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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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
