Wangaratta Motor Inn

The Wangaratta Motor Inn is a busy roadside motel on Roy Street East, walking distance from the centre of Wangaratta and handy to the highway for travellers breaking the Sydney to Melbourne run or basing themselves in the north east. Rooms are roomy and the regulars point to the welcome at reception and the EV charger as reasons it keeps the loyalty it does, and there is a pool on site for summer stops. The town works as a base for the rail trail, the King Valley and the wineries north toward Rutherglen, so the inn sees a mix of pass through traffic and longer staying visitors.

Dogs at the Wangaratta Motor Inn

Per the inn's own site, the property is pet friendly with additional charges, and pets need to be arranged with reception before arrival. The charges are set out plainly: one pet is a $30 one off charge, two pets $50, and three or more $65, payable before or on arrival. Two rules matter more than the money: pets are not permitted on the property at all unless paid for at reception during check in, and no pet may be left in a vehicle of any form overnight.

Guests travelling with big dogs report the inn takes larger breeds without fuss. The pet rooms sit at ground level with walk out access, the garden patch out front handles the quick relief stop, and there is an on site kitchen doing Thai and Aussie fare where the workaround is simple: order takeaway and eat outside the room with the dog beside you.

Worth knowing

The payment at check in is not optional paperwork, it is what puts the dog on the books, so settle it at the desk before you unload. Declare the pet upfront and the staff treat the dog as a guest; sneak it in and the zero tolerance policy applies. The no overnight vehicle rule catches people arriving late, so plan a walk and a toileting stop before you check in rather than after.

For the end of day leg stretch, the river parks along the Ovens are an easy walk from Roy Street East, with shaded water frontage that settles a car tired dog better than the car park can.

Pepsi: the staff made a fuss of me at the desk and the grass out the side was mine for the morning.

While you're out there

Set a day aside for Chiltern and the wineries: Willuna Sanctuary at Chiltern if you stay over, and Campbells Wines at Rutherglen with Buller Wines for the tasting run. Closer in, Two Sisters on High at Yackandandah is a good lunch stop. The full list is on the Victoria dog friendly stays page.