Nice place, helpful desk, decent location (need a car). Pleasant experience!

The Princes Lodge Motel (more like a B&B than a motel) is, I concede, budget accommodation. However, I paid the bargain basement price of $AU63.00 per night for a basic room with simple continental breakfast! Sure the rooms are old, pokey and rather Spartan. But, the PL was clean, the staff pleasant and the location superb. The Princes Lodge is located in the heritage area of North Adelaide. The main building would have been a stylish house in its’ day. The ‘Coach House’ is also converted to several guestrooms. The Princes Lodge is only a 5-10 minute walk to the restaurant and pub strip in O’Connell Street. You would need to arrive by taxi or private vehicle as the PL is located a couple of blocks from public transport. In summary, the PL is far from 5 stars – but it is no Backpackers either. If you want to stay in a really nice area of Adelaide at a cheap price and are not expecting too much, the PL is worth a try.

Princes Lodge is an old converted house on the far north end of Adelaide. If you don't have a car (which we did not), I'd stay closer in to town because it's a longish walk especially with luggage and buses aren't running all that frequently. The place is shabby, rundown, it could do with some new or reupholstered furniture. It's like the owners just don't care that the stuffing is coming out. It's just tacky and gives an overall unkempt, unclean feeling. Also, the owners/front desk people are persnickety to deal with--we made one local call, and tried to make another but it did not go through, but they charged us for both. It's a little thing--but it didn't set well. The people tending the front desk are a string of characters--friends or relatives of the owners?--and they are not really helpful or dilligent in their duties. Not a great value for the price. Next time, I'll definitely stay someplace else.

Location, location, location! I urge anyone visiting Adelaide to stay in the charming North Adelaide area. There is a free shuttle bus that goes downtown on the half hour and a long street of restaurants, banks, etc. for evening dining. This is not the only place to stay in the area, in fact, it's a bit downmarket, but I can't recommend the area enough.
As for Princes Lodge, the room had a tiny kitchen and eating area and a small bathroom (which wasn't remarkably clean). No cable TV--for that matter, only the large downtown hotels I stayed in had cable and that was very limited--not at all what we have come to expect in the US. The price was right, breakfast was decent, and the staff was most helpful. Also, most tours would pick me up at the door.