Hotel Footscray Motor Inn (Melbourne, Australia)

Members of staff are very pleasant and helpful. Rooms are spacious and clean and comfortable. Most include a king-size bed.

Downtown Melbourne is only a few miles away and public transport leaves from just outside the main entrance. Can't get any more convenient than that!

Free parking is something of an unexpected bonus in this area. Evening food in the restaurant is terrific and breakfast is … just about OK. There are plenty of other places to eat too and for a drink, you can't beat the nearby Littlefoot Bar.

There are few facilities for babies and young children and it has to be said that the value for money attracts some pretty noisy and loud-mouthed guests. Not the sort you'd want your kids mixing with. Any kids that do stay will be fascinated by the planes arriving and leaving Essendon Airport. Melbourne Zoo is nearby too. Pity about some of the other guests; maybe just luck of the draw.

Outside isn't appealing and does little to encourage you to go inside - where things improve considerably. There are, however, aspects of the room which are now very much on the dated side. There's a strong smell of stale cigarette smoke.

The heating needs a revamp as it goes on the ‘blink' quite a lot. This results in the room becoming cold; a situation not helped by fairly flimsy bed linen and covers. Brr! They do need to supply more bedding and there can also be a bit of a noise problem from the trams in the street outside.