A Family Guide to Copthorne Wellington

24 Hours in Brisbane City pt. 2 (with Novotel Brisbane)

After wandering around Brisbane for several hours, we were so ready to escape the heatwave and recline in the air-conditioned rooms of Novotel Brisbane.  My nerves were a tiny bit tender following a brief journey in the Wheel of Brisbane (I hit the emergency button after one rotation), but the walk through town was settling, and we arrived peacefully and ready to relax.

Novotel Brisbane definitely provide family-friendly accommodation.  Our children were greeted with warmth and were immediately offered a soft toy to keep, before they hit the kiddo space for a little play. The transition from streetside to roomside was thus sweet and stress-free, and I swear those little softies were two of the most favoured toys during the rest of our trip.

Once we reached our rooms I drew a bath for the babies, and then we all breathed that deep sigh of utter happiness that only a sparkling tidy hotel room can offer (I mean, when on earth is any room in our own house that tidy???).  

The Rooms: We are used to sharing double queens, but you've gotta love a king sized bed!  The rooms had plenty of space for the kids to play while we kicked back.  They had a comfortable design with a little nook in the King room that provided a bonus space, perfect for play, or for (re)packing (I did a lot of this, all holiday).  The bathrooms were perfect, amazing shower pressure and super cute complimentary items :-)

We didn't hear any noise from our neighbours either, and though I requested a lower level room, we still had a sweet view of the city.

The Facilities: We loved the Novotel rooftop pool!  Crowned by palm trees and complete with sun loungers.  The gym faced out to the pool and was extremely well equipped.  We didn't take advantage of the pool nearly enough, but our rooms were too cosy and comfortable, it was hard to step outside at all. 

I have to say, the kids space was such a winner!  The following morning entailed a bit of a wait for our pick up, but the kids were sweet as! The space (located in the lobby) had more than enough entertainment to keep them happy for the best part of two hours (yep), and luckily I had my phone to keep me busy (and free wifi to keep me instagramming)...

Check out more of their facilities here.

The Service:  The Novotel staff were super lovely, and we were never left wanting.  That said, we were largely left to ourselves and had a quiet, private stay, which was absolutely perfect.  We were asked if we would like to join the Accor club upon arrival, which gave us free internet for our stay, and access to cups of tea or coffee while we waited in the lobby :-)

The Location:  Novotel was a short distance from the CBD and walkable from South Bank, where we started out (with two kids, mind, and plenty of pretty sightseeing along the way).  If you want to head out in the evening, there are plenty of bars and eateries in easy distance, something we would definitely like take advantage of next time.

The hotel is easy to access by vehicle, also, and we had no trouble finding our way onto the Bruce Highway following check-out. 

Food: They had a seriously impressive breakfast buffet at Novotel Brisbane.  I've gotta say, it was the best yet.  Not only do they cater to various food intolerances, but they have organic juices, heaps treats on offer (donuts for breakfast?  Oh heck yes), and a coffee machine for your morning fix.  As usual Zan went for the big breakfast, while the kids and I taste-tested everything from croissants and fruit salad, to waffles with the works.  We each had about five different breakfast drinks, and guess which family didn't even feel a hunger pang come lunchtime!  Boom!  Winner.

Perfect for: Families!  For sure!  Everything is set for ease of stay, and our bunnies were in hotel heaven.  We spent the majority of our 24 hours within Novotel's walls, and we really had no good excuse to leave.  There was some vague plan about going out to find dinner and check out Brisbane at evening-time, but the kids were so lax-happy, and the beds were begging us to sprawl out and read magazines, so we ordered room service (yeah we did) and really only left our room to eat breakfast and check out the pool.  

Brisbane is a fun city, and perfect for visiting with kiddos.  With South Bank, ferry boat tours, the Wheel (for people other than myself to enjoy), and a bunch of as-yet-untested-by-us attractions, there are plenty of activities to fill your stay.  Even though it was a short taster of a visit, I'm glad we had the opportunity to see a bit more of Brisbane, this time around.  And just quietly, Novotel Brisbane was quite a lovely place to spend a large portion of that time :-)

Novotel Brisbane provided us with a complimentary night's stay in return for an honest review.  Thanks, y'all! x

Millennium Hotel Rotorua

We recently booked a mystery hotel through Wotif, for a quick overnighter in Rotorua. I would've been dubious about the idea but several friends recommended it, and when I checked it out I realised there was very little risk involved.  We knew the star rating, hotel vicinity and basic facilities (all the important ones - spas, free wifi etc).

As you can see, we ended up in a really horrible hotel *wink*. Really, we were very happy to end up at Millennium Hotel (we were going to book there anyway), and at $100 for a double room, the price was pretty unbeatable. I'm now so sold on this idea, and we'll definitely be using Mystery Hotels in the future.  

The Rooms:  Ours were really simple and comfortable.  The bathroom was luxe and the beds were perfect.  There really wasn't much decor to speak of, but every necessary item was provided, including plenty of storage space.  We were located on the third floor, and thus had a view (of the shopping district - and pretty night lights).

We went with a double room once again, and again, it was perfect.  There was a little noise the following morning, but well after we had awoken so it didn't bother us.  Our only difficulty was navigating the hotel to find the spas.  Once we'd figured that out we were totally sweet :-)

The Facilities:  Millennium has a ton of excellent facilities, including a fitness centre, spa pools and therapy rooms, a mega heated pool and two restaurants.  Not to forget the bar, which we pretty much can forget about when we're hotel-side with our kiddos.

The spa pools were amazing, set in a lovely, tranquil room that felt at once private and still easily accessible.  They hold poolside cultural performances on a nightly basis (I believe), but the night we stayed this didn't happen and so we pretty much had the big pool to ourselves.  Yuss!  

I was really tempted to get a manicure while we were there, but in the end we were just in too much of a rush.  Next time, definitely :-)

The Service: We really didn't interact with anyone much during our stay, which was exactly what we wished for.  On a few occasions we needed a small amount of assistance and they were very, very sweet.  Like that time I locked us out of our room after a morning swim.  Or that time I spilt lots of soft drink on the carpet... 

The Location:  Centrally located, we were minutes from the lake, museum and a bunch of other attractions.  We had no difficulty finding the hotel and had we stayed longer, could easily have found our way around central Rotorua on foot.  The hotel is temptingly close to the Polynesian Spa, which I would love to try one day, and walking distance to a host of restaurants and cafes.

Perfect for: families.  We noticed that Millennium Hotel seemed popular with family groups, and it's not hard to figure out why.  There is plenty here to keep kiddos happy while you relax.  Obviously the pool and spas are favourites, but they also have this cute courtyard garden, perfect for sunnier days than we had.  The sky channels include Disney, so there's always that as a back up.

Our kids are quite easily pleased, and the tunnel and elevators were probably their highlight.  It was bitterly cold so probably safest to enjoy these 'attractions', rather than brave the courtyard.  

From the website it looks like Millennium Rotorua has relatively well-priced rooms (and some bonus deals) most of the time, so we would definitely book in here again.  I kinda love the mystery though, so who knows where we'll stay next time...