The Best Motels and Places to Stay You Can Book in Ballarat, Victoria

Enjoy your own stylish contemporary apartment in a historical building at Lascelles Ballarat
Enjoy your own stylish contemporary apartment in a historical building at Lascelles Ballarat | Courtesy of Lascelles Ballarat / Booking.com
Nick Dauk

Ballarat may bring you to its borders for its history, but the site of Australia’s famous open-air museum has much more to offer than Sovereign Hill. A welcoming cafe culture, diverse culinary scene and some of the best wines from around the region will fill the gaps between sightseeing. Add in a year-round calendar of festivals and relaxing parks and you’ll be plenty busy in Ballarat. The Victorian gold rush may have ended over a century ago, but you’ll still feel like you’ve hit it rich when you check into these hotels in Ballarat – bookable on Culture Trip.

1. Quest Ballarat Station, for an easy-breezy stay

Suite Hotel

Upscale king room with floor-to-ceiling windows at Quest Ballarat Station
Courtesy of Quest Ballarat Station / Expedia

There’s no reason to assume Quest at Ballarat Station is only good for a quick overnight. Despite being ideal for any traveller trying to catch an early-morning train, these studio suites and apartments have everything necessary for a long stay – including kitchenettes or kitchens and in-house gym access. A business centre, complimentary laundry machines and a pantry shopping service are just a few of the amenities that really drive home the extended-stay convenience.

2. Lake Inn Ballarat, for yacht lovers

Motel

Spacious carpeted king room at Lake Inn Ballarat
Courtesy of Lake Inn Ballarat / Expedia

Few hotels in Ballarat can get you as close to Lake Wendouree as Lake Inn. It’s a five-minute glide to the Ballarat Yacht Club, and even the most modest room is generously spaced for maximum stretching out. Roll your luggage into the corner, let the lake breeze in through the windows and have a post-flight nap. Steak and seafood here are as warm as the fireplace and brick walls of the City Oval Hotel next door – but if dinner can wait, a walk through City Oval is a perfect appetizer.

3. Lascelles Ballarat, for cosy convenience

Apartment

Exterior of heritage brick building housing Lascelles Ballarat
Courtesy of Lascelles Ballarat / Booking.com

Holiday in Ballarat on your terms in one of Lascelles’ apartment rentals. These pet-friendly accommodations in Ballarat split the distance between Sovereign Hill and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. Stark white subway tiles line the light and airy bathroom, while your dog won’t mind the one block walk to the Sturt Street Gardens to use their own open-air toilet. Whether you two curl up beside the fireplace or lay out on the terrace, Lascelles will make you both feel right at home.

5. Sovereign Hill Hotel, for museum fanatics

Hotel

Crisp king room with dark blue carpeting at Sovereign Hill Hotel
Courtesy of Sovereign Hill Hotel / Booking.com

You’ll spend more time brushing your teeth at the Sovereign Hill Hotel than you will walking to Sovereign Hill itself. A mere thirty-second walk to the open-air museum, it’s the only hotel in Ballarat to offer you a pillow this close to the historical park. No matter if you’re staying in a governor’s room or a more spacious colonial room, you’ll have the best seats in the house for the nightly AURA sound and light show.

6. Bakery Hill Motel, for a personal touch on arrival

Motel

Cosy triple room with exposed brick wall at Bakery Hill Motel
Courtesy of Bakery Hill Motel / Expedia

You don’t need to settle for motels in Ballarat that aren’t truly in Ballarat, at least not when you slip into the Bakery Hill Motel. Right on the edge of the CBD, you’ll be within a five-minute drive from nearly anywhere in town. Grub and shopping? All within a short walk – as is Sovereign Hill. The only way Bakery Hill Motel could be any more convenient is if they had tea, coffee and biscuits waiting for you in the lobby. Spoiler alert: they do.

7. Begonia City Motor Inn, for tranquil mornings

Spa Hotel

Large stylish room with armchairs and small dining nook at Begonia City Motor Inn
Courtesy of Begonia City Motor Inn / Expedia

You’ve come to Ballarat for the history – not the hustle and bustle of the city – so pull into Begonia City Motor Inn to free your holiday of traffic, noise and frustration. The spa suite is precisely where you’ll relax in the evening hours after the sun has set on the tranquil garden. No need to venture far from your electric blanket in the cool early dawn – you can have a piping hot coffee and warm breakfast delivered right to your room. Downtown is waiting for you 10 minutes away when you’re game to go.

8. Eureka Lodge Motel, for budget-friendly rooms

Motel

Triple room with white brick walls at Eureka Lodge Motel
Courtesy of Eureka Lodge Motel / Expedia

Choosing cheap accommodation in Ballarat? Our vote is for Eureka Lodge Motel and not just because it’s next door to the Eureka Centre, Stockade Gardens and the Aquatic Centre. Apartment suites up the ante on the more traditional motel rooms – offering two bedrooms, a full kitchen and a living room. So, you’ve got the space you need, the quick six-minute drive to downtown Ballarat that you want and the flatscreen TV that your kids reportedly “can’t live without.”

9. Kryal Castle, for historic charm

Hotel

The exterior of the Gate House suite at the Kryal Castle
Courtesy of Kryal Castle / Expedia
It’s nothing less than the royal treatment at Kryal Castle. Not only will you stay within the castle walls, but you’ll have full access to the Forbidden Stone Maze, Braveheart’s Playground and the Royal Arena – after hours. Your vassal hosts won’t charge you so much as a shilling to run amok in the Adventure Park during your stay. Even the greatest knights can’t lance better cheap accommodation in Ballarat.

10. Quality Inn, the George Hotel Ballarat, for a unique fine dining experience

Chain Hotel

The charming first-floor balcony dining space with historical architectural features at the George Hotel Ballarat
Courtesy of Quality Inn, the George Hotel Ballarat / Expedia

Few of the hotels in Ballarat have the historical significance of the George. This Quality Inn accommodation in Ballarat – near Lydiard Street North – was the planning site for the siege of the Eureka Stockade. Today, you’ll find the dining room is better served for planning a trip to Sovereign Hill during afternoon tea, while the Heritage Bar is a fair place to swap photos of the visit. We assure you that the only siege these days will be of the basket of fresh chips in the restaurant.

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