Central Caleula Motor Lodge

Room is clean and recently renovated. Location close to town centre BUT because our room was street-facing, there is a lot of noise through the night from vehicular traffic. And air-con didn't work (it just heated the room instead of cooling even though settings were on cool and temp qas set to low), so had to keep balcony door open, which meant it was even noisier. Not to mention the time lost messing with the air-con to try and get it to work.

Room was spotless, staff where lovely and beds comfortable as. Room had overpowering smell of deodoriser, which I found overbearing. Woukd have loved an electric blanket as it was a freezing night.

Booked online easily with a confirmation email quickly following. Three days before the stay (our first time at the Caleula), a welcoming email arrived with information that wasn't on the website. The email advised of surcharges of 1.7% for Visa/Mastercard and a whopping 2.8% for American Express. Didn't take much to decide that these were way too high so I replied that I would pay in cash. On arrival, reception was friendly and I was given a printed form to check my details, add car registration and sign. Just below my address was a section on method of payment so I ticked CASH, signed & dated the form and handed it back. There was no mention of payment at that stage so I assumed that it would be on checkout. Then I was shown how to exit and enter the motel if it was locked, and how to access our accommodation. All good. The accommodation was good - VERY clean, comfortable bed, quiet despite basically being on a highway, and the space in the unit was very good. Also worth a mention was the shower - perfect - and unlike so many these days, no water escaped to end up all over the bathroom floor. The next day on checkout, I was asked the room number and was told 'good to go - have a nice day'. I asked how that was possible if I haven't paid? Then I was advised that I had paid by Mastercard at 5:02pm the afternoon before. I said that I was to pay in cash as the surcharges were too high. Then I was told again 'have a nice day' as if to say that it's all sorted and that's the end of the story. I again stated that I had replied to an email stating that I would pay cash, and completed the booking form to also indicate payment by cash. Interrupted again 'have a nice day'. The person on reception this morning was getting quite surly and did NOT want to listen, or change the payment. She finally decided to refund the charge - 'do you have your credit card with you'? 'Of course'. Okay - look - that says refund on the card machine. I had my card ready for the reversal and she again pointed out that it was a refund - look! I believe that I was well aware of that. That was done then I produced cash for payment - 'We do accept cash, but it must be the exact amount'. So as I asked my wife for the 'necessary' $6 in coin, my wife started to say that maybe the website needs updating with this information, but she was also interrupted with 'Have a nice day'. The person on reception was certainly in no mood to listen to either of us and appeared to just want us gone. When the CORRECT amount was paid, we heard 'Enjoy your day' as we started to leave. My wife mentioned (not loud enough) that the receptionist was the most obnoxious she had ever encountered. This was a good place to stay, we were pleasantly impressed with the room, cleanliness and quietness, but that was ruined by the receptionist on checkout. Except for her, we would have stayed again on our next visit to Orange.

Good central location. Nice clean room but the street noise was a bit disturbing. The restaurant right next door was excellent both for dinner and breakfast.

As a returning customer, once again we had a great stay at Central Caleula Motor Lodge. Although the exterior of the property looks a little outdated at first glance, we are always surprised by our room. Staying in a different room type this time, it was clean, comfortable, and well presented. The contrast between the outside and the updated interior really stands out in a positive way. Overall, a comfortable and enjoyable stay, and would recommend to friends.

If you’re heading to Orange and need a spot that’s central, super clean, and actually comfortable, stay here. We had such a great experience at the Central Caleula. The updated rooms are fresh and modern. The best part, though, was the vibe. The staff are incredibly legend-tier friendly and made us feel welcome before, during and after arrival. Will definitely be making this our go-to spot whenever we’re back in town. Cheers to the team for looking after us!"

The air conditioner was not operating correctly. Had to fiddle with the timer function and the clock the remote to get it to work. Reported the problem to staff but didn’t seem to be fixed.

Room was clean and comfortable, the bed was soft and very nice to sleep in. The Italian restaurant next door was fabulous as well. Well worth staying here as it very close to the Main Street, reasonably quiet and decent value.

Clean, nicely decorated room, large comfy bed, friendly staff. Italian restaurant next door that does morning coffee. Two small problems: shower leaked, thankfully had a second towel to mop up. Other people’s doors banging shut late at night and loud voices/footsteps in hallway. But had a really good stay and would stay again.