Hotel Gateway (Geelong, Australia)

This place really buzzes on occasions and it can get noisy. Fortunately, though, rooms are to the rear of the main building and completely detached from the main activity. They are fairly quiet.

If you prefer, there's a Kickstarter breakfast pack to start the day. Then, if you are out to explore, there are miles of glorious beaches. The nearby Botanical Garden is well worth a visit and Geelong's shops and restaurants is only a few miles away. Back here, there's Pokies, Gaming, Live Entertainment plus, of course, lots of stuff for kids. Here, it seems, kids are the number one stars!

Rooms are very clean and spacious; also the shower. Bed linen and towels are ultra-clean and the welcome is warm and genuine. Outside, there's plenty of room for buses, trucks … and your car.

They make great play of the hotel as a centre for entertainment but, in doing so, they've missed out on areas that need rectifying for visiting guests. Lots of things are in dire need of repair and the atmosphere - not helped by the strong smell of smoke … in a non-smoking venue! - is depressing and dated.

Before you ring Reception to complain -there's someone on duty till 4am! - let the shower water run. It's a tank-fed system and the hot water will eventually filter through. Not good if you are in a hurry though.

This is an industrial area so not, on the face of it, attractive to tourists … or anyone else. The hotel, though, - reputedly owned by Woolworths - sits on a sizeable piece of land with no possibility of anyone not being able to park.