Tag: travel

Travel Review – Crown Metropole Melbourne

Crown Metropole Melbourne is a convenient and comfortable business hotel, particularly if you’re attending conferences at the Exhibition and Conference Centre across the road.

Sitting on Melbourne’s Southbank and tucked in behind the Casino, Crown Metropole is a convenient and comfortable business hotel, particularly if you’re attending conferences at the city’s Exhibition and Conference Centre.

In Sydney, the city’s casino is tucked on an old power station site in an inconvenient location so the locals can – and mainly do – ignore it. Melbourne’s Crown Casino on the other hand, has one of the best locations in the city.

While I’m personally uneasy about the role Crown seems to play in Melbourne’s social and political circles, that location makes the casino’s hotels a very convenient place to stay.

Networking vendor Cisco kindly flew me to Melbourne and put me up in the Crown Metropole hotel, part of the casino complex, for three nights to attend their Cisco Live! conference at the convention centre.

Attending a conference

While Crown Metropole isn’t attached to the conference centre like the Hilton South Wharf, in many ways it’s more convenient being just over the road from the other end of the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre. If your exhibition is in the Eastern end of the building it’s a far shorter walk between the room and the event.

That convenience also translates to seeing the rest of Melbourne with major tram routes nearby and a short walk to Southern Cross Station. For Cheap Charlies, there’s a supermarket and liquor store across the road if you don’t want to partake of the expensive mini bar.

In room facilities

the tea making facilities in melbourne's crown towers
Nice choice of teas in the room

Along with the usual expensive mini-bar, there’s a good range of in room facilities including a nice range of Madame Flavour teas.

In the bathroom there’s also a pleasant range of amenities and very comfortable bathrobes. The bathroom itself has a full size bath to use some of the lotions in.

Work desk in Crown Towers hotel room
crown towers hotel room work desk

For the connected traveller though the most important thing are power points and there were plenty available including two easily accessible on the room’s desk. If you need more they are scattered around the room including under the bedside tables.

There’s also HDMI and component video connections to the TV if you want to stream feeds or practice presentations from your laptop. The TV has the standard hotel range of Australian Foxtel channels but lacks some of the international stations.

Wi-Fi is available at an extra charge but I didn’t use it and instead relied on a Telstra 4G hotspot. Some guests did report that they found the hotel’s network could get congested.

Hotel facilities

Outside the room, the hotel has the standard facilities of a five star hotel. The rooftop fitness centre is very nice though while it’s possible to do 25m laps in the pool, it will get crowded during the day. It also appears the gym is open to the public so there will be busy times there as well.

For eating, the first floor has the Mr Hive Restaurant which Cisco were kind enough to host dinner one night. It’s a nice place with good food at standard restaurant prices. Crown has dozens of eating establishments in the complex along with a somewhat expensive food court .

There’s no reason to eat in the Crown complex when its an easy walk into the city for cheaper dining options or down Clarendon Street to South Melbourne. The 96 and 112 trams which stop nearby will take you to St Kilda where there’s no shortage of pubs, cafes and restaurants.

Getting in and out

When it comes time to leave, checkout is easy and the service at all times was professional and courteous. Rooms were made up and cleaned properly. The beds were comfortable and the rooms quiet with very good block out curtains.

Overall, Crown Metropole is a good choice for business travellers attending the Melbourne Conference and Exhbition Centre, it’s also conveniently located for tourists. In all, it’s a good mid-priced hotel.

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Jetstar vs Virgin

As a low cost carrier, Jetstar is the reality of flying’s present and a vision of travel’s future. For the Australian economy class business traveller it pays to choose carefully.

For the budget conscious business traveller, flying economy is an important way of saving money. In Australia, often that means the choice lies between Virgin and Jetstar.

When you’re self employed, you tend to watch your pennies and choose based on what you get for your money rather than just being focused on the perks when somebody else is paying.

Generally freelancers tend to be flying at the back of plane where it’s not so much worrying about whether Krug or Bolly to entitled executives but whether you’ll get slapped a $70 surcharge for your bag.

In Australia, affordable business flying tends to be between Virgin and Jetstar with Qantas being the best example of an Australian business exploiting its domestic market position while running down international operations.

Tiger doesn’t qualify as an airline suitable for anyone who needs to be somewhere at a given time so it isn’t relevant to business travellers.

Dollars please!

Much of the difference between Jetstar and Virgin are the underlying business models.

Virgin Australia was set up as a low cost carrier to compete against Ansett and Qantas but shortly after Virgin started operations, Ansett went bust and the startup airline found itself the nation’s number two airline.

Under CEO John Borghetti, any pretense of Virgin being a low cost carrier has been dropped and now the service competes on service against Qantas.

Jetstar on the other hand remains true to its roots as Qantas’ low cost operation and it plays firmly from the Ryanair book of screwing money out passengers at every opportunity.

While Virgin isn’t shy at trying to upsell you, booking a ticket though Jetstar involves twenty minutes of declining various options and additions. By the time you finish booking a Jetstar ticket, you’ll often find the price has gone up in the meantime and you have to start again.

Another irritation with Jetstar is its codeshare arrangement with Qantas which means the airline inherits its parent’s screwy seat allocation systems which block out availability based on a passenger’s frequent flyer number.

You will obey

A big difference between Jetstar and Virgin is the customer service, Virgin’s cabin crew tend to be helpful and cheerful while Jetstar’s seem to be on a KPI which encourages frowning and stern warnings.

Jetstar’s attitude to mobile phones is instructive. Unlike Qantas and Virgin who allow passengers to use phones until the cabin doors are closed, Jetstar order customers to shut down before boarding. This is a nuisance if you’re running your own business.

Another nuisance is the airline’s attitude towards laptops where Jetstar’s crew usually insist passengers have to shut down when the plane starts descending rather than when the pilot turns the Fasten Seatbelts sign on Qantas and Virgin.

This sounds trivial but just this alone should be a deal breaker for many small business travellers.

On a one hour Brisbane – Sydney or Sydney – Melbourne flight, this effectively gives a time poor business traveller twenty minutes work time from 90 minutes on the plane.

The Seventh Circle of Hell

The seventh circle of hell in Jetstar's Melbourne terminal
The seventh circle of hell in Jetstar’s Melbourne terminal

While we’re on the topic of Jetstar’s Melbourne operations, a special mention should be given to their poorly signposted gates at the airport.

Situated at the most remote part of the terminal building – almost as remote as Tiger’s abysmal tin shed – Jetstar’s gates are disorganised mess that make boarding difficult. The airline advises getting to the gate half an hour before the flight and at Melbourne that is good advice.

For those arriving in Melbourne, getting off the plane involves fighting your way through queues, lost children, Bedouins building campfires and peasants clutching chickens. If you’re really unlucky you may find yourself accidentally trying to board JQ5749 to Wagga Wagga.

What’s good about Jetstar

Decent legroom on Jetstar flights.
Decent legroom on Jetstar flights.

Despite airline’s drawbacks Jetstar has some things going for it, the main one is the airline’s modern fleet compared to Qantas or Virgin. Jetstar’s A321s have better leg room than the 737s flown by the other carriers – Qantas’ 767s are comfortable like your grandad’s armchair and almost as old.

If you’re flying longer distances such as Melbourne – Cairns or Perth – Sydney, particularly the ‘red eye’ flights heading east from Western Australia, then Jetstar is the more comfortable choice for economy fliers.

Then there’s cost – usually Jetstar is cheaper than Virgin for most flights and at busy times the cost savings may be worth the irritations – but check fares from all three airlines before booking as sometimes the Airline Gods may decide Qantas has the cheapest fares for the time you want to fly.

As a low cost carrier, Jetstar is the reality of flying’s present and a vision of travel’s future. If you have visions of glamour when catching a flight, then shell out for a business class fare.

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Travel review – Mt Warning Rainforest Park

If you’re climbing Mount Warning or exploring the Border Ranges, staying nearby makes the trip a lot easier.

Nestled in the caldera of a long extinct volcano on the New South Wales – Queensland state border, Mt Warning is one of the spectacular and quirky geographic features of Australia’s East Coast which boasts being the first place on the continent to see the sunrise*.

Climbing Mount Warning is doable as a day trip from the Gold Coast, Byron Bay or even Brisbane but to get the best experience staying a few nights in the surrounding rainforests is a good idea, particularly in warmer weather when it’s not a good idea to climb mountains in the middle of the day.

Mount Warning Rainforest Park is a private campsite on the road to the mountain offering cabins, powered caravan sites and unpowered campsites.

Camping sites

 

Mount warning rainforest resort unpowered tent camping site
Unpowered camping sites

We stayed in an unpowered camping site during the September school holidays. Despite it being a busy period, there was plenty of space available and each site had its own campfire. It’s up to you to get the wood.

The sites are comfortable and the ground isn’t too hard for tent pegs. Be warned that it can get cold at night depending on the season.

beware fo snakes at mount warning resort camp site
Beware of snakes!

As the site is in a rainforest, be prepared to meet some of the locals. There’s no shortage of brush turkeys, snakes, lizards and frogs around the grounds so tread carefully at night and don’t leave food lying around.

There are some less desirable locals as well and while the campsite does seem safe, the Mt Warning carpark does have a reputation for thieves. So keep valuables locked away and out of site.

Amenities

There’s plenty of powerpoints and free gas stoves at the camp kitchen, so there’s no problem with charging devices and cooking dinner.

Mount warning rainforest camp kitchen camping site
The campsite kitchen with powerpoints.

Some large, ex-commercial fridges are available for residents to store food. Make sure you mark what’s yours and hide anything like chocolates, wine or beer as any communal storage is going to see those things walk.

The camping area toilet blocks are clean and pretty well maintained, although the hot water controls for the showers can be difficult to figure out.

Be prepared for a cold shower until you manage to get the buttons working. The buttons are also outside the shower cubicles so try and grab the stall closest to the controls so you can lean out and press them mid-wash.

Mount Warning Resort Games Room and Swimming Pool
Swimming pool and games room

Should the weather turn bad – the area is a rainforest – there is a games room has some basic arcade games ($2 a time), pool table and TV for shelter. Outside is a small, well-maintained swimming pool that’s handy for cooling off in the warmer weather.

mount-warning-rainforest-resort-office-and-wifi-hotspot

It’s safe to say the wi-fi hotspot has become the modern campfire.

Outside the site’s reception is comfortable porch which has seats, coffee tables and free wi-fi. You can expect to find guests on their laptops and iPads at all hours checking email and Facebook posts. There’s also a couple of handy power outlets.

Mobile phone coverage is patchy in the district so don’t expect reliable phone communications or fast mobile data. The site has a Telstra payphone that’s accessible at all times.

Service

The site is family run and service is homely, the office isn’t always occupied so it’s sometime necessary to rouse some office help.

One of the missed opportunities is catering to the gathering of people accessing the wi-fi hotspot, offering drinks and snacks past the office’s 6 o’clock closing time would be nice.

Provisions

The office sells basics and snacks but for serious shopping it’s best to call in at Murwillumbah twenty minutes away which has all the major supermarket and shopping chains. There’s also camping supply stores if you’ve lost or forgotten anything.

Coming in from the West, Kyogle has a small choice of supermarkets while the local village of Uki offers a picturesque pub and general store.

Attractions

While climbing the mountain is the main attraction, there’s plenty of other things to see.

Being Australia’s capital of ‘alternate lifestyles’ there’s no shortage of yoga and healing centres. The hippy capital of Nimbin is picturesque 45 minute drive south.

The Border Ranges and the Gold Coast Hinterland are also worth exploring in their own right with some spectacular scenery and the campsite makes a good base for explorers.

Transport

Like most of rural Australia, there’s little public transport. There is a train service to Kyogle and frequent coaches to Murwillumbah from Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. A local bus passes the Mt Warning turn off once every weekday and its a fifteen minute walk to the campsite.

Rock formations on the way to mount warning resort camping park
Rock sculptures in the creek on the way to Mount Warning

The best way of getting to Mount Warning is by car, taxi or to hire a bike in Murwillumbah. On the way to the campsite you’ll pass a creek where people have build various sculptures out of the rocks.

Costs

The cost for a family of four camping was $50 per night. There’s no extra charge for showers or cooking facilities.

Overall, the Mount Warning campsite is a good, economical place to stay for those happy to sleep out and enjoy the rainforest.

*While many say Mount Warning is the first place on the Australian mainland to see the sunrise, in the summer months parts of southern NSW see the sun earlier due to their latitude. If you count all Australian territories, then various small uninhabited rocks along with Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands see the sun first.

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To save the community, we had to destroy it.

Can online communities like Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree survive in managerial organisations like the BBC?

When the BBC bought a 75% of travel guide publisher Lonely Planet in 2007, many people were puzzled at what the travel guide added to the publicly owned broadcaster’s mandate.

In 2011 the BBC bought out the rest of the founders’ stakes and just over a year later management mistakes threaten to destroy the brand.

Lonely Planet is one of the most powerful internet media properties in the English speaking world having become the dominant travel guide in the 1980s and then successfully making the jump into the online world with its website and mobile apps.

In 2012, the site boasted of four million visitors a month with most under 35 years old.

Key to Lonely Planet’s online success has been its community. The Thorn Tree forum provided the bulk of the site’s traffic as thousands of members discussed exotic destinations and asked or answered travel questions.

The Thorn Tree also turns out to be the BBC’s undoing as management struggled to control members’ comments.

At the end of 2012, inappropriate content was bought to management’s attention, with the Jimmy Savile scandal still reverberating around the corridors of the BBC, the organisation’s management panicked and announced a temporary closure of the Thorn Tree.

Two months later, the site is back up again with strict pre-moderation of posts which has left many long time users upset and going elsewhere, if they didn’t already do so during the closure.

Online communities are a strong assets but they are surprisingly fragile, as many popular sites have found in the past.

For Lonely Planet users, there’s no shortage of other travel sites online and it’s going to be challenging for the site to recover.

The Thorn Tree saga raises the question of whether risk adverse, public sector organisations like the BBC have the risk appetite to run online forums and build communities.

By definition successful online communities are diverse and sometimes skate close to the boundaries of good taste for a careerist executive in a managerial organisation like the BBC, such risks are intolerable and have to be eliminated.

If this means shutting down the Thorn Tree forums or neutering them, then that will be done. Management careers come before the good of the organisation.

Time will tell whether Lonely Planet will continue to thrive under the BBC and its management, but the portents aren’t good.

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Travel review: Marriot Marquis, San Francisco

In downtown San Francisco, the Marriott Marquis is good place to stay for a conference, just be careful of the coffee machine.

San Francisco’s Marriot Marquis is a welcome place to rest after a tough flight or a long day at a conference, just be careful when you take on the coffee machine.

The first impression of the Marriot Marquis San Francisco when you step out of a cab is that it is a very busy place. Being situated next to the city’s Moscone Centre makes it is the centre for the convention trade which overruns the hotel when a big convention like Dreamforce is on.

Something all major conference destinations do well is dealing with crowds and the Marquis is no exception. The reception desk is efficient, fast and friendly – right down to having no problem with a check-in earlier than the stipulated 4pm. Exactly what a traveller needs after a cramped 13 hour flight.

The room

A standard room at the Marquis is a comfortable size with a genuine king sized bed. Beside the bed is a clock radio that is simple to set and actually works, this is something many other hotels should take note of.

There’s plenty of room to spread out with a good sized bath, plenty of storage space and a deep wardrobe. In the wardrobe is the standard digital safe for valuables.

On the TV there is the usual range of cable TV, free to air stations and in-house movies. Interestingly the cable selection included Russia Today but not the BBC World Service or Al-Jazeera.

Power sockets are plentiful including two mounted on the writing desk for easy laptop charging. Wireless networking, which costs an extra $14.95 a day, gives reasonable download speeds and is more than adequate for most cloud computing tasks.

The Coffee Machine of Doom

Unlike the user friendly beside clock the one cup drip coffee machines are quite possibly the most difficult devices ever installed in a hotel room.

in room coffee maker at the san franciso marriott marquis
The evil Marriott coffee maker

Thinking the first one was broken, I sent it back. It turned out it wasn’t but I never quite got the knack of figuring out how to work them.

Along with being horribly user unfriendly, the disposable cartridges in the thing are horribly environmentally unfriendly. Generally give the things a miss and visit one of the many good coffee shops in the neighbourhood.

Fitness Centre

The fourth floor fitness centre features the usual range of equipment but in a complex the size of the Marriott expect it to be busy at peak times, at 7am the place was packed.

The swimming pool and fitness centre at the Marriott Marquis San Francisco hotel
The Marriott Marquis’ swimming pool

Upstairs on the fifth floor is a respectable 30ft swimming pool which doesn’t get too busy, however more than four lap swimmers at one time will be difficult. The pool is quite shallow at one end and enthusiastic tumble turners should take care at the end of their laps. Note the pool opens at 6am, half an hour after the rest of the fitness centre.

Location

For attending conferences at Moscone the location is unbeatable and being right on Market Street in downtown San Francisco with Union Square, Westfields and all the major shopping outlets close by.

Harbourside tourist attractions are some distance from the hotel although the Marriot is close to the Powell terminus of the city’s iconic cable cars to Fisherman’s Wharf. The vintage K-Line street car service also runs to Fisherman’s Wharf via the Embarcadero waterfront.

Both the BART and Metro are around the corner at the Powell Street Station – the BART takes half an hour to San Francisco airport but it’s unlikely you’ll need that if you can afford to stay at the Marriot. Cabs to the hotel are around $65 including a 20% tip.

Overall

It’s difficult to fault the hotel as the service is friendly and efficient while the rooms are comfortable with all the features required for a good business stay.

Overall, if you’re not on a tight budget and you’re attending a conference at the Moscone Centre or have business in the SoMA district then the Marriot Marquis is a good choice. If you’re in San Francisco for the tourist experience or you have business in the Financial District then you’ll probably find hotels closer to what you’re in town for.

Paul travelled to San Francisco and stayed at the Marriott courtesy of Salesforce to attend their Dreamforce conference.

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Economy Plus – the United Way

Is United’s Economy Plus worth the extra money?

One of the tough things about long haul, overnight flights is getting a decent night’s sleep. I find this can only be done in a windows seat where you can snuggle against the fuselage and get reasonably comfortable. So it’s a priority to get those windows seats for a big flight.

With the return flight to Sydney from San Francisco it turned out there were no window seats in the basic economy section so a $150 upgrade to United’s Economy Plus section was needed to grab one of those essential windows seats.

Check-in

The United online check in, while clunky, still worked and the upgrade to Economy Plus was a simple online credit card transaction with a straightforward seat allocation, the selection was painless and effective.

At San Francisco airport the check in, albeit three hours early, was friendly and quick with no quirks and thankfully the seat allocation had been kept.

One thing to keep in mind with United’s seat allocations is they reserve the right to change them and even kick you out of Economy Plus, albeit with a refund of the supplement, if the flight is full and the Sydney flights are usually packed.

So it’s a good idea to get the airport and check in early to reduce the chances of losing your seat which is highly likely if there’s been disruptions elsewhere in the United network meaning connecting passengers have missed earlier flights.

Getting through security is the usually fraught hassle however the TSA staff deal with flummoxed tourists and language barriers with a brisk efficiency. Keep your sense of humour and accept that travellers’ dignity was one of the early causalities of the War On Terrorism and the process shouldn’t be traumatic.

Airside

San Francisco’s International Airport is a delight compared to the snarling, customer unfriendly Sydney Airport. While food outlets aren’t cheap, San Francisco’s are decent and there’s plenty of accessible power sockets, working desks and free wi-fi that works.

The gates themselves can be some distance from the facilities so be prepared not to stray too far. The gate lounges themselves are fairly spartan and there’s no reason to wait there until a few minutes before the aircraft starts boarding.

The seats

Sadly I didn’t get the aircraft registration numbers for this flight or the previous inbound trip but it appeared that this plane was newer – say mid-1990s – than the flight into San Francisco which could well have been one of the first 747-400s ever built in the late 1980s.

The United Airlines Economy Plus 37" seat pitch
United Airline’s Economy Plus is far more comfortable than standard economy

The Economy Plus seats’ additional 3″ of legroom are definitely worth it. The moment you get in the seat, you know the extra room makes a much more comfortable trip than the cramped 31″ of standard economy class.

One thing to keep in mind is that while Economy Plus adds nothing more in service, being at the front of the economy cabin does mean you get first choice of food, beverages and easy access to the middle toilets which is a slight advantage over those crammed at the back. It’s also a little quieter as the seats are over the wing rather than behind the engines.

Another benefit with the additional pitch is that you don’t get a faceful of headrest when the seat in front of you reclines so it is possible to work on a laptop, read or eat in comfort even when the person ahead of you is still sleeping.

Inflight entertainment

While the system was still the shockingly decrepit 1990s cabin screens, there were for some reason additional choices on the audio channels including a classical music selection which made it far easier to relax than cheesy 1980s love songs or gangsta rap.

Naturally there was no inflight power in the cheap seats so take advantage of the plentiful power sockets at SFO to make sure you’re fully charged before boarding.

Shortly after take off the cabin crew come around with meals. Overall the cabin crew seem tired and beaten, while they aren’t rude or unpleasant one wonders if they have all received too many stern memos from management about being friendly to customers.

Food

An interesting thing about cheap airline food is how they cook and serve it in ways that make it difficult, if not downright dangerous to eat with plastic cutlery.

Tough chicken for dinner on United Airlines
Careful trying to cut that chicken

In this respect UA 863 didn’t disappoint. The tough, mystery chicken lying under a red sludge masquerading as barbecue sauce was difficult to cut and risked sending one’s drink flying into your neigbour if you weren’t careful. This isn’t helped by the weird ridges United insist on putting underneath their trays.

The bread had a strange chemical taste while the Love and Quiches Double Chocolate Crunch Bar was the highlight of the meal. The red wine was nice as well.

After as good a night’s sleep as one can get in an economy class seat, breakfast was served around two hours before landing in Sydney. Again it was tough to eat.

French toast for breakfast on United Airlines out of San Francisco
You’ll need lots of syrup to soften that tough toast

Like the chicken earlier in the flight, the French toast was tough to cut and hard to eat. Fortunately a good soaking in maple syrup makes it almost edible.

The fruit salad was spartan but fine while the cold croissant tasted strange like the roll served the night before. It’s a shame United can’t find one of San Francisco’s excellent bakeries to supply their bread.

Arrival

The plane arrived on-time and without problems with immigration straightforward after dodging the embarrassing and garish duty free ripoff shops.

Customs is the standard mass brawl that’s normal for early morning international arrivals at Sydney when a dozen or so wide bodied jets arrive at the same time from Europe, Asia and the US.

If you have the choice, it may be worthwhile choosing a flight that arrives in Sydney after 8am so you can avoid both the customs hall and traffic peak hours.

Once past customs it’s welcome to the snarling, belligerent and anti-traveller horror that is Sydney Airport. Get out of there as quick as you can by train, taxi, bus or car.

Note if someone is meeting you, the pick up area is on the far side of carparks A and B. It’s not marked for either passengers in the terminals or for those driving into the complex. None of this is an accident and it’s best for both parties to have mobile phones so they can co-ordinate movements.

In many ways the customer hostile attitude of the Sydney Airports Corporation is good news for United Airlines as it makes their tired inflight service feel warm and inviting.

Overall the United Economy Plus option is worth the extra $150 charge to at least get earlier service and more legroom if you have to fly UA. It’s difficult though to recommend United while they fly such awfully old equipment and you should only consider it if the connections or the fare make them the best option.

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Travel review: Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino, Gold Coast

The Gold Coast’s Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino is a property desperately in need of a refurbishment.

Jupiter’s was built in the late 1980s as part of Australia’s initial casino mania. Today it’s looking its age despite several refurbishments in recent years.

Apart from the gambling room, the complex’s main attraction is its proximity to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Location

Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino is located centrally on the Gold Coast in Broadbeach, around 4km South of Surfers Paradise and 20km North of the Airport, right next to the Pacific Fair shopping mall.

The Casino sits on its own island some 500m away from the beach. The Gold Coast Convention Centre is a 200m walk from the hotel across an open air walkbridge.

Most of the time that walk will be fine but be prepared to get soaked in wet weather.

There is also a cheesy and largely pointless monorail that runs to the shopping complex across the highway. The $3 fare is reportedly waived for hotel guests but check at reception first.

Check-in

The front desk staff are friendly and helpful. There was no problem with checking in two hours before the official check-in time.

Asking reception for some fresh milk for the tea making facilities was no problem.

Rooms

While it’s claimed there have been ongoing refurbishments since 2008, the rooms are dated and tired, despite a relatively recent paint job.

Beds are comfortable and the blackout blinds do a good job of plunging the room into darkness and keeping the early morning or late evening sun out of the room on a hot day.

The bathroom, mini-bar and tea making facilities are basic but adequate. Each room has a digital combination safe as well as ironing equipment.

One aspect of the 1980s legacy is the scarcity of power points with only one double power outlet next to the fixed desk unit. Luckily there are nearby shopping centres to buy a powerboard if you can’t borrow one from reception.

Rooms have wireless and wired Internet available for a fee, although it may waived for convention guests. Surfing and downloads are extremely quick.

Amenities in the room are satisfactory with the standard range of free to air and cable TV stations including CNN, Bloomberg Asia and Sky.

Unfortunately the room doesn’t have dressing gowns and it’s little touches like that which let the hotel down.

Fitness Facilites

the Gym is well equipped with the usual range of weights, rowing and walking machines and open from 5.30am on weekdays.

 It’s open to the public and could get crowded at busy times. The weekend times are fairly limited with Sunday being a stingy 8am to 4pm, Saturday’s are 7 to 5.

If you want a swim, there’s a large, warm pool next door to the gym and lap swimmers can get a 25m stretch if it isn’t busy. The pool area is open from 6am to 9pm and also has two spa baths.

Overall impressions

Jupiter’s desperately needs an investor to spruce the place up. The public areas are looking  run down with chipped tiles and scuffed walls. Generally there’s a faded 1980s vibe about the place.

That 1980s feel also comes from the patrons, a midweek stay at Jupiter’s will find you sharing with a lot of grumpy seniors who are presumably playing the pokies (slot) and games in the casino.

In many respects Jupiter’s reflects much of what is wrong with Australian hospitality — a 1980s property that hasn’t had the investment to compete in the 21st Century catering for a declining, low value segment of the marketplace.

Overall the hotel is adequate but there are better deals to be had on the Gold Coast.

If you’re attending a conference at the Gold Coast Conference Centre then it may be worth checking out rooms at the nearby Sofitel or the many serviced apartments in the Broadbeach area.

Paul stayed at Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino courtesy of Microsoft when attending the 2012 Australian TechEd conference.

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