Pioneer Station Motor Inn

From the moment I arrived, I knew I was in for a dreadful stay. The "welcome" consisted of a desk clerk who didn’t say a single word — just silently pointed to a paper bag with my room key in it like I was picking up takeaway. Things only went downhill from there. The room hadn’t even been serviced from the previous guest. Wet towels were strewn across the bathroom floor, there was a foul stench hanging in the air, the bin was overflowing, and the bed hadn’t been touched. I asked to be put in a different room — you know, one that didn’t look and smell like a crime scene — but was told I’d have to wait 30 minutes while they cleaned this one instead. When I finally got back in, the bin was still full and the supposedly “fresh” bed linen reeked of stale body odour. The lighting was laughable: a harsh fluorescent tube that wrapped around the ceiling like a hardware store showroom. No option for soft lighting, no bedside lamps, not even a single power point near the bed — just an on-or-off floodlight effect. The only place to sit was on two brittle old kitchen chairs that looked like they were salvaged from a 1960s garage sale. The microwave was ancient and required multiple attempts just to warm food to a basic level of edibility. The heater? Set to 32 degrees and still shivering. The bathroom featured obvious signs of mould, poorly covered by a lazy slap of paint, and the light in there barely worked either. This wasn’t just bad — it was shockingly bad. A total lack of care, comfort, and basic hygiene. Definitely the worst motel experience I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something. Avoid like the plague.

On a freezing 4 days, Heating did not work. Electric blanket chord could not reach power point. TV did not work. No hand towels, shower full of mould. Smoke alarm had no cover and was not operational. This motel needs a lot of maintenance and a very good clean. Rooms were not serviced, had to request clean towels and toilet paper.

My wife and I were travelling from Adelaide to Albury and decided to have a 2 night stay in Swan Hill. My brother-in-law travelled from Melbourne to spend time with us. We had three cars, plenty of room for all of them. The room was a reasonable size for 2 people. The bed was comfortable and there was no traffic noise. The Pioneer Village was a short walk away from the motel.

Great spot

It was very dated and unclean.

Horrible…! Dirty room with dust everywhere, soiled toilet & mould in and around bathroom. Wow!