HOTELS

Have I told you about my travel agent? His name is Charles Brossman from Turtle Creek Travel and he's awesome. He's reading this right now so feel free to say hi to him. Go ahead, he's friendly and has had all his shots. First off, let me just explain something to you.

When Lupe and I first started the conceptual work on putting this around-the-world trip together I spent two weeks just looking into the logistics of getting to and around and into a hotel in Sydney. Two weeks. I sat in front of a computer screen and basically freaked out for a few hours every day until, in a fit of frustration, I posted a snip-it of my personal hell on facebook detailing my truly overwhelming situation. Luckily I have friends. A woman named Christine mentioned a friend of hers who happened to be a travel agent who was awesome. I hemmed and hawed about contacting him because I'm shy but eventually I gave in and sent him an email. A phone call later and I was sold. He talked to us not like a auction barker trying to make a buck but as a guy who happened to be doing what he truly loved doing. He asked us where we wanted to go, asked us how much we wanted to spend, and went to work. He's been working for us ever since and is, in fact, working for us right now as I write this, still tying loose ends from thousands of miles away.

Anyway.... enough blowing smoke up his ass. He's really great and if you ever want to vacation in style? Call him. Turtle Creek Travel. Write it down. I'll wait while you get a pen.

Well, Charles has asked me to say a few things about the hotels we've been booked into for this trip. Y'know... how they look? Are they worth it? Too expensive/cheap? Crap hole or Palace? So, because he kicks ass so hard for me on a regular basis, I will do him this solid. I'll use this particular blog entry to talk about where we've been and, when we get somewhere new, I will do my very bestest to try and reign in my inner spastic 12 year old who geeks out inarticulately at every cool thing I see to make a comment or two on what the hotel is like.

So, without any further adieu:

The Westin Sydney:
There is a reason why this is a 5 star hotel. Located in the very heart of the CBD, the Westin is as swanky as they get. Unbelievable architecture inside and out. A clocktower rings the hour as light filters through the open mezzanine onto golden glass kiosks where perfectly manicured receptionists have an answer and solution for everything. The concierge is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. When we said we wanted to do some sight seeing, they not only knew what we wanted, they also made the bookings right then and there. The room itself, nestled on the 13th floor (the Aussies don't share our superstitions), was spacious, modern, clean, automated, fully stocked mini bar, with soft robes in the closet (which lights up as you open it). Huge TV with DVD player. Nice office desk with a personal side table, glass desktop, well-lit, with mechanical shades in the bathroom that could shade the bathroom from the rest of the room if ya like. The view wasn't the greatest from our room but I was not disappointed about this: the shades and the full wall windows made up for it. The bed was soft. The glass enclosed bathroom came complete with private room for the toilet and one for the shower, framed in frosted glass and beautifully spacious. The jacuzzi bath wasn't anything to scoff at either. Internet was a little ridiculous at a set $30.00 a day considering you could go down the street to the internet cafe for about $3 an hour. No self-laundry service but they do have dry cleaning for about $7 an item. The menu for room service was well-varied and the bar downstairs was really nice. I didn't get to try the sushi bar in the lower floor but I did get a massage at the in-house spa. Yes, in-house spa. The lower mezzanine, outside, is filled with stores, fashion shopping, even a post office. This is a small city in one building. For the price (about $185 AUD a night), it was, by far, the nicest place I have EVER stayed at. Oh my God, ya GOTTA go there. So good.

The Hilton, Brisbane:
Lupe and I didn't leave this apartment for three day because we were wiped after Sydney. Luckily, the Hilton lives up to its reputation. Glass elevators led us to out room on the 18th floor, the inside balcony overlooking the open center of the hotel that overlooks the cafe/restaurant. Food was very good but avoid the barramundi fish n chips unless you like your fish extra fishy smelling/tasting. I sent mine back. The room was smaller and the bathroom was meh but the view overlooking the CBD and the clock tower was fantastic. Great in-house movie deals allows for lots of TV viewing and the TV was a neat LG flat screen. No DVD player though. The Hilton, like the Westin, was located right in the center of downtown and near all sorts of shops and food. Price was about $130.00 AUD a night and worth it for what we wanted. The Hilton itself was a little old and run down but I liked it. In a few years, it might not be so great for that price but they are doing some renovation on the back side that I wasn't even aware of until the day we were leaving. Room was a little outdated but good enough to stay inside and watch tennis for three days straight.

The Coral Reef View Hotel at the Hamilton Resort.
Paradise for the low low cost of $12oo AUD for three nights. Cost also includes a full day cruise to the Great Barrier reef where you get to snorkel over the world's largest living organism. Worth. Every. Penny. Room was HUGE! TV was large but had an image burned into it of the hotel's logo. Kinda silly. The bathroom was a bit dirty but what do you expect when you live next door to the jungle? The view overlooked the entire bay with nothing in the way. Food was so-so in the adjacent restaurant but you can rent a golf cart and go cruise the whole 2 minutes down to the marina for awesome pizza, Italian food, the yacht club, ice cream, etc. The staff was friendly. Internet is about $0.55 AUD a minute so pace yourself. Hotel comes with a business center to print things and surf the internet, a guest laundry for about $10 change for soap, wash, and dryer. The glass elevators are free floating and a thrill to ride up and down for no good reason. There are a lot of people on holiday at any given time but I never once felt claustrophobic. God, this room was giant. It was bigger than my old apartment. I am totally not kidding. Wild macaws buzz the outside balcony but don't feed them: they're like pigeons. Mini golf course, tennis courts, three pools within walking distance (one of which you can eat buffet style right next to the pool side), a day care, a partridge in a pear tree. This place is where people go to holiday like a pro. Go, for god's sake, go.

And last but not least so far....

The Quest Beaumont Kew, Melbourne
These are actually studio apartments for daily rent. The location is in one of the suburbs of Melbourne so buy a tram pass and get to town that way. The suburb we are in is a little bit like Hawthorne blvd in Portland: a little suburb-y, a little dirty, a little bohemian for the casual traveler. If you are looking to vacation, suck up the costly stay somewhere in the city. But, be warned: Melbourne is a city where you want to get some on you. So do yourself a favor and get a little dirty. There are hidden gems all over Church Street and the city center is literally a fifteen minute ride via tram (think an older, wobblier version of the MAX). Cost is $155 AUD a night but, in comparison to the city, that's a deal. Also keep in mind we're in town during the Australian Open AND Australia Day so prices are inflated everywhere right now. The room is considerably smaller, a single desk against the wall, a small table in the room, and an okay bed (kinda hard, to be honest). The tv is tiny but the room does have a microwave, a hotplate, a sink, and a nice couch. It's a studio apartment so keep your expectations where they belong: right below the middle. The bathroom is meh. The view is nonexistent. But we are at the end of the hall so there is no one to bother us which is nice. And reception has been great since we got here so kudos to service. All-in-all, I think it's a fine room but it really depends on your disposition. Whatever. I like it. But, then again, I'm easy to please. I've stayed in muuuuuch worse places that this. This room reminds me of a studio a buddy of mine rented for a few months when he was single: a nice place to rest your head with some creature comfort appliances. It is around the corner from the tram, so transit access is great. It's also across the street from a Safeway and a Supermarket so you can easily buy homemade food makings and stay here on the DL if you like, making sight seeing trips into the city at your leisure with a nice home base to come back to at the end of the day. Be sure to check out the surrounding residential area: great food all over.

Every place we've stayed has had wonderful air conditioning and food nearby. Price per place has been absolutely spot on for the places we've been. I've posted some pics in previous blogs so feel free to go back and take a peek where you can find them. So far, no massive or minor flaws for any place we've stayed. In places like the Westin, Lupe and I both felt like they should've been asking us to leave at any time. Not because they were rude or anything but more because we're kinda low-rent people and that place was so damn classy. But hey, they didn't! If fact, they we're really friendly to us so yay!

All of these places have been great. When I get to new cities, I'll be sure to make mention of the place I'm in as well as what I'm doing.

That was a whole lotta typing I just did, so I'm off to bed. Whew. I hope that was helpful to any of you folk out there looking for places to stay when in Australia's three great eastern cities. Got questions about this or any other blog I write, feel free to add your comments at the bottom of any of the blog pages I've made or will make in the future. Tell your friends. Follow along. I got a lot more to see and do in the next three months.

Gotta run. Talk more later.

-d@n