"I loved my stay at the Arthur Phillip Motor Inn! It's clean and only about a 15 minute walk to Cowes. The bus stop is a 3 minute walk away. I had no car but I had no issues going to where I wanted to go as long as I worked around the bus schedules. I was able to see the Penguin Parade, the Seal cruise, Smiths Beach, and the Koala Conservation Reserve. The owner was the nicest guy! He gave me some sunflower seeds and these colorful birds (rainbow lorikeets) came and ate them straight out of my hand!
The birds can tweet rather loudly, so bring a white noise machine or noise cancelling headphones if that bothers you, but for the price, you'll be hard pressed to find a better place than this. "