Cobb Inlander Motel — Hotel in Hay

We’ve had an annual 3-night group booking at the Cobb for the past 3 years, taking 12-16 rooms each visit, and this review reflects our recent 3rd stay. Our group has previously enjoyed the kitschy quirky Cobb, it’s a little dated, faded and rough around the edges but for us that was part of the charm, however unfortunately our recent experience means we’ll be seeking accommodation elsewhere next year.

Notable changes to previous stays: Rooms have been freshly painted. Wall mounted flatscreen TVs in all rooms. Overflowing wheelie bins everywhere, though they probably have so many extra bins for the increase in guests due to the project just out of Hay, but all the bins were so full birds were pulling food scraps out and leaving trash on the ground Ashtrays glued to outdoor tables so they can’t be emptied, some rooms in our group booking had overflowing ashtrays and when our guests asked for them to be emptied they were told they can’t & a wheelie bin was dragged over for them to empty it themselves. BBQ was apparently cleaned for us but was unusable, with the oil drains filled with old oil & gunk, and rust spots on the hot plate. On booking we were told the pool had been given a revamp, but the shade cloth over the pool had been removed leaving swimmers exposed to the sun. Pool was cloudy instead of clear and there was a noticeable ring around the waterline. There isn’t a filter in the pool and the manager told some of our group, when they were already in the water, that he’d added the chemicals earlier that day in readiness for our visit, so some of our group were left with red itchy eyes.

Some aspects of our recent stay we could accept due to low cost and great location, and we can see the new owners are proud of the Cobb and are doing a lot to get the Cobb updated which is great and sorely needed, and they seemed lovely and genuine in their efforts to help us get settled, but the final straw for us was the bed bugs in one of our rooms.

There being bed bugs was bad enough, but when myself and the affected guest attended the reception to report the bugs, the manager denied there were bed bugs at the motel. My friend was standing in front of him showing him the multiple bites all over her body, bites she didn’t have when he’d checked us all in 2 days earlier, and he refused to even consider that she had received the bites at the motel. We gave up trying to argue the point and she asked for a new room which he provided without hesitation. She barely slept on the 3rd night, and laid awake scratching much of the night.

I’ve since read reviews on Google, Booking.com and Trip Advisor that specifically mention bed bugs and it is just bizarre and annoying that the manager knew and chose to deny it, and even with a guest standing in front of him covered in red welts, he looked us in the eye and told us we were mistaken. We’re not idiots, we know what our friend had and, at that point, we made up our minds we wouldn’t be returning.

We’ve not experienced bed bugs in either of our previous visits (pre-reno + different manager), so perhaps we were lucky or maybe the “new” mattresses that have been put in some rooms (my friend’s original room included) contained the bed bugs.

I didn’t want to leave a negative review, it’s important to give new businesses a chance to find their feet, and we wanted to support the new owners, but there’s something wrong here. If the owners and/or their manager aren’t going to take the health & safety of guests seriously and pay attention to the hygiene of the beds, the rooms & the grounds, then guests will continue to alert others via public review platforms such as this, or report it to the appropriate authorities, and the owners will find their reputation and business is going to...

My parents ran this place for a few years when I was young, so have been back many times for nostalgia purposes. In that time I’ve seen many incarnations, but have to admit it is getting pretty sad and a bit tatty round the edges. But then so am I, so I am prepared to give a little ground. But there were a few things that are easy fixes that would have sparked things up a bit. Firstly when we got there the room had at least a half dozen big blow flies buzzing about. I know that it is part of the scenery in Hay, but either ensure the rooms are pest free after housekeeping between guests, or leave a can of spray in the room. Secondly, bring your own pillows. For the main bed, there was one pillow per person and they were very very thin. We decided we would lash out for a couple of new pillows and then take them home with us. But no-one in Hay apparently sells pillows so we drove to Griffith to buy them! The bathroom had a couple of issues. The door would not close, and the shower screen did not have a seal to keep the water in. So when you got out of the shower the tiles were treacherous. And lastly, just monitor check out time. As with most places, checkout time is 10am. But that didn’t stop someone unlocking our door and opening it at 9:10am while we were still in bed. I did kinda feel like we were owed an apology for that when we came out later, but apparently not. I love the Inlander, going right back to its days as the Commodore. It isn’t a baby, so you expect things to not be modern. That has always been part of its charm. But the lack of attention to small detail left a sour taste in my mouth. Next time I’m feeling nostalgic I will still head to Hay, but am unlikely to go back to the Inlander....

Ok, so service was ok if you think of service as the face to face/ over the phone type service. However service also includes how well the room is cleaned and unfortunately ours was not clean. I came here because reviews online generally seemed good, however this was not my experience. I came with my wife and two young children and found there were blood stains on one of the single bed sheets. Pillowcases were also dirty and stained. There were no top sheets under our blanket. There was a used towel hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Furthermore, the shower has not been cleaned and had hair clinging to the side of the cubicle and I had to perform unusual emergency gymnastics to intercept my two year old daughter before she touched a used tissue that she spotted lurking under the double bed.

Hot or even mildly warm showers are impossible because the hot water, at best, just dribbles out at the rate of a leaking tap.

Worst of all, I found bed bugs crawling on two of the beds in our room.

Dear owners, I’m so sorry to leave such a poor review, but I have an obligation to other families to warn them before they also bring bed bugs back into their own homes. Please take this review as an opportunity to fix these problems. Unfortunately I simply won’t be able to bring myself to ever come back to your...