Category Archives: Australia

Australia, Australia, Hotels and Accommodation, Places to Go

Venus Bay – Peace and Tranquility

August 18, 2020 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Life as we know it has changed! The coronavirus (COVID-19) has made a huge impact on the way we can now travel. International travel has been placed on hold for the near future with no relief in sight. Alas, there is no need to panic! How about using this time as an opportunity to explore your own countries and states. We thought “Okay, Why Not? Let’s travel locally and see what Venus Bay, South Australia has to offer. It’s road trip time!

Venus Bay

Located approximately 660 kilometres from South Australia’s capital city of Adelaide, on the Eyre Peninsula, Venus Bay is a long 7 hours away. If you are doing the trip by yourself think about breaking up the drive over two days. Otherwise, if you would rather do the whole journey then make sure you stop every couple of hours to rejuvenate or take someone else to share driving duties.

Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park is also the kiosk. — Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park

Once you arrive in Venus Bay the tranquillity of the place envelops you straight away. With no hustle and bustle, Venus bay is small. With a caravan park/kiosk and general store/petrol station the only shopping businesses. The main attraction is the small hike around the bay and the town’s public jetty, popular for fishing.

Venus Bay offers a nice hike around the coastline. — The town’s popular South Head Walking Trail

What a view from the South Head Walking Trail — A view from the South Head Walking Trail. Be careful on overhang ledges as they can break off!

Where we stayed

Whilst is town we stayed at the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park in their comfortable new Starfish studio cabins with a wonderful beachfront view. These new modern cabins have the luxury of a studio apartment with a functional kitchen, queen bed and ensuite bathroom. Elegantly styled and clean, the cabin was perfect for our 4 day stay.

the newly developed Starfish Studio Cabins at the Venus Bay Caravan Park — The Starfish Studio Beachfront Cabins

Looking out from our beachfront cabin — Beachfront View

Packed with everything you need, the cabin’s also contain a small fridge freezer unit, a combo microwave/grill/convection oven, kettle, television, DVD player and reverse cycle air-conditioning/heating unit. Bore water supplies the cabin’s hot water and rainwater supplies fresh cold water. You will need to be careful when swapping from hot to cold as the different systems need to swap over. So make sure you run the cold tap so the rainwater swaps in before taking that quenching drink.

Modern design an very comfortable cabins — Inside the Starfish Studio Cabin

Ensuite in the Starfish Studio Cabin, Venus Bay — The cabin’s bathroom

Starfish Studio Cabins prices start at $89AUD per night. However, the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park has other accommodation options from powered caravan sites, to various cabin options that is sure to suit your budget. The tourist park has shower blocks, camp kitchens a kiosk, boat hire and a laundry so staying here is quite enjoyable with some tourists staying weeks or months in their RV’s and caravans. During our stay, people were happy to say hello and have a little chat about what is happening in the world or giving me some well needed fishing tips.

One of the parks camp kitchens, incase you need somewhere to cook, or prepare a meal. — One of the camp kitchens, there is also BBQ’s and seated area.

Things to do in Venus Bay

During our stay we did a little driving around the Eyre Peninsula, visiting Elliston and Streaky Bay and doing some coastal sightseeing which I can highly recommend. The views are stunning! I also did a bit of fishing off the local jetty, catching small rock cod and throwing them back. You can catch a multitude of different fish if you are lucky, but the small rock cod liked my bait and just about every cast I was pulling up another fish.

Venus Bay jetty is a great place to try and catch some fish. — Venus Bay Jetty, I just couldn’t catch a keeper.

If you have a boat licence, then I recommend hiring an aluminium boat for three hours and going into deeper water for those larger well sort after species like King George Whiting. The boat will cost $20 per hour with a minimum of three hours, but all safety equipment and fuel are supplied, plus they will launch and retrieve it for you. Bonus! Alternatively, fishing isn’t to your liking then look at some of the local hikes. Otherwise explore the countrysides various rock formations like Murphy’s Haystack or Mt Wudinna.

Decorative boat Erica at the entrance to the caravan park at Venus Bay, South Australia — This is the Erica, she’s not for rent, but the park has aluminum boats to rent for $20 per/hour

If, like me you are unsuccessful in catching your dinner then try the Kiosk or general store for some fresh cooked fish and chips or a burger. Prices are comparable to other fish and chip outlets and honestly, delicious.

The Venus Bay General Store — The Kiosk and General Store are get places to get food if you can’t catch any fish.

Overall, the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park was a nice, comfortable, and affordable place to stay. Excellent as a base to discover the Eyre Peninsula on some day trips. Don’t forget that some of the best places to travel too are in your backyard. Book your stay at the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park today and tell them, Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park

Address: 32 Matson Tce, Venus Bay
Ph: 08 8625 5073
Email: stay@venusbaybtp.com.au

Prices of accommodation per night at the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park

Booking and Accommodation Prices here

Check in: 1400hrs Check Out: 1000hrs

*Post Contains Affiliate links, please help us maintain this site by booking your accommodation via the booking.com link or Tour via the Urban Adventures Link.

Australia, Australia, Hotels and Accommodation, Restaurants

Federal Hotel – The House of Schnitzel

June 20, 2018 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

If you have been to Australia before, you will know that the country is extremely large. You can drive for miles and miles and not see another car or a township. In a country of comparable size to the United States and Brazil it only has seven states and territories. Our home state of South Australia has some incredible wildlife and natural phenomenon’s that are hard to miss.

Places to eat in Mount Gambier | Cheap restaurants in Mount Gambier | The Federal Hotel | — A native possum at Umpherston Sinkhole. There are a couple of hundred that visit the sinkhole at dusk.

Our road trip down to the South East of the state takes us to beautiful Mount Gambier. The reason for our long drive is to check out the amazing Ghost mushrooms in the pine forests, Umpherston sinkhole and the limestone caves. Whilst here we also stop into the Federal Hotel and their House of Schnitzel.

First built-in 1856 and operating as the Federal Hotel since 1914, the Federal offers meals and accommodation to visitors to Mount Gambier. Rated a 3-star hotel the Federal offers affordable rooms, to visitors staying in town. We didn’t stay here this trip, instead opting to stay at the Old Mount Gambier Gaol. So, we will leave a review of the accommodation for another time.

The Federal Hotel is your normal pub, offering standard pub fare. Apart from the normal food choices their speciality is the beef or chicken schnitzel. With an astonishing eighteen different topping options the Federal Hotel prides itself on satisfying your schnitzel needs. Try the standard parmigiana topping, the Miss Piggy or the King Avocado. Alternatively, if you are courageous enough you can try their Ultimate Food Challenge to consume 1.2 kilograms of schnitzel and potato wedges. Do you think you can beat the best time of 8 minutes and fifty-two seconds?

We were sensible and decided to order three half schnitzels, one topped with gravy, one with mushroom sauce and the last one being a Texas Meatlovers. Each meal purchase comes with access to the hotels salad bar, which is frequently refilled with various vegetable and salad options.

The three schnitzels were of a decent size but weren’t anything fantastic. They were good everyday pub schnitzels with different toppings and a side of hot chips. We did opt for the smaller portion, which in my opinion was a good choice as a larger one would need a healthy appetite.

The hotel interior is fairly standard with table and seats spaced out around the room. The dining area also has a bar and children’s playroom, fit with an indoor climbing pod and slippery dip.

The Federal Hotel is just your standard country pub, with a range of meals. If you decide you’re not keen on having a schnitzel they do have other options that you might prefer. The prices are affordable, and they do half price or two for one meals on certain days throughout the week. So, pop into the Federal Hotel when you’re in Mount Gambier and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for Federal Hotel, Mount Gambier
Address: 112 Commercial St E, Mount Gambier SA 5290
Ph: (08) 8723 1099

Website: www.thefederalhotel.com.au

Accommodation AUD$55 – AUD$145 (US$40 – US$107) or (€35 – €93)

GENERAL OPENING HOURS

Sun – Mon 9am – 10pm

Tue – Thu 9am – 11pm

Fri – Sat 9am – 12am

BISTRO

Lunch: Every Day 11:30am – 2pm

Dinner: Sun – Thu 5:30pm – 8pm

Dinner: Fri – Sat 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Main Meal Price Range: AUD$16.00 – AUD$32.00 (€10.30 – €20.60)

Check out these fantastic accommodation options in Mount Gambier.

Federal Hotel rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =6
Atmosphere =6
Service =7
Price = 9
Food =7

Overall = 7

*Post Contains Affiliate links, please help us maintain this site by booking your accommodation via our link.

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation, Places to Go, Tours & Attractions

Travelling to Wilpena Pound Resort

March 3, 2017 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

As we get closer to our international departure date, we are trying to fit as much in as we can in our remaining weeks in Australia. Therefore on this trip, we excitedly hop into the car and drive towards the Flinders Ranges. The Flinders Ranges holds a special place in our hearts as Josie’s parents owns a farm in the township of Wilmington. So with this in mind we decide to head to Wilpena Pound for a night book-ended by a couple of nights on the farm.

Snowtown's town sign — Every town has their own town sign to show who they are. This was Snowtown’s town sign.

Once again, time is on our side and we take advantage of it to get to our destination. We stop at various small towns along the way to stretch our legs, have a coffee, a toilet break or just to take a look around. We stop at the country towns of Port Wakefield, the unfortunately infamous Snowtown, Crystal Brook, Laura, Melrose and finally to Wilmington.

Flinders Ranges — Crystal Brooks feature rotunda in a well maintained park.

A catch up with family, a walk around the farm and some time with the dogs all goes past relatively quickly. Then it’s a few drinks, a BBQ, some light conversation and finally a comfortable bed. I know Josie’s got me back in a tent when we reach Wilpena Pound.

A working dogs life — Farm dogs Bob and Tim relaxing after a hard day’s work.

Early next morning we head off towards Wilpena Pound and after a night of discussing our travel plans we heed Josie’s father’s advice and head towards Parachilna Gorge, Blinman and then back around to Wilpena Pound.

The first thing you notice when heading north towards the townships of Quorn and Hawker is that there is not much traffic. We drove along the straight highway without really seeing anyone except….cyclists. It was unusual seeing a group of around 20 cyclists riding along a highway in the middle of nowhere, but cyclists seem to be everywhere. Since we were the only car for miles we stopped to take some photos of the landscape and surroundings.

Sheep Jump to nowhere — Our young MacKenzie performing a sheep jump.

Handstand on the road — Those ten years of gymnastics has paid off!

It wasn’t too long before we started ticking off the kilometres. We travelled through Quorn, Hawker, and a closed Parachilna. The whole town was shut for the summer… too hot. Then we went through Parachilna gorge where we met some of the local wildlife. Once out of the gorge we immediately came across the small yet beautifully maintained township of Blinman.

Wilpena pound — A friendly kangaroo on the side of the road in Parachilna gorge

Emus crossing the dry river bed at Parachilna Gorge

Blinman has the honour of being near the end of a few walking trails. The Heysen Trail is a massive 1200km trek which ends at Parachilna Gorge and the 900km Mawson trail ends at the Blinman Township. We stopped here to have lunch, a coffee and to stretch our legs. I meet a lovely lady in the town’s cafe who told me the population of this incredible town was only 12 people. There was 14 but the owners of the towns pub shut the doors and left. I have noticed the trend of country pubs shutting down. I recommend visiting them if you are staying overnight in a township and showing your support for country pubs.

Blinman South Australia — Blinman also offers tours of their old mines.

After lunch we travel the remaining distance to Wilpena Pound. Surprisingly we once again come across the cyclists at the turn-off, this time with their support vehicles. As a bit of history, Wilpena Pound is a naturally formed amphitheatre approximately 430km’s from Adelaide’s city centre in Adnyamathanha Country. Wilpena Pound is a part of the Ikara-Flinders National Park and visitors can stay within the Wilpena Pound Resort as a base for their National Park Adventures. With various walking tracks and the Aboriginal culture on show, the Wilpena Pound Resort is a good place to learn and be at one with nature.

Wilpena Pound resort has a variety of accommodation options available for visitors. We stayed within the caravan park this time with non-powered and powered sites starting from AUD$25 and AUD$10 for additional people. The public facilities are quite clean and the water pressure is excellent. If you prefer not to camp then the resort has comfortable rooms starting from AUD$193 per night. Also, if you are looking for a little luxury, their Glamping (or glamorous camping) safari huts are available from AUD$320 per night. And to make your stay memorable the resort offers other activities for its visitors which can be booked through the visitors centre or online. Scenic Flights, 4WD tours, bush walks, mountain biking and Aboriginal Cultural Tours are some of the activities available to visitors.

Entrance to the Wilpena Pound Resort Visitors Centre

All camping and overnight visitors have access to the resorts pool, bar and restaurant. If you forgot something, supplies can be purchased from the resort store. In addition, if your vehicle is low on fuel, don’t worry because the resort also has on-site petrol bowsers.

Wilpena Pound Resort is a perfect base for any stay in the Ikara-Flinders National Park. If you are going to be doing some of the longer hiking trails like the St Mary’s Peak hike. Make sure you are wearing proper enclosed shoes; take plenty of water and food. Log your time of departure in the book provided or at the visitor centre. You know, just in case! Safety First! So enjoy yourself, breathe in the fresh air and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information Wilpena Pound Resort

Resort Reservations: 1800 805 802
Email: reservations@wilpenapound.com.au
Resort Reception: 08 8648 0004
Campground Bookings: 08 8648 0048
Website: www.wilpenapound.com.au

Save

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

Heading out for a night at the Hilton Adelaide Hotel

January 2, 2017 OurWorldinReview 2 Comments

I know I might be biased but the city of Adelaide and the surrounding wine areas are a fantastic place to visit and live. This has been endorsed by travel reporting mega giants the Lonely Planet with Adelaide and South Australia being ranked number 5 in the best regions to visit in the world (woo hoo, home town pride). This fabulous endorsement means additional visitors to Adelaide and with many good hotels in Adelaide, where should you stay? Our team headed into town to see what the Hilton Adelaide Hotel has to offer.

When you know where you’re going and are considering booking a hotel, what are the things you look for? Do the hotels need to offer other facilities like, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants, health spas, business centres or bars? Or are you just looking for a clean room to sleep in free of those pesky bed bugs? Are you a hotel shopper, looking for the best price, or are you loyal to a particular hotel brand?

Hotel loyalty may be new to many of you, but like airlines, hotels offer their customers the option of joining their loyalty programs. If you tend to spend a lot of time in hotels, then remaining loyal and amassing your stays or nights within a certain hotel chain is the way to go. The Hilton Adelaide Hotel is such a hotel that offers its customers earned benefits when staying at any Hilton branded hotel. Their Hilton Honors program allows qualified customers chances for room upgrades, complimentary breakfasts, and access to their executive lounges to name a few.

Hilton Hotel Adelaide — Victoria Square Water Fountain

As recent Hilton Honors Gold members, we thought we’d experience the benefits for ourselves. We decided to book a King Hilton Guest Room and made our way into the city. The Hilton Adelaide Hotel overlooks Victoria Square in the heart of the city.

Adelaide Hilton Hotel — Reception Desk – Welcome to the Hilton Hotel Adelaide

Upon entry into the hotel the reception desk is located to the left and the Collins Bars is down a short corridor on the right. On check in the hotel staff were very friendly and we were immediately upgraded to a King Hilton Executive room.

King Executive Room at the Hilton Hotel Adelaide — King Executive Room

We were soon in the elevator and making our way up to our room. The King Hilton Executive Room are quite spacious with plenty of room to swing a cat (no animals were harmed during the review of this hotel). There are complimentary magazines and water available in the room and the Wi-Fi is easy to access and free. The King sized bed is very comfortable with your choice of pillows, based on your preferences.

Rooms offer the usual features like a television with local and paid channels. There is also a selection of in-house movies available. Coffee and tea is also provided and the extremely old bar fridge is fully stocked. The room also has a safe for the security conscious, an iron and ironing board, and a hair-dryer for the large bathroom.

The bathroom is large and contains a bath tub and a separate shower cubicle. Bathroom amenities and towels are refreshed with the room serviced daily.

By booking the King Hilton Executive room or having enough hotel status provides access to the executive lounge on the sixteenth floor. The comfortable lounge is a good place to relax, catch up on some reviews on your laptop or at the desktop computers provided. You can help yourself to the complimentary drinks or snacks like these beautiful macaroons.

The Hilton Adelaide Hotel offers many other facilities for their customers. Their small Swimming Pool is located on the first floor balcony. Amazingly, this balcony area is a little stark, one end of the balcony has the pool and the other half is just a large empty space. This large area could be utilised a lot better to give the hotel added value, something like a balcony bar or outdoor dining area.

The Gym is also located on the first floor which looks out across the pool. This fully equipped gym with an attached spa and sauna area is immaculate, well presented and everything you want from a gym.

If you don’t want a full gym workout then the hotel also has a tennis court and small running track.

If you are getting hungry or thirsty then head to the ground floor and get comfortable in the popular Collins Bar, or feast at Coal Cellar + Grill the Hilton’s on site restaurant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served at Coal daily. We decided for breakfast at Coal and with an enormous selection of food options, you will not go hungry eating here.

Overall the Hilton Adelaide Hotel provides good service to its customers, with comfortable well maintained rooms. Some of the furnishings and facilities like the tennis court and pool area are out-dated but the hotel is working to rectify this. The hotel has an excellent restaurant in Coal Cellar + Grill and the popular Collins Bar is always good for a relaxing nightcap.

The Hilton Adelaide Hilton experience was definitely worth it, and they have rooms available from the standard guest room to executive room and suites. So book a stay today and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional information

233 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000
Ph: +61-8-8217-2000
Website: www.3.hilton.com

Rooms available from approximately AUD$150 – AUD$400 per night

Restaurant bookings and menu for Coal Cellar + Grill

Book your stay today at the Hilton Adelaide Hotel

Join Hilton Honors Loyalty Program

Hilton Adelaide Hotel Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 9
Comfort=9
Cleanliness = 9
Price = 8
Facilities =8

Overall = 8.5

*This post contains affiliate links

Save

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

The Bluff Resort Apartments

November 9, 2016 OurWorldinReview 1 Comment

One of the hardest choices when travelling is finding the right place to stay in. With so many hotels, resorts and Airbnb apartments to stay in it all comes down to location and cost per night. On our recent trip to Victor Harbor we planned to Quad Bike at Waitpinga Farm and spend time in the main tourist area of Victor Harbor. After some research we decided the Bluff Resort Apartments would fit the bill nicely, so I quickly organised a room.

The Bluff Resort Apartments is situated on the side of Rosetta Head. Rosetta Head overlooks the entrance to Encounter Bay and has spectacular views of the ocean. The Bluff Resort boasts a history going back to 1836, with it currently located on the old whaler’s station site. The resort contains 42 apartments on various levels. The first level has balcony views of the bay and township. Whilst the rear offset level studio apartments have limited views. Each apartment has one car park per room. Seaside apartments having access to undercover parks whilst other rooms only have open parking.

The reception is located between the two main buildings next to the resorts sparkling clear blue pool. Due to our expected late arrival we were offered an after-hours key drop service. Although not needed it was nice to know that we didn’t need to rush to ensure we could check in.

Queen bed in a offset rear room at Bluff Resort Apartment — Queen bed in a suite

After the friendly check in, we were allocated one of the rear suites. These rooms are fairly large and capable of accommodating a family of four. The suite contains a queen bed for the parents and a fold out lounge for the kids.

Bluff Resort Apartments — Fold out lounge for the kids to accommodate four people

The rooms have a self-contained shower cubicle and a separate toilet. Both rooms are tiled from floor to ceiling and would get pretty cold on a frosty morning. Luckily the room does have a working heater/air conditioner so you can set the room to your own comfort level. Other room accessories include, an iron, cups, crockery and that all important hair dryer.

Each room comes with an in-room coffee supply and a fridge containing milk. Not your measly little pod milks that you get in major hotels, but a 250ml fresh bottle. Hallelujah! The rooms also have local television with 8 other satellite channels featuring sport, films, news and children’s programs. Rooms also come with free Wi-Fi in case you need to log onto that device.

Bluff Resort Apartments Coffee and Tea Selection — Coffee and Tea Selection

Bluff Resort Apartment Features and Information

The facilities solar heated swimming pool is located out the front of the hotel overlooking the bay. Opening hours are 8am – 9pm during the summer. 8am – 8pm during spring and autumn and if you’re daring enough you can swim in the winter from 8am – 5pm.

Bluff Resort swimming pool — Crystal clear swimming pool. Still too cold to go for a swim. Maybe next time.

BBQ facilities are also located next to the swimming pool and are available during pool opening times. The only condition is that you leave the area tidy after use.

BBQ Area Bluff Resort Apartments — It’s time for a BBQ

The resort is located right next to Eat @ Whalers and although adjoining the resort it is a separate business offering breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Reception is manned daily from 8am -5pm Sunday to Thursday and 8am – 6pm Friday and Saturday. Snacks and some personal products are available to purchase if you can’t make it to a local shop. The resort also has a guest laundry located next to the pool that is open 24 hours. Laundry powder is available to purchase from the reception.

Check in: 2pm Check Out: 10am

Price Range: AUD$155 Suite – AUD$385 3 Bedroom Apartment

Verdict

The Bluff Resort Apartments are a comfortable clean resort that has a lot going for it. Currently their views of the bay are outstanding, but with a new development occurring in front of the resort views may possibly diminish. We did enjoy our stay here and was chuffed by having enough real milk in the room to both enjoy a in house coffee. You know, the little things! We would happily stay at the Bluff Resort Apartments again and believe you would too. So book a night or two and remember to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 8
Comfort=8
Cleanliness = 8
Price = 8
Facilities =8

Overall = 8

*This post contains affiliate links

Save

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

Living like a Rock Star at the Largs Pier Hotel, Adelaide

August 27, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

During the 70’s and 80’s Adelaide had a thriving live music scene. Rock bands would flock to Adelaide to prove themselves. Getting a gig at the Largs Pier Hotel was coveted and playing here was a stepping stone to making it in the industry. The Largs Pier Hotel embraced the Australian music culture and gave some of Australia’s best known bands a helping hand. AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Little River Band and the Angels to name a few all played the Largs Pier to a generation of music mad Australians.

Today the live music scene has dwindled in Adelaide, but the Largs Pier still remains as a historic monument of that era. This magnificent hotel is located at 198 Esplanade, Largs Bay, South Australia, on the stunning foreshore overlooking the Spencer Gulf. Well positioned on the corner of Jetty Road, the Largs Pier Hotel offers travellers a variety of accommodation options. You can stay in their modern hotel or apartments from AUD$140 per night, or alternatively choose their luxury heritage rooms ranging from AUD$164 – $360 to feel like a rock star.

Room 1 Largs Pier Hotel — Room 1 – Luxury Heritage Spa Room

We recently had the opportunity to stay in their enormous luxury heritage spa room. Also known within the hotel as Room One, this hotel room offers three huge rooms and a personal balcony overlooking the ocean. Upon entry into the room you are struck by the enormity of the living areas. The first room is a massive dining room with a 10 seater dining table for your entourage to gather around.

Room 1 Dining room — You can just imagine AC/DC sitting around a table like this sipping cups of tea

From here, there are two other rooms leading off, the first door is the entrance to the bathroom. This bathroom is the biggest bathroom I have ever seen. With stunning floor to ceiling tiles a shower, toilet and a large two person spa bath. You could easily hold a party in this room. That’s not encouragement by the way, I’m just saying, you “could”! The bathroom is in pristine condition and very clean. If you are staying in the winter time make sure you turn on the heat lamps to warm it up.

The other door leads into the sizable bedroom with a four-posted king size bed, a big screen television, a three-quarter size standing mirror, a day bed to lounge on, and double doors leading out to the balcony. The room is extravagant for the casual traveller. It is equipped with nearly everything you need in a room. Tea and coffee facilities, a bar fridge, guest robes, a selection of books and an ironing board are located throughout the rooms. The only changes I would suggest is perhaps the addition of a room safe. We didn’t feel the need to use one, but other visitors may like the added security.

Luxury Heritage Spa Room — Extravagant bedroom

Once you go out on the balcony, you instantly realise that this is probably the best view of the surrounding area. The balcony extends around the frontage of the hotel and your area is separated from the rest by a sofa. There is a little table there where we sat and drank some wine as the sun set over a magnificent beach. This view alone is worth every cent of this luxury heritage room experience.

The hotel consists of the Largs Bar, where the locals and tourists mingle for a few drinks some quiet conversation and some live entertainment. The Pier Restaurant offers a comfortable dining experience with a good selection of dining choices with a contemporary flair. If you like to have a flutter there is a gaming room with various poker machines which also provides free coffee and tea (Please Gamble Responsibly).

Largs Pier Gaming Room – Please Gamble Responsibly

We decided to eat at the Pier Restaurant, booking a table from our room as the restaurant can be popular. The restaurant area is spacious and well heated with small wooden table and wooden chairs, and you have a choice of either eating indoors or outside in their alfresco area. The menu on offer is impressive, they have a selection of common pub fare if that is your desire or a contemporary menu for those diners who want something more. We opted for the Seafood Plate and the Grilled Whiting for our mains and the Crème brûlée and Illusion of Watermelon for dessert.

The meals arrived fairly quickly and the first thing you notice is they don’t skimp on quantity. The Seafood Plate was covered with salt and pepper squid, a fillet of fish, two large prawns and two kilpatrick oysters on a bed of large cut fries. I must admit, I loved it, but it beat me, I couldn’t fit it all in, knowing that a had a Crème Brûlée coming to top it off.

The Grilled Whiting was served with potato bake, broccolini, roasted tomatoes and hollandaise sauce. Josie had no trouble with this one. The whiting was perfectly cooked and the vegetables rounded off an excellent dish.

After our main dishes were cleared, we waited a little while before our desserts arrived. With so many customers and counter ordering, it is a good idea to prompt the serving staff when you are ready for your dessert. The Crème Brûlée and Illusion of Watermelon arrived and they both looked a treat. The Crème Brûlée was good, it had a nice flavour, the custard was a little grainy in texture and the caramel top layer was more flaky than a hard crunchy layer. It was a little different from the usual Crème Brûlée but quite edible.

The aptly named dessert the Illusion of Watermelon is quite incredible. This sorbet creation is formed into a watermelon slice including sweet little chocolate seeds. It is a beautiful constructed dessert of three flavour layers, that create the outer green skin to the bright red watermelon flesh. The sorbet was ice-cold and excellent. A quick acknowledgement must go to the chef here for creativity.

sorbet watermelon — Illusion of Watermelon

When we turned in for the night the room was warm, with dual split system heating to warm up the room. The king size bed is comfortable and holds you firmly in an embrace. Although right above the main bar and restaurant in a popular drinking establishment, we couldn’t hear any noise, so the night was very relaxing.

In the morning before checking out we opted to try out the Largs Bar for their breakfast from 0630am. We selected the Largs Breakfast and the Avocado and poached eggs. The Largs breakfast is eggs cooked to your liking on toast with lashes of bacon, tomato and mushroom. Whilst the Avocado and poached eggs was on toasted ciabatta topped with rocket and balsamic dressing. Both breakfast dishes were exactly what you need before a long day at work or sightseeing.

Verdict

The Largs Pier Hotel is surrounded by history and is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike. The building façade is picturesque with its arched balcony lookouts. The luxury heritage rooms are spacious, comfortable and well equipped with spectacular views. I recommend sitting on the balcony, drinking a nice glass of wine while watching the sunset over the ocean. If you are visiting Adelaide or are a local looking for a city getaway then do yourself a favour and stay at the Largs Pier Hotel.

The best way to get to the Largs Pier Hotel from the Adelaide airport is a 25 minute taxi ride. Alternatively, if you are in the city and wish to visit the hotel then hop onto the Outer Harbor train. Travel to the Largs Bay train station and then it’s a quick walk up Jetty road towards the beach.

If you would like to stay at the Largs Pier Hotel you can book your stay here. Don’t forget to mention Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 7
Comfort=9
Cleanliness = 9
Price = 7
Facilities =9

Overall = 8

*This post contains affiliate links

Save

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

Doubletree by Hilton, Flinders Street, Melbourne

August 10, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Melbourne is one of those cities where staying for one day or overnight doesn’t do it any justice. There is so much to do in Melbourne and the surrounding areas. Why not stay for a week or two and enjoy all it has to offer? The City of Melbourne has many accommodation options for travellers, depending on the amount they wish to spend. The Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street, is one of those reliable mid-market hotels that offers quality service to their visitors.

When we travelled to Melbourne recently, we opted to stay at the Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street, due to its handy location. We have been to Melbourne many times so we decided to walk from the Skybus stop at the Southern Cross Station to the hotel. The walk takes about 10-15 minutes and is perfect on a nice sunny day. The entrance is a little bit setback into the wall so if you aren’t concentrating, you can walk straight by. So be careful, unless you enjoy walking and backtracking.

Upon entry into the hotel foyer, you are greeted by a large reception desk on the left hand side. From the initial appearance you can see this hotel has incorporated so much into its limited floor plan. This open area alone holds the main reception, the bar and the dining area. In fact the reception desk and the bar is one continuous desk. This means there is always someone available to help you with your booking or serve your drinks.

If you decide to have breakfast included in you accommodation stay then the Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar is where you will find a nice spread of breakfast options, in a comfortable dining area.

Breakfast Buffet at the Platform 270 restaurant and bar — Breakfast Buffet at the Platform 270 Restaurant & Bar

The hotel receptionist was very friendly and once the check in process was done they gave us the signature warm and delicious chocolate chip cookie Doubletree are known for. They also mentioned that you could keep coming back for more of them, but we didn’t take them up on the tempting offer. Check in is usually set for 3:00pm but if your room is available they will allow early access. Subsequently if it is not ready they will store your baggage whilst you explore this amazing city.

A hotel can win you or lose you based on the first impression of the room. In this instance the Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street does not let you down. Upon entry you can tell the house cleaning staff take pride and care in the rooms they present. Our room wasn’t large, but it was clean. No musty smell, no mould in the bathroom, and no evidence left from the previous tenants.

Hotel Bed, with clean sheets — Queen Room, good to see a clean fresh smelling room

The bathroom was in pristine condition and well stocked with hotel accessories. The water pressure in the shower and hand basin was fantastic, the toilet was clean and there is enough bench space to hold our toiletries and hair dryer. As standard the room had a fridge, coffee-making facilities, an in-room safe and guest robes. The television was large with a good selection of in-house films or cable television channels. Wifi is free as a Hilton Honors member, so it’s a good idea to sign up before visiting.

Clean hotel bathroom perfect — No water streaks in that mirror, shiny bath tiles. Nice clean bathroom

For the fitness fanatics, the gym is located on the first floor, along with the function and conference rooms. The gym room itself isn’t large, but they have two treadmills, an exercise bike and an elliptical machine. There is also a good range of free weights and a weight machine offering different exercise options.

hotel gym, treadmills, weights — The 1st floor gym, if you can’t work up a sweat in here, you’re not doing it right!

We didn’t eat in the hotel, but it is worth noting they offer room service in case you decide to eat in, or you can try Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar. From what I hear the food is pretty good, and we saw that the dining area is nicely set out.

kitchen area platform 270 restaurant and bar — Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar Kitchen

The Verdict

The Doubletree by Hilton is located at 270 Flinders Street, Melbourne across the road from the Flinders Street Station. The average room price per night ranges between AUD$200-AUD$400 depending on the type of room you want and the dates you require. Bookings can be made through here.

We found the hotel comfortable, accessible and helpful. The CareLine service will assist you with most of your additional needs. We required a corkscrew and it was brought to our room within minutes.

The best way to get to the Doubletree by Hilton from the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport is by the Skybus service. A round trip ride is currently AUD$38 for an adult or family of four (2 adult and 2 children). The Skybus will take you to the Southern Cross station. There you can either use their free hotel shuttle service for CBD hotels, walk, take a taxi or catch a tram using a MYKI card which you can purchase from the train station.

Our team would happily recommend the 4 star Doubletree by Hilton hotel on Flinders Street. If you’re going to Melbourne check out their rates and if you book, tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 8
Comfort=8
Cleanliness = 9
Price = 7
Facilities =8

Overall = 8

*This post contains affiliate links

Save

Where we stayed

Things to do in Venus Bay

Additional Information for the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park

Prices of accommodation per night at the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park

GENERAL OPENING HOURS

Federal Hotel rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Additional Information Wilpena Pound Resort

Additional information

Hilton Adelaide Hotel Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Bluff Resort Apartment Features and Information

Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

The Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Our world is an amazing place, so go out there and enjoy it!