After the costly disappointment of the Outback Pioneer in Uluru, perhaps any halfway decent hotel would make me sit up and beg!
However, most of the Doubletree in Alice Springs was top notch and ready to rock. Let’s start with the sheer scale of the lobby! It was cathedral-like in scale.
While I still (just about) have Hilton Honors status (HHonors), I managed to get on to the Hhonors floor. Usually there’s not a huge difference, but in this hotel, it meant the room had been ‘refreshed’ (= painted and possibly some updated furniture) and you get free wifi.
The common areas are plain but clean.
I was all the way along this corridor in a building reminiscent of 1970s Budapest but in a good way.
Here we go…
Nice big bathroom up first – looks perfect.
Like I need any further encouragement with a camera.
Good little amenities area – good range of teas and decaf coffees.
The fridge, with a little room left should one wander down to the supermarket.
Honors members get two bottles of water free, which is generous.
I like a large desk area and I was well-catered for here.
As the room was so big, there was plenty of space for a little sofa – a bit different from sprawling on the bed to watch telly like I usually do 🙂
There was a little balcony overlooking the pool but it’s so hot there’s no way you would go outside.
Generally the pool looked fine, a little Outback Fly haven, but there were very often people out swimming and sunbathing. One lady was like that older lady in There’s Something About Mary – remember the one who used a tinfoil sheet under her chin to make sure she got maximum sun?
Genuinely, I don’t know how people sit out when it’s over 40 degrees Celsius, nor why tans for white people remain a goal in a country with a huge (and disproportionate due to a weak ozone layer) predisposition to skin cancers. I freak out if I’m outside without Factor 50 for 5 minutes, but am I buying the scare tactics and everyone else is sunning around like a hazernut?
Anyhoo, final shot is of the building I was staying in – like so much of Australian hotels, the rooms are often in a separate building to the lobby area. I’m used to this by now and will be wondering where to go when I’m back in a Dublin hotel next week and don’t have to go outside to find my quarters!
