Friendly, but cold sounds a bit misleading - so what I meant was - “they are friendly, but the place was freezing”. There was no heater in the room I was in, and Adelaide was cold that day.
The service
Continuing on from my Wotif.com (reviewed here) experience, I rang the reception straight after I booked the place and they had confirmed it. They were very helpful in guiding me through Adelaide, and told me where to park the car in downtown. Usually check in was 1400hrs, but they were happy to get me early, because I was leaving that very night.
The location
It’s certainly not walkable from the Airport. It’s right behind it, and is within a taxi cab fare of 10 dollars I would say. In fact the Adelaide Airport Motel is also not within walking distance, and as they were fully booked - thats how I got to know about the Aviators Lodge. They have a small restaurant within the motel, which has meals at reasonable prices.
The cost
I paid $89 through Wotif.com. Interestingly, I asked them for a tax invoice which stated $80. Looking into it closely, the way it works is: I pay Wotif.com who then pay the motel. I.e.: The motel bills Wotif.com, and this is stated in the tax invoice. Essentially, Wotif takes a booking fee of $9. Not bad for a company who basically acts as the middle man, and almost all of their bookings are automated.
Inside tips
* When you book accommodation, its worthwhile ringing them up directly to find out the price and to see if they will offer the rooms for lower prices - considering they will be empty if not booked. You may be able to “undercut” sites like Wotif, but what you will find is that the motel will charge you their standard rates, in which case last minute accommodation sites (like Wotif) will save you money.
Suggestions
* I was freezing my a– off that day. The room did not have a heater. Is this standard? If so, fit some heaters because it was like an ice age in the room.
Rating - 8/10 (good place, please install heaters)
For a 3 star motel, a heater is a must! I will stay there again, and would recommend it to friends and family (but warn them of their heater less status).
