Ballina Homestead Motel

The Ballina Homestead Motel at 95 Cherry Street is a renovated, genuinely dog-ready motel: 10 of its 27 rooms are designated pet-friendly, all ground floor with courtyard access, and the pet policy is published on its own site with the details spelled out. Declare your dog when booking and one of these rooms is a comfortable base a short drive from the Richmond River.

Dogs at the motel

Only dogs are permitted as standard, with cats needing special prior approval, and every pet is declared at the time of booking with breed and size. The cap is two small dogs or one large dog per pet room. The fee is $20 per night on top of the room rate. Inside, dogs are never left unattended and stay off the beds and furniture, with a $100 cleaning penalty for violations, and they need to be healthy, flea-free and worm-free. Outside, dogs stay on a lead in the grounds and courtyard, are kept out of the pool area, and you clean up after them into the exterior bins.

Worth knowing

The motel has been renovated throughout, with modern bathrooms, comfortable beds, EV charging and an attached cafe for breakfast. The courtyard access on the pet rooms is the practical feature: the dog steps straight out of your room onto grass without crossing the car park. Book the pet room type up front rather than requesting one at the desk, since only 10 rooms take dogs and they go first.

Getting there and parking

Cherry Street sits central to Ballina, handy to the river foreshore and the shops, with parking at the door, which matters when you are carrying bowls and leads in and out with a dog.

Close by with the dogs

The council's off-leash beach at Missingham Park runs west of the car park on the north side of the Richmond River, though dogs need a leash during the spring and summer shorebird nesting season. The Kingsford Smith Dog Park is the fenced option closer to town, and Berties Food and Drink is the cafe stop on the morning walk.

More options are on the New South Wales pet friendly stays guide and the Ballina destination page.