KimbyMT

Where to stay at in Alice Springs? After our 5 day self-drive tour of the Red Centre, we turn in the campervan north of town. After that we won't have wheels to get around, but we'll have to spend the night before our flight to Sydney. We would like to be within safe walking distance of town centre, but not right in the middle of any traffic or noisy partying. (If such a thing exists in Alice.)

Of the rather grim options for mid-priced lodging ($100 USD or less) in Alice, the All Seasons Oasis seems to have the most potential, though like all Alice hotels, with mixed reviews on TripAdvisor. Has anyone stayed here? Or somewhere else in Alice that they liked?


How does a traveller without a car get to the airport for a flight to Sydney departing at 12:45? Do any hotels run free or reasonably priced shuttles?

Thanks!

Bokhara2

Hi Kimby,
The Aurora is probably the closest to the centre of town (Todd Mall)http://www.wotif.com/hotel/View?hote...age=&startDay=
www.wotif.com.au has a currency converter ... you may get more responses on costings if you quote AUD here.

The Casino is on the other side of the river and whilst it's only a few minutes walk, I wouldn't do it at night.

Just get a taxi to the airport. Alice Springs is an outback town, but it's not THAT small (LOL).

dotty

Hi, Kimby,
I am in the same position as you are re accommodation in Alice Springs. I am looking at Diplomat, All Seasons, Voyages Alice Springs Resort (they have a concession if you stay in 2 or more of their resorts in the same itinerary - the only erason I am looking at them), Aurora - my travel agent knows someone who stayed there recently and said it wasn't too bad, and Alice on Todd, which is about 1.5km from Todd Mall. I have been in touch with Diplomat which is undergoing change of management and all that goes along with that. They were very helpful re other hotels in Alice, all of which are in my list. They are worth a look on the wotif site too. I too read the reviews on Trip Advisor which reduced my longish list down to the above list.
We are not going to Alice until July 2010, so if you are going before then I would be interested to hear where you stayed, and what you thought of it, either here or on the TA site. Good luck.
Dot

KimbyMT

"you may get more responses on costings if you quote AUD here".

With the USD going the way it is, pretty soon they'll be equal! Today 1 USD = 1.12 AUD. (When we booked on Qantas in February to go to Australia, it was more like 1.40AUD = 1USD)

How about if I say between 100 and 120 AUD?

It's a sad statement on Alice Hotels that even the ones with the best ratings have some HORRIBLE reviews on Trip Advisor...

Bokhara2

I've been giving some thought to your comment about the Alice Springs accommodation options some thought. Largely, it's a matter of supply & demand and almost certainly won't represent the same value for $ that you would expect in larger centres. I don't generally take too much notice of Trip Advisor though, for a few reasons:
(1) It's human nature to complain rather than praise, so I have a feeling that the reviews will skew to the negative.
(2) Unless the owner/operator has been alerted to the TA post, they have no opportunity of responding.
(3) A number of base their expectations on what is available in their home or other locations which are quite different from the one they review.

This last point is particularly valid in remote areas like the NT - Alice Springs, Uluru, Kakadu and in FNQ, I think.
Alice Springs has a small, largely Aboriginal population of around 27k, is located in one of the driest parts of Australia which, although well serviced by flights, is really one of our "frontier towns", culturally and logistically.

These factors make it difficult for operators to provide accommodation which would meet the expectations of those not acquainted with it. Many people travel to "the outback" looking for the unique experience it provides; for better or worse, one of the drawbacks is that the higher costs of construction, maintenance, freight; staff issues (also encountered on Island locations) and the realities of supply and demand, will make the combination of high quality at low cost ($100 AUD or US) a difficult one to achieve.

That said, it ought to be a given that any accommodation be clean, the staff responsive to requests within their scope of capability, and the property be as described.

Whilst I know Alice Springs reasonably well, I've not stayed in any of the hotels as I had family there. Friends have stayed at the resort (Casino, I think) on the other side of the Todd River and have been well satisfied with it. They own several hotels, travel extensively and would neither re-visit or suffer in silence. I recommended against in because it would be out of your budget and,its proximity. I think it would be preferable not to be walking over that area late at night, if you'd been to dinner in town, for instance.

On that thought, there was a pretty good restaurant "The Lane" in Todd Mall. Another good one is "Blue Grass".

I hope you enjoy Alice Springs; it has an enormous amount to offer.

KimbyMT

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. At least Alice is less expensive than Yulara!

For the record, I don't go for luxury or international standard hotels. But clean and not threadbare, and quiet, would be worth the money. Not so keen on the nightlife, so walking distance isn't a big deal.

I just wish the reviews didn't complain so much about dirt, mould, smells, etc...

Are there OTHER REVIEW SITES that I could visit?

(BTW, the only review that I have posted on Trip Advisor was a positive one, for a well-located, reasonably-priced hotel in Paris.)

Bokhara2

FWIW, Kimby, I'd probably just choose the one that's closest to where you want to be - or the one that appeals most to you from the pictures/description on www.wotif.com.au or the hotel's own site and go for it. Just treat it as a camp site with a roof It's only one night, as I understand it. If, on checking in, the room is not clean, refuse to accept it. Get the Duty Manager and request a change, and inspect it before you accept that. I would be quite seriously surprised if you encounter dirty premises. You may well see properties that are a little "tired" or where the maintenance may not be 100% up to scratch. As you can see, $100 in Alice Springs isn't top of the range.

If you think the properties on the other side of the river suit you better, you can always get a cab home at night for a pittance, if you want to eat away from the accommodation. One of them has a good restaurant, I believe, but have not been there. My caution is not the walking distance, it's the company you may encounter at night around the area where the bridge crosses the river. Alcohol is a problem with some of the local people. Some of them congregate down in that section of the dry river bed.

KimbyMT

Thanks for the warnings. Having just come off a 5 day campervan experience when we arrive in Alice, we may have leftover groceries to consume and won't even NEED to go out to eat.

And $100 IS less than a day's rental of the campervan, which is around $145 AUD...

Bokhara2

.... that's what I mean - it's not going to buy a great hotel room. You'll be fine - after 5 days on the road, anything that doesn't jiggle as you walk across the floor will look good to you

Off the accommodation topic - I can't remember whether you're spending some time in Alice before you set off. Within walking distance in the town precinct is the old Alice Springs Hospital - just off Todd Mall and very interesting for its air conditioning system; the School of the Air; Royal Flying Doctor; reptile park and numerous Art Galleries. If you wished, you might also be able to buy a painting, carved emu egg or wooden carving from some of the Aboriginals who sit in the park about half way along Todd Mall, on the left. There was a rumble about prohibiting them selling there, but I'm hoping it didn't come to anything as I can't see what's wrong with them selling their own work - or someone else's for that matter. Obviously, Caveat Emptor applies - as it does in some of the galleries where you see zillions of almost identical 'originals'amongst the good stuff and imagine them being churned out by heavens-only-knows who, and selling at much higher prices.

Out of town, the Desert Park is a standout IMHO, especially the birds of prey shows which I think are around 10 & 2. The Cultural Centre and Aircraft collection is also very worth while.

There is a hop-on/hop-off open small bus that does the loop if you have some time after you drop your campervan off.

Sadly the Panorama Guth burnt down in 2005, but someone may be able to tell you whether anything was saved. http://www.wilmap.com.au/atts/102.html
It housed some wonderful Aboriginal artefacts and an extensive collection of Guth's paintings as well as some from one of our most famous Aboriginal artists, Albert Namatjira
http://images.google.com.au/images?h...title&resnum=1
(sorry about the long link - can't remember how to do the short ones).

Good luck & do let us know how you fare with the accommodation.

dotty

Hi, Bokhara2,
What helpful information about Alice. Thank you. I have been wondering whether we should change our flights to come over 2 days earlier, as with even more research I am finding there is a lot more to the Alice than I found in my initial research. We have 6 1/2 very action-packed days in Alice in July, and I could certainly cope with more time without touching the 2 half days and one full day allowed for in Yulara.
I have also taken to heart what you said about TripAdvisor. I too posted a positive report about a place we stayed at in Rarotonga, so not all posts are negative - in fact this place had only one slightly negative comment about it and that was how far it was to Muri Beach!
Have enjoyed your unbiased contributions over the years.
Dot

KimbyMT

We haven't heard much about Alice Springs that makes us want to linger there. Most of its attractions have little appeal to us. For us - at least until we get there and find out how wrong we are - it's just a base for getting to Uluru and back.

So unless Alice knocks our socks off when we arrive to pick up the campervan, we probably won't allot much time to sight-seeing IN Alice and surrounds...

Mainly just need a bed the night before our flight to Sydney. In a clean room that isn't too shabby. Nor too expensive. ;-)

Peter_S_Aus

I know this is not a hotel, but it's fun, and well located. And you could use up your left-over food:

http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?HostelID=35

I've stayed there, and it was good.

Bokhara2

Thanks Dotty, that's very kind of you.
I was lucky to have a niece living in Alice Springs a few years ago and I had the use of her car for a fortnight, so was able to explore quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised at just how much there was of intrest and how much I enjoyed it. My niece & I did a 2 day small group trip to Kings Canyon, Uluru and the Olgas which we loved and wished had been 3 days.

I also took a 2 hour helicopter trip, which gave an altogether different aspect, as you'd expect, from that possible from land. Looking at the landscape from above and some of the traditional Aboriginal paintings depicting it a few hours later was an extraordinary experience. If you fly across Central Australia in daylight hours, have a good look at the landscape, and you'll see what I mean - especially the areas where rivers wind through pinkish claypans and salt flats are dotted with ponds of water. "How did they know that's how it looks from above?" Goosebump stuff to me!

Just leave you with one image: The birds of prey show is played out against the backdrop of a natural ampitheatre of deep red cliffs and, on this day, a perfect blue sky. As the Desert Park's eagle went up to do his routine, he met a wild eagle and for the next 20 minutes we were treated to the enthralling spectacle of these two playing out the 'dog fight' routines of this pair as "our" bird defended the advances of the interloper into his territory, eventually seeing him off. And then he came back to his handler. I don't think there would have been a dry eye in the place.
http://www.australianfauna.com/wedgetailedeagle.php

Sorry Kimby - off topic, I know.

marg

There is a lot to see around Alice Springs if you are prepared to take your time and drive and walk. The West MacDonnell Ranges are quite spectacular and Glen Helen Gorge, Ormiston Gorge and Ellery Creek Big Hole are just some of the places worth visiting.
On the other side of town, the East MacDonnell Ranges are equally spectacular with Trephina Gorge and Ross River homestead are two spots to visit.
The Telegraph Station (within walking distance of town) is interesting and a pretty spot to visit.
The Desert Park is good and you can easily spend half a day wandering around there.
Walk up to Anzac Hill for views over town.
The Cultural Centre has an museum of aboriginal artefacts plus other interesting things.
And if you happen to play golf, there is an excellent golf course in Alice Springs.

katrinab

The Desert Rose is a really great value within walking distance of downtown, but quiet and not near partying. We paid about $65USD. TV, wifi, pool, etc. Definitely recommend it!

There is an airport shuttle that will pick you up at your hotel, and seems to make rounds for each flight leaving Alice Springs. Just ask your hotel to arrange it--very straightforward.

Info and pics from our trip at http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/

KimbyMT

Thanks katrina, for the recommendation, and your blog is great.

KimbyMT

And thanks Marg for the list of things to do around Alice.

KimbyMT

Unfortunately, the Desert Rose has only a twin room with shared bath...
What about the Aurora? Or the Desert Springs?

KimbyMT

Well we ended up booking the All Seasons Oasis Alice Springs for 113 AUD for one night. It seemed to have the fewest negative reviews and it's within easy walking distance to Todd Mall and the Flying Doctors. We booked on the Accor Hotels website, though the booking services were all pretty close in price.
Thanks for all the input.

KimbyMT

We're back, and following up on old threads where we got good advice.
The All Seasons Oasis worked out fine, though our first room had to be rejected since housekeeping didn't finish the job - or someone entered the room after the beds were made and towels replaced and made coffee and left used towels on the chair! The gal at the front desk sounded surprised, but didn't complain about assigning us another room that was clean and ready for us.

We enjoyed having a fridge to keep our leftover groceries in and didn't go out to dinner as we had food to eat before flying to Sydney.

There were two pools, one dominated by boistrous young people and too close to the bar where there were loud rowdy drinkers, and another with a passel of little kids romping when we arrived, but that we had to ourselves a couple hours later.

The grounds were pretty, but in an unkempt way (fallen leaves all over, bugs in the swimming pools), and the buildings exteriors looked a bit sad with peeling paint in places.

But for what we expected/feared it was quite acceptable, quiet and truly an oasis. And the birds from our balcony were amazing. All for "only" 113 AUD.