After the last 2 days when the pace has been a wee bit hectic we decided to have a day of rest. Several people had recommended Port Douglas as a good place to chill for a couple of days. It was only 60km north of Cairns so we set off as soon as Steve had collected the hire car. When he got to the hire company office he was told he had been upgraded but horror of horrors the upgrade was a tank or what is better known as a SVU - Steve hates them! Still a car is a car especially when its a hire car and at least there was more room in the boot or should I say our wardrobe.
We wallowed our way up to Port Douglas and found our hotel..........when we booked it we had to tell them what time we would be arriving, about 18-19.00. Steve had an email say that at that time reception would be closed but there would be a welcome letter waiting for us. We thought this a little strange but hey ho if reception closes early it must work forI them.
Indeed there was a letter waiting for us with the key to our room. Oh what a strange and different place:
Reception area was completely open for anyone to walk into at anytime
There were approx 20 push bikes against the wall
A pile of deck chairs, sun beds and parasols adorned the middle of the area
There was a group of ice boxes in varying sizes along side half a dozen shopping bags on wheels
Books and DVDs overflowed from the bookshelves
Kids toys and board games all over the place.
Reception area was completely open for anyone to walk into at anytime
There were approx 20 push bikes against the wall
A pile of deck chairs, sun beds and parasols adorned the middle of the area
There was a group of ice boxes in varying sizes along side half a dozen shopping bags on wheels
Books and DVDs overflowed from the bookshelves
Kids toys and board games all over the place.
When we got to our room there was the usual free toiletries and a supply of tea bags, coffee, milk and sugar but what surprised us was the gas bb'q on the terrace. For our use. We sat down on expensive, comfortable chairs on the terrace, cups of tea in our hand. Steve read the magazine which he thought was one produced by the local councils, full of adverts for local businesses but non the less a classy looking magazine. He passed it to me saying "you should read this, its all about the hotel and has obviously been commissioned by the owners" so I did. It turned out that a group of 5 'girls' bought the hotel in a serious state of disrepair and it has undergone almost complete refurbishment although future improvement is also mentioned in the magazine.What was really amazing was that all the stuff in reception was there for guest use and was totally free and theres more - you could also borrow a laptop, card reader and various usb connections. The laptops were on a first come first served basis but we managed to get one so I was able to back up all the photos just in case.
As we were unpacking Steve asked me about my Valentines card, you know the one he hid under the telephone directory in the previous hotel bedroom. What I couldn't quite understand was that if Steve thought fit to keep it a secret and hide the card, how could I be expected to gather it up when I was packing. I wonder how long it will remain hidden, depends upon how comprehensive the cleaning is!
We had a good rest which left us raring to get to Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, although we had an overnight stop at Townsville en route
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| terrace next to the rain forest | |||||
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| Top of the high street |
So it was a couple of fillet steaks on the barbie?
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