Cairns,Brisbane, Melbourne-which hotel?
 

Hello, <BR> <BR>We have a choice of hotels for our trip to Australia in 2000. Can anyone help me with choosing? We are not looking for the best hotels; just hotels not in bad areas of town. <BR>Cairns: <BR>Bay Village <BR>Palm Royale <BR>Rhiga Colonial <BR>Brisbane: <BR>Ibis <BR>Carlton Crest <BR>Melbourne: <BR>Mercure <BR>Rydges <BR> <BR>Any advise would be appreciated... <BR> <BR>Kittie

Kittie, I suggesr you stay at Port Douglas rather than Cairns. What time of the year are you planning your travel? Peg.

Peg, <BR> <BR>What we have already booked is Sept 20-27th in Sydney. We want to do the other areas after our stay in Sydney. <BR> <BR>Kittie <BR>

Kittie, try the search engine www.looksmart.com.au it is excellent for doing searches on Australia. Type in FNQ ,Far North Queensland or Port Douglas and you will find a lot of information on those areas. Also try www.citysearch.com.au for info on the cities you will be visiting. Peg.

Peg, <BR> <BR>Thank you so much...I will try that tonight.. <BR> <BR>Kittie

Kitty, <BR> <BR>We stayed at the Rydges Carlton in Melbourne in March'99. The rooms were clean and comfortable with all of the necessities. There is a pool on roof and a restaurant downstairs that is OK for breakfast. The great thing about this place is that the location is great for the price. We hardly needed our car while we were in the city. We walked to some great restaurants, bars, and cafes, some pretty parks, and were also very close to the tram and trains. For this reason, I would recommend the place.

Oh, forgot to mention that although we liked Melbourne and Sydney quite a bit, we LOVED Tasmania, and will return ASAP. We spent 8 days there---if you have questions, feel free to email me. B

Kittie, <BR>We live in Brisbane. The two hotels you have listed are both pretty central and close to the city, the river etc etc. If it were me, I'd go for the Carlton Crest....for no other reason than I drive past it everyday and it looks pretty good from the outside. You are an easy walk to the mall, botanical gardens, the river and southbank. Also the Roma Street bus & train station is only a couple of hundred yards away. From there you can travel anywhere!!! <BR> <BR>I have not been on this site for a while but am glad too see you are still meticulously(SP?) planning. <BR> <BR>regards <BR>David

Kittie: <BR>My wife and I are headed to Australia and NZ on November 6, (next week)for a month. Our travel agent has booked us exclusively at Rydges hotels in Sydney, Cairns, Alice Spring, Queensland, Christchurch and Auckland. I'll give you a report on these hotels when we return to the States on Thanksgiving Day. John

Bebe, <BR>thank you for the recommendation. It's nice to hear from someone who has stayed at a particular hotel and has first hand knowledge. Also thank you for the offer to email you. You may be hearing from me&lt;g&gt;. <BR> <BR>David, <BR>nice to see you here again! Thank you for the kind words. Not many people understand us meticulous planners :-). The Carlton Crest sounds like a great choice. Thanks. <BR> <BR>John, <BR>I would love to hear about your trip! Have a great time!!! <BR> <BR>Kitt