Grand Papua - Port Moresby

[Deleted member 29185]

I just noticed that no one has yet done a hotel review on Port Moresby's Grand Pap hotel, so here it is:



The hotel itself has never been a favourite of mine ... I guess it's just not to my taste. It is a Coral Seas Hotel so points can be earned with either PX or QF and they do have a sort of loyalty scheme. Moreover for anyone travelling PNG, Coral Seas not only have the POM hotels (Grand Pap, Ela Beach and Gateway) but have a small but reasonable selection of quality hotels in some regional areas (Lae, Hagen, Goroka and Kiunga).

The Grand Pap is a hotel of seemingly disjointed concepts. Parts (most) reminiscent of the traditional English gentlemen's clubs. Why they chose that "colonial master" decor is beyond me, but then they have "Islander" style patios and even what I think might be a tad "Provincial French" cafe. The "pièce de résistance" of tacky waste of space is the gaming room. Many prison cells have greater appeal.

The foyer is accessed by a narrow laneway, and is small, tasteful, but uninviting IMHO.



Off the foyer, resides the bar and the restaurant. Dark tones of the bar seem to be in stark contrast of the outside patio, which has nice views of Ela Beach.





The executive club on the 15th floor has lovely views of the harbour with a comfortable balcony. The club is a large space however due to another function I attended last night, I was not able to gauge the happy hour service. Like Crown Hotel, The Grand Pap only has a 5.30-6.30 happy hour whereas in contrast, the new Hilton has a 5.30-8.00 canape and drinks offering.





The room I had was an executive room and was your standard run of the mill hotel room, not what I deem an executive room. Limited toiletries, a couple of Nescafe sachets (no Nespresso machine here), but a comfortable bed and stunning Coral Sea vistas across the newly revamped Ela Beach.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

On the foyer level is a miniature pool and downstairs is "The Grand Spa", a number of conference rooms, the bloody horrific gaming room and a cafe.



Along with the executive club on the 15th floor is a basic gym, but with fabulous views.





The breakfast in the exec club was, well boring. Limited selections although they did have a hot selection (sausages, bacon, baked beans, grilled tomato) and would cook eggs to your liking.





For those needing them, computers and a printer was available in the exec club.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Disappointingly, check out time is still residing in the past, with 10am being it!
I was able to secure a midday check out, but by 10:30, I had two separate knocks at the door asking when I'd be out and the card stopped working right on 10.

One thing I did like, was a wide selection of old PNG photo's. I found myself loitering in the corridors, marveling at the history. Speaking of corridors, they themselves are dark and uninviting.



Overall, I guess this review is a little unfair. The hotel is clean and does what we need. It's just not my taste and there are now plenty of other options in POM. Some may like the decor, but I find myself wanting to just get out of here.

Ah, I think I see an alternative ...



POM is definitely changing. A smallish super yacht moored just off the coast of the traditional stilt fishing village of Hanuabada. Not a sight you often see!