2-Star Hotels in Apollo Bay

From this Ken, some sweet reflections 23/8/23: It's not Surfers Paradise (& thanks for that) but here at the front wide window of the best cabin at Marengo, on a sharp-breezed but sunny August morning, there's something black (& maybe deadly)slowly creeping against the rough white waves betwixt a scruffy beach & those ragged rocks covered in indolent seals. Often the rude question rises: What do those seals do for a living? The trevally rarely leap up to be devoured! But I did see a real fisherman take two with a double-hooked light line (I wonder what they taste like?) Mostly I wonder, rather than wander, in this last blast of winter, although we are blessed by 3 days of fine sunshine, when shaded from the shade & dressed according to the time of day. That endlessly engaging distraction of light, movement, & always the underlying symphony of surf moves me away from urban life & that endless list of what ”must” be done ASAP. On this one of many journeys to Marengo Family Caravan Park, perhaps 3 hours from Brunswick if you can't help pausing at the wonderful opp shop in Anglesea, best achieved along the Great Ocean Road, by a seriously skilled driver, whose passengers are always gazing left, just in case a wonderful whale is glimpsed, we feel that slight anxiety about unlikely flat tires. The mood completely converts to joyful anticipation as we pass through the ”big smoke” of Apollo Bay - urban concerns fade & the gently rural context of ocean & forest completely converts hard times to a soft escape. On other visits to this few days of new life we have generally travelled to someplace or other & clear advice is always available from the office. This time we chose wisely to firmly alter our existence & simply soaked into an always interesting landscape. Oh, & the black & beautiful curiosity turns out to have two long ”fins” which are the paddling arms of a single surfer, in full wet suit, confidently moving out to where that magic ride can be sought. He went out of sight, around the point, to larger forces, but was seen later returning to his car, board in hand, & slightly surprised by my gestures of congratulation. The journey to Marengo is endless delights, but the happy holiday, renews energy, subdues concern, & provides a better path ahead.

Made a BIG MISTAKE booking this place on the strength of older pictures and favourable reviews on bookings.com, not realising the sunny views and high ratings were collected pre March 2019 when it obviously changed hands and entered terminal decline. What we found was a rotting carcas of a once healthy property and business. Where to start... First, Tracey confirmed my booking with a smartphone picture of a PC screen delivered by SMS. It showed Tracy's email as a hotmail.com account. No proper booking system. No domain name. Dodgy. Arriving at the drive off the sealed road, no sign! Nothing, but a timber frame where the sign must have been in the past... what are we coming to? Apollo Bay's version of Bates Hotel? Met by a young man with limited English. In the room and the common areas, neglect everywhere, Windows and fly wires filthy, lovely sunny BBQ deck I saw in the pictures turned into a sheet washing and drying area, BBQ long gone, shared kitchen putrid, sticky everything, uncleaned in years, rubbish strewn around the property, I could go on. In the room, also uncleaned for ages, rotting windows, main door lock broken, rear door lock loose, doona covers stained (sure hope it was soy sauce but who knows), TV had no free to air reception, no tea or coffee making facilities (doubt I would have used them if they had been there), no bath mat, odds and ends stool and desk (kind of), constant musty smell. Outside, rubbish in the bushes, rusty fittings. To be fair, the sheets and pillow cases were washed and clean, and our bathroom was maybe the cleanest area I saw in the entire place, about what you might expect in a budget room. Clearly, the business model is to do sheets, towels and bathrooms, do bugger all else, and trade for as long as the bookings keep coming on the strength of the good work and reviews of the previous owners. Until it gets condemned. Don't just take my word for it, look at the most recent reviews here and make up your own mind. Thankyou Tripadvisor for allowing independent reviews that do not require booking thru the site.

Koalas, in the trees above your camper. What more could one ask for? We stayed here one night on our journey along the Great Ocean Road. We loved this campground, it was clean and well maintained, and the facilities were all excellent. The staff at the check in was friendly and welcoming, and set us up in a great site near the washrooms. The campground is full of gum trees, which have their resident Koalas up in them lounging around so you dont have to go far, or join the throngs of tourists from the buses who are outside the gate, all massing up Kennett River road hoping for their glance of these beautiful animals, they are literally right there in the park for your viewing enjoyment. In addition to the Koalas, there is a beautiful safe beach directly across the road with a nice beginner size break for surfers as well. We would rank this as one of our favourite stops along the Great Ocean Road and would definitely stay here again. Love those Koalas! :)

The cabin is very amazing, the view is very good, the sea view room. We arrived at night. When we first entered, we felt a little disappointed. The cabin was small and the public bathroom. We got up the next morning and opened the curtains. We were surprised. The large lawn had small flowers and the blue sea in the distance. The cows and alpacas were eating grass leisurely. It was especially beautiful and will come again next time! !

Good location, very close to the center. The balcony can see the sea, and the guest bedroom is a little bit cooler at night. Others are very good, recommend staying.

Really nice hostel this - a couple of blocks back from the beach so you are away from any noise and really immaculately clean and well laid out. The staff are very friendly, there is heaps of information for travellers on notice boards and the like and the common areas looked quite nice. The rooms are of course quite basic but that's to be expected. They were very nice however and everything basically worked. The facilities were vastly nicer than some hostels I've stayed in and while there wasn't enough parking next to the building for all the guests vehicles there was more parking on the street directly in front of the place. Recommended.

I arrived at 9pm and was disappointed that the front counter closed at 8pm. However, the motel worked with me and left a key out for my room. The problem was that it is such a huge complex and there were no clear signs that I spent 15 minutes looking for my room. However, once I found where I needed to be, the room was lovely . I wanted to order breakfast but because I was late in I missed the opportunity to do this - can this be done online? I then had to go looking for some breakfast in the morning which I didn't want to do. I would stay at this motel in future as it was well presented and clean, as well as handy to the beach.

As a motel, here is typical and standard. The store is very professional and answers questions quickly. The downside of the hotel is the price, as a motel, more than RMB 1,000, it is really worth it. So the disadvantage is that the price is not high.

The hotel is not far from the center of Apollo town, just a few minutes drive away. Because it was Christmas Eve, many restaurants and shops in the town were closed, and the supermarkets were not closed. Free parking The front desk of the hotel is on the first floor. It is a Chinese boy with a very good attitude. He gave us a map and showed us where to see the scenic spots. After checking the name, he gave the key to check in without deposit. The balcony and bathroom are not small, and the bedroom is a bit small, with only one large bed, and can only accommodate 2 people. The room looks out to the sea, there are refrigerators, microwaves, hot water kettles, towels, bathing supplies, no kitchen can not cook, this is a bit inconvenient Check out at 10 in the morning, put the key on the coffee table, and have free wifi

We booked a family room as well as the twin room with balcony. Both are very clean & have everything we need. Very comfy & quite spacious. Lovely bathroom & great shower. Not listed in facilities though both rooms have a microwave as well as bar fridge, kettle, toaster, hair dryer. Also mugs, glasses, plates & cutlery. 2 towels for every person (8 in family room), bath mats, spare doona. Only saying this as I had read a couple of reviews here saying bath mats were missing. Huge supply of toiletries nicely presented as well as tea, cappuccino sachets, sugar & a couple small long life milks. Large flat screen TV in both rooms (2 in the family room). Location is great, only a minutes walk to the Main Street. Bucket of umbrellas at the font door for guests is a nice touch too. Balcony view is great! To be honest, after reading reviews I was getting a little worried however we are more than happy with our rooms which have barely a fault so I thought I’d better post this update. So far the only fault I can see is a bit of damage on the bottom of the bathroom door however this doesn’t affect our stay at all. 5 stars from me & my family. The owners here have obviously taken note of past reviews.