(new post due to picture limit)
The following morning I popped down to the cafe for breakfast. The included breakfast is your choice of a main, side and drink from the same menu available to the public. I went for the halloumi, egg, peas and beetroot main with a side of smoked salmon. This was one of the best hotel breakfasts I've had - free or paid - the eggs were perfectly cooked, the slab of halloumi very generous and tasty, and the salmon, peas and beetroot puree all very fresh. The coffee was great too.
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Someone walking in off the street would have paid $31.50 for this, and as such the cafe does seem to hold itself to a higher standard than breakfast buffets/lounges at other properties. There were some non-guests arriving as I left - the complex is shared with some commercial offices and residential units so the cafe does get a bit of foot traffic.
Earlier today I decided to hit the gym and take a quick look at the pool. There are apparently two gyms which guests can access. The hotel gym is pictured below - it had three treadmills, two bikes, a rowing machine, some benches, free weights, and a pulldown machine. The equipment was practically brand new, and the gym itself was well airconditioned. There was a also fridge full of complimentary water bottles. (Voss, again)
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I popped by the pool to check it out and may actually use it later in my stay. The second gym is accessible to both guests and other tenants in the complex and apparently somewhere near the pool .. but I couldn't find it!
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The property is in a great part of town with some excellent bars, restaurants, takeaway joints and even a brewery just across the road. It's a lively part of Canberra at night and on weekends which I found very lacking at the Sebel.
So, onto what I've found to be negatives so far:
- The TV entertainment system in the room has multiple issues. The system takes 3-4 seconds to change channels, and all FTA channels (there are no pay TV channels) cut out for 10-15 seconds every 3-5 minutes. Frustrating to the point that I just turned it off. The TV is also supposed to support casting from devices by joining the hotel wifi and browsing to
getstreaming.tv to enter a unique code. Both Chrome on my laptop and my Pixel 3 appear to connect successfully, but they don't give the option to cast on Youtube or Netflix. To top it off, there is a HDMI port but it's recessed about 15cm from the bezel, and the TV is mounted with virtually no gap behind it to connect a cable. So in short, the TV is practically useless - in this room anyway.
- No cutlery or plates/bowls in the room yet there are 10 (!) different glasses/cups. Reception happily grabbed whatever I wanted from the cafe, but even a single bowl, fork and knife would be very handy.
- Parking at the property is a whopping $30 per night - significantly higher than many other properties around Braddon. Luckily there is ample street parking nearby which is $3 per hour 8:30am-5:30pm weekdays and untimed outside that.
- The fridge is a little noisy and just 2m from the bed. It is possible to turn it off though.
Those are my only complaints. For a $160 per night property (cheaper midweek) I am staying here again without question. The minibar, breakfast and facilities make this amazing value, and the service is faultless too. It does seem more oriented towards leisure trips and romantic weekends, but if the lack of kitchen facilities isn't an issue for you it's perfectly fine for business stays too.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask - I'm here for another couple of nights!
www.canberratimes.com.au
