It may seem strange that a person who was brought up in an alcohol-free family and who has remained teetotal by choice since might be writing about hotels but, stick with me and I will explain.
You see, I want to bring your attention to a vastly under-used motorcycling resource. The country pub. When I first started touring, back in the early 80’s, I quickly realised that the most expensive aspect of the exercise was accommodation. Most modern bikes are very economical and, if you pack lightly and carefully, you won’t find your load affecting that too much at all. If your packing is diligent and includes all the things that you will likely need, then you won’t find yourself paying big money for something that you have to have and which you have at home in the garage 600kms away. And, if you have paid attention to servicing and the condition of your bike before you set out you won’t find yourself paying an exorbitant price for a rear tyre that isn’t really the brand or compound that you’d prefer but that you have to have because you’ve just noticed that yours is down to the canvas.
All these caveats aside, the one thing for which you must pay is accommodation. Now, somebody is going to be screaming at their computer right now and saying words like, “Well, you don’t have to do that either if you take your tent and bed roll on the bike with you.” And you are right, but, since we are talking here about touring without the degree of discomfort and inconvenience that camping brings, then we can discard the “bring your own bed” scenario as well. Incidentally, pitching a tent in the pouring rain then trying to sleep in wet clothes doesn’t qualify as fun to me by any definition of the word.
So, leaving aside the tent idea, let’s move on. What are your options for accommodation on the road? Well, there are quite a few. The cheapest by far is to stay with friends, this will usually cost you nothing (except maybe a slab when you leave). In the early days, I did this quite a lot, but planning your ride around where your various friends and acquaintances live can be a bit limiting, so it doesn’t always work. Don’t rule it out, however, as it is a legitimate way of keeping contact with your friends and saving money on the road.
Then there is the B&B. In my experience, one of the reasons why you go on tour is to spend a bit of time by yourself so the idea of sharing someone’s house and having to pay for it is something that I have never found appealing. Having said that, if you’re the sort of gregarious person who likes exploring not only the countryside but also the people who inhabit it, then some of the little out of the way places where you can find B&Bs these days could be just what you are after. Bear in mind that they are usually quite expensive as you are paying not only for the accommodation but also the meals.
It’s never hard to find a motel, either. Many have flexible opening hours and many now have 24HR check-in which is very convenient. There are some huge advantages of staying in a motel. Firstly, you get your own room all by yourself. The room will usually be air-conditioned, a real blessing if you are touring in the heat of summer. You get your own private bathroom and facilities. Quite often the motel will have a restaurant attached and motel staff are a valuable source of information about the town, local sights and the ins and outs of their district. You can come and go as you please and some motel chains have discount programmes which you can join. However, there are also disadvantages. The first is expense. A good motel room will set you back anywhere between $100 and $150 per night in most country towns that I have explored. Your parking will almost always be limited to a space in the car park outside your room; not really ideal for security and most motels in which I have stayed are noisy, with paper-thin walls and the sounds of domestic bliss issuing forth from the rooms around you at all hours of the day and night.
Finally, in my not-intended-to-be-exhaustive list, there is the country hotel. By far the best value from a monetary point of view, country pubs usually charge something around $50 per night for a room. It’s usually upstairs and the building is usually old. Caveat here is to avoid the noise from the bar downstairs by asking for a room away from it if you can. For that price you will have a cheap and cheerful room with shared facilities (toddle down the hallway to the bathroom and the toilet). Many country hotels are now fitting air conditioning to their rooms as they seek to attract the tourist dollar but don’t count on it. It goes without saying that, if you are travelling with friends, then the room cost can be spread amongst however many there are; this also applies to motels but motels generally don’t tend to have more than two beds in a room whereas country pubs often have dormitory-style rooms with up to six beds.
All country pubs in which I have stayed over the years have had a bistro attached to the bar. These serve cheap and cheerful (there’s that term again) meals the cost of which are offset by the profits that the hotel makes from selling booze and the pokies in the bar. Count on spending less than $15 for a good steak meal in the bistro at the end of your riding day. Many of these establishments also serve a hearty country breakfast for equally budget prices so you can fuel up before hitting the road. Please bear in mind that “country helpings” usually mean a lot more food on your plate than you would get in the city, so order accordingly. 🙂
Then, of course, there IS the bar. Most riders like a cold drink or two at the end of the day and a chance to mix with the locals and wind down. These are incredibly friendly places, especially if you are a rider and the locals will soon make themselves known, ask you what type of bike you are riding, where you are heading and regale you with stories about old Bluey down the road who has a collection of WLA Harleys that he rescued from a mine shaft somewhere nearby.
The country pub also has the advantage of security. In all the country pubs in which I have stayed over the years I have been touring, I have never stayed in one that didn’t provide some sort of secure area around the back somewhere where I could park my bike in safety for the night. Actually, now that I think of it, there was one. It was in the main street of Oberon in the central west. We asked at the bar if there was secure parking and the barman pointed out the door to where the bikes were parked and said, “Yeah, mate, right there.” He’d obviously told the story lots of times before because he quickly went on, “See that pole across the street? See the 24 hour security camera mounted on it, pointed straight at our front door? There’s the best security you can get.” We took his word for it and the bikes were safe and sound in the morning (although covered with a thick layer of frost)
At one hotel on the north coast, the publican, a keen CBRX1100 rider, let me park the bike INSIDE in the beer garden, so concerned was he at a spate of vandalism that was currently sweeping the town! So, don’t worry about security, all you need to do is ask and the publican will sort it out for you.
And did I mention that the room is only going to cost a fraction of what you will pay at a motel? Worth repeating.
It also goes without saying that you should always pack (and wear) ear protection for when you are riding OR for the odd occasion where your room proves to be a bit noisier than you were expecting. If you’re going to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, you need a good sleep.
I’m sold on the country pub. For all of the reasons that I have listed above it is the perfect answer to the touring motorcyclist’s need for accommodation.