Mu S Boutique Motel "Matthew Flinders"

This motel was a welcome site after hours of driving. The greeting was friendly & check in smooth. The motel also offered after hours check in. The only disappointment was the motel was tired & well overdue for a revamp of it decor & fixtures. Loving in the 70’s once again. Our room had a front door that was jamming on opening & closing which made a loud noise each time we entered or departed the room. The window furnishings to the room did not offer much privacy as the cover was not the correct size :( The bed was comfortable, but the electric blanket had broken controls which made it almost impossible to switch on & off. Would search other locations next time.

I was travelling with my wife and we had an overnight stop at the Matthew Flinders on the outskirts of Coonabarabran. Reception staff at the motel are very friendly and helpful and made booking in easy. Our room was spacious, clean, tidy and reasonably well appointed although the bedhead lights could do with a little attention as one was a little loose. The bathroom while not being huge was more than adequate in size, plenty of hot water for a nice relaxing shower. The bed was a bit on the firm side but once I became accustomed to the noise from trucks on the highway, I was able to get a good nights sleep. There are also pet friendly rooms available and these have a fenced area outside them so pets can run free. A cooked breakfast was included in the price of our room and this was delivered on time and was most enjoyable.

This is the standard 1980s-style highway motel from your childhood road trips; with all the painted besa brick and laminated wood charm (and slightly-musty-like-your-granny smell) to go with it. You definitely get what you pay for at $100-odd per night but we did think that what appeared to be bloodstains on the pillow case and god-knows-what stains on the duvet were probably a bit much to have to bear even at this price point. We must admit we wrapped the pillows in our clothes to avoid touching them. But at least you could have a nice hot shower, right? Ah no, not that either, lukewarm water only I’m afraid (you don’t need to turn on the cold tap...); and 3 mins into my lukewarm shower the water turned to ice...and that was the end of it; not the nicest thing in Coonabarabran in mid-winter. On the upside, the reverse cycle heater worked and there was electricity and a flushing toilet in the room, so it was better than camping, just. Coonabarabran is not exactly overflowing with high quality options, but this certainly won’t be a property we will be returning to as clean bedding and hot water are our fairly reasonable (basic) expectations of a motel. You decide...how brave are you? If you have enough petrol and there’s still daylight, I’d keep driving if I were you, this is the very bottom rung of the budget accommodation ladder.