My friend and I are travelling to these places in early June. We can get a hopper package through Qantas which includes the following 4 Star Hotels: Grand Mercure on Swanston (Melbourne), The Oasis Resort (Cairns), Menzies Sydney Accor Hotel. For just the ticket alone it's $1143.50 each. With these hotels it's $1866.00 each. Do you experienced folks think these hotels are worth that or are there better hotels you can suggest that I would book directly. We're doing the usual touristy stuff so anything central to the action would be lovely. Thank you in advance for your advice!

The Hotel in Melbourne is very well situated in the heart of the CBD , close to everything.There are better hotels in town but the price reflects that fact. I think the hotel is a solid 3.5 t1o 4 star property .I suggest that you have a look at last minute.com or wotif.com to see if these hotels are on sale or what other properties are available as you may be able to save $ if you are prepared to not book until 14 days before departure .

John:
What does CBD stand for.

I asked while I was in Melbounre and this lady told me it was the name of a building.!!??

I thought to myself...yeah sure !!

Thanks
Percy

CBD = Central Business District

Oasis in Cairns is very well located, near a multitude of restaurants and a couple of minutes walk to wharf for reef trips. Built about 10 years ago, nice pool and tropical landscaping.

Hi okkuriwin,
A few years ago we considered the Oasis in Cairns and a friend suggested a quieter area called Palm Cove.
We went thee and it was perfect.

However we also stopped by the Oasis in Cairns and it looked quite nice, the main difference for us was that it was in the middle of a busy town which we decided wasn't the best solution for us.

But as Pat said it is well located.

But whilst your looking, take a look at Palm Cove, in fact the Oasis at Palm Cove turned out to be a similar price.
www.palmcove.net

Good luck

Muck

I'm so confused by areas and such. What are your thoughts on the Langham Hotel in Melbourne, The Shangri-La 0r the Sofitel Reef Casino in Cairns and the Four Seasons in Sydney. Are they well located or do you think there are better hotels in better areas? It's not that money is no object, there just seems to be some fantastic hotel deals in June so we've been looking at better properties. Thank you so much for your help!

The Shangri-La is the newest 5 star in Cairns and is right on Marlin Marina(where most boats for GBR leave) with harbour views and there's no passing road traffic as there's a large park between it and Esplanade. Sofitel is about a 2 minute walk from it and was built about 14 years ago in quiet street. Both are 5 star, there's a multi storey harbour-front apartment block going up in front of Sofitel (which has a casino), Shangri-La would have better views, at least from most rooms. Also has harbour-front boardwalk underneath, with about half a dozen good restaurants and cafes.

Cairns isn't a big city and it is not a capital city (as I just read in a guidebook) and really anywhere in Cairns CBD isn't far from restaurants and nightlife.

Have stayed at Four Seasons in Sydney years ago when it was known as The Regent; good location in The Rocks with harbour, Opera House and Bridge views. But am sure some current Sydney-sider will have better info on it than I do.

Mucky, was your friend referring to aircraft noise at Oasis? Haven't noticed it around there lately, but certainly have in parts of North Cairns, much nearer the airport. Also prevailing wind in main tourist season which includes June comes from SE, so most flights use northern approach (over Holloways and Machan's beaches) to land into wind and take off straight out to sea from the airport. This avoids flying low over Cairns city completely.

Hi Pat,
Yes indeed, it was the aircraft noise that my friend was referring to.
However that was 5 years ago, so we made our decision partly on that, but we wanted the tranquility that Palm Cove offered, and it was gorgeous.

Muck

This is all very helpful - thank you so much! Now if any of you saw any sites or did any activities that we should certainly not miss, I wouldn't mind hearing about those as well. Thanks again!

Four Seasons is way better than Menzies though it is good too. If you can get similar prices go for Four Seasons in a heartbeat! Good luck!

Sorry that I have been so slow re Langhams. It used to be The Sheraton Hotel and Towers . Very smart. Refurbished not long ago .It is on the southern side of the Yarra River next to lots of restaurants / casino / State Arts Centre (galleries / theatres ). Lovely river front walk to them all and foot bridges to cross to the rest of the city .A good choice if you want a larger hotel with every amenity .Hope your plans are going well . Pack warm clothes as the cold has just started eg 16 degrees centrigrade top temp.