Colonial Motel

“Great Motel, good location, great host”

First impressions create a lasting impression and the greeting from Simon was certainly impressive. We’d never met before, but his welcome was akin to meeting a great friend who’d you not seen for a couple of weeks. There was a common connection, I was wearing an England rugby shirt and Simon was… more

First impressions create a lasting impression and the greeting from Simon was certainly impressive. We’d never met before, but his welcome was akin to meeting a great friend who’d you not seen for a couple of weeks. There was a common connection, I was wearing an England rugby shirt and Simon was a former professional rugby player. The All Blacks had just beaten Ireland, and the week before England had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the All Blacks. He took us into the back and introduced us to his friends with whom he had been watching the game. One of who was former Kiwi cricketer, Chris Cairns, it was an honour to meet them both. Throughout our stay, Simon always had time for a chat, enquiring about our day ahead, or the places we’d visited. The room had a large, firm’ish bed, facilities included microwave, double ring electric hob, fridge, toaster, kettle, cafeteria and a Nespresso machine. Breakfast could be ordered, which Simon delivers to the room, we were unaware of this, so visited the local supermarket (5 minute walk away) and bought our own provisions. As you’d expect with a former professional sportsman at the helm, the TV channels included sports channels. They are also washing and drying machines on site. The Motel is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the main town where the restaurants are. We ate at the Good Home, which I’d recommend and the Dodson Beer Garden, a German themed bar, very genial host, this is about a 30 minute walk, but also recommend. There is a fish and chip shop next door, which we never tried but always smelt good.

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