HotelsCombined have awarded the motel, situated in an old Wallerawang school, a Recognition of Excellence award which places it in the top 3 per cent of hotels worldwide.  

“Specifically to date, we found and processed 340 opinions that your guests have posted on a variety of different websites, forums, and social media, resulting in an incredible score of 9.2 out of a possible 10,” reads the award. 

According to HotelsCombined’s scoring system, which takes in posts on sites like TripAdvisor and Facebook, Black Gold Motel is an international player. 

“You are now representing the top 3% of hotels worldwide for customer satisfaction,” the award reads. 

“We were so surprised,” Co-owner Linda Cluff said. 

“To be considered in the top three per cent is another feather in our cap.”

The motel is rated the no.1 accommodation in the Blue Mountains on TripAdvisor despite a plethora of competition and the nearby luxury hotel, Emirates One&Only. 

“I think it’s more to do with our hospitality and friendliness,” Ms Cluff said. 

“We just treat people the way we would expect to be treated.”

The motel has been operating for 23 years, after the Cluff couple decided to quite their day jobs in mining and administration and purchase the old school. 

“It has just grown,” Ms Cluff said.

Currently, 30 staff from across the Lithgow region are employed at Black Gold. The motel is undergoing renovations to expand the Crib Room restaurant and create a foyer.

“There’s lots of things happening over the next three or four months,” Robert Cluff said.

“We just work to work the standards we expect. We want to be unique which is why we have the coal mining theme, it’s our little thing.”

In the year 2016 the motel welcomed 21,000 guests. 

“We’ll treat you the same whether you’re a holidaymaker, a business person or a bloke digging holes,” Mr Cluff said.