel's control is that every morning starting around 6-6:30am, the whole city is cleaned by those noisy auto-street cleaning vehicles cleaning the outside streets and also the garbage collection trucks come around the same time, making it an interesting duo of cacophony, and kills your sleep instantly. The noise didn't come inside the room too much but you can hear it from the bathroom and balcony.
Overall, it was a pretty good experience staying in Byron Bayside central motel and if I am on a budget and visiting Byron again in future, I would def stay here, but would request for a different room, if they agree to it!
