Northern Arts Hotel

All the comments about a quaint, quirky hotel are correct but the number one priority for a hotel is a good nights sleep and you would be lucky to get it here. We paid $175 for a room with a private seperate bathroom. The only private thing about it was a not on the door saying so - no external lock. We are fairly certain that others used it during our stay. The place has paper thin walls. “Michael” according to the name on the door next to ours had his TV at high volume until 10pm when I gave up and suggested through his door that it was time to lower the volume. To his credit he turned it off, which I thanked him for, but he must have been either upset or perhaps bored with the lack of TV and proceeded to produce an unbelievable amount of noise until 11pm. Walking around and around the tiny room on his heals, dropping things, opening and shutting things, - I have no idea what he was doing. Building an IKEA kitchen? Redecorating the room? Chopping up dead bodies? Who knows but with the paper thin walls it sounded like he was in the room with us. Every time I thought he was done he started again. When he finally fell asleep you could hear his snoring! Around 6.30am he was at it again, possibly deconstructing the IKEA kitchen but was eventually drowned out by the heavy truck and car traffic outside. I would have complained to the staff but when we left at 9am there was no one on sight to speak to. Never again!

The Northern ART Hotel is a real gem. Rooms and beds were comfy. There is barely a wall space without an interesting hanging or sculpture. The host was very friendly and accommodating. Having a simple breakfast included was much appreciated. There were two different musical performances/practices during my stay. Quite marvellous. Highly recommended.

This is a lovely hotel. Large room with a very comfortable bed. Lovely decor. We had our own en suite which was very well done. It was great to drink tea out of fine bone china. A very eclectic hotel. Great breakfast.

Northern Arts Hotel is an excellent place to stay in historic Castlemaine. The owner, Maggie, has created a quirky, interesting, friendly and warm place to stay. Go on a Sunday and you’ll be able to grab a glass of wine and see her film of the week which is shown in the lounge for locals and guests. When we were there Maggie introduced the film and then facilitated a lively discussion after it. The hotel is around the corner from the Mill and is a 15 minute stroll into town.

I can fully understand that things change and sometimes bookings need to be cancelled. However, the call you just made to me Maggie was completely lacking in any empathy or understanding. We were looking forward to staying at your hotel to attend our long time friends wedding in a couple of weeks time, but were extremely disappointed to have our booking rudely and abruptly cancelled this morning. You did not seek to soften your message, explain the reason, genuinely apologise, or mention that you would love to see us another time and would do your best to accommodate us and maybe even look after us a little with a special deal next time. Instead, you were cold and clinical and went straight to telling me that you were cancelling the booking. And to suggest that we will find alternative accommodation easily this close to travel time is ludicrous. Terrible reflection on your business. I will not consider staying with you again or recommending your business to any of our friends or family.