Have you ever missed a flight? I have and it’s the worst feeling. It happened to us last year with an early flight to Tasmania, I thought we’d left plenty of time to get to the airport, I mean, there should hardly be any traffic at 5am right? Wrong! We were stuck in a mega traffic jam not even halfway there, while our plane happily left without us.
We did eventually get to Tassie after purchasing brand new tickets for around a squillion dollars, it was an expensive start to what I thought was going to be a nice ‘cheap’ holiday.
Fast forward eight months, and I’d again purchased ridiculously early flights, this time to Queenstown NZ. I can’t resist a bargain airfare, but it’s no wonder 6am flights are cheap, you need to get up on the middle of the night to make your flight on time. And also NO ONE will drive you to the airport at 3.30am.
So instead of risking missing our flight again, I thought I’d turn the inconvenience of an early start into an amazing opportunity to start our holiday one day early!
This is where the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport comes in. Instead of a mad 3am Monday morning scramble to the airport, the lovely folk at the PARKROYAL invited us to start our vacation in style. We checked in at 2pm on Sunday with the intention of making the most of the hotel facilities that day.
PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport – Hotel Review
Airport hotels are often underrated, but the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport has lots going for it, and here’s why we liked it:
1. Great views of the runway
I’ve always loved watching planes take off and land, and as a kid my dad used to take us to the airport just to watch the planes. Turns out the rest of my family is equally fascinated by the comings and goings of aircraft, especially Mr Man, who isn’t easily impressed by views, but really loved this one. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a Spa-suite with big picture windows that gave us fantastic views of the runway.
Spa-suite with runway views has wraparound windows for maximum plane spotting action.
It was hard to drag these two away from their plane spotting activities, and I’m happy to say the TV didn’t even get switched on.
As the sun wend down, the landscape changed, but the sparkly airport lights still held some fascination.
2. Indoor Pool and Spa
The kid was pretty excited by this one, so I made sure we packed our bathers for some swimming pool shenanigans. I mean it’s not really a holiday until you hit the pool right?
The PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport has a fully kitted out gym (if that’s your thing), as well as a decent sized pool, spa, sauna and steam room. Bathrobes, slippers and plenty of towels are provided so as along as you have your bathers you’re good to go. If you are in between flights or have a long wait at the airport, you can use the leisure facilities for a small fee of $20, no hotel stay required.
I chilled out in the spa while the big and little kid had some fun and much needed daddy-daughter play time.
3. Comfy Beds
It should go without saying that a comfortable bed is a minimal requirement of a good hotel room, but let me tell you, I’ve encountered some real shockers in my time. Happily for my back, the beds at the PARKROYAL were super comfy, and we got a great nights sleep.
Because there are only three of us. I usually request a roll out bed for Emma rather than booking a family room, and as you can see she was pretty happy with it.
We sleep in a King-size bed at home, so it’s always nice to find a king size bed when we are away.
4. Extra Treats
It’s the little details that make a hotel stay special, like handmade chocolates in your room when you come back for a swim. I’m not sure if it’s standard practice, or just because they knew I was writing a review, but either way, it was a nice touch that I always appreciate.
Emma polished off nearly all of the chocolates, just part of the thorough hotel review service she provides. Being a blogger’s kids is hard work sometimes!
5. Airo Restaurant
We dined at the in-house restaurant Airo which has French influenced Australian Cuisine. We opted for the 3-course meal with matching Australian wines – great value at $85 pp. Some of the dish options included Tasmanian smoked wallaby prosciutto with crème fraiche for entree and Tasmanian Atlantic salmon fillet with Tobiko Roe for main course.
The kid was pretty pleased with the kid’s menu, as was I. For only $15 it included a large meal, drink, dessert and a colouring book. That’s great value and better than most fast food joints in the airport terminal. I’ll certainly be coming back to take up that offer again if we are ever looking for lunch or dinner at the airport.
Emma was delighted with the Persian Fairy Floss that topped her Ice-cream dessert at Airo Restaurant
6. Room Service Breakfast
I was pretty bummed that we were going to miss the breakfast buffet. I love a good buffet, but sadly it didn’t start till 6am and we’d be well on our way by then.
The only consolation was that room service breakfast starts at 4am, so we had a mini buffet delivered to the room. You order whatever you like the night before and it magically appears at your door at your per-requested time. No extra charge if you have breakfast included in your package.
7. Location, Location
But of course the best thing about the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport is it’s convenient location. Just a short stroll across the sky bridge and your stress-free commute to the airport is done!
No waiting for a cab that never arrives. No sitting anxiously in traffic. No parking miles and miles away in the long-term car park. Just get up, grab your bags and go!
You’ll be happy to know that we checked in with plenty of time and started our holidays super relaxed.
The Mr has banned me booking dawn flights, but I’m thinking that the money I save on cheap airfares can be spent starting our holidays early at the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport. It’s a Win-WIn!
We stayed and ate as guests of the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport for the purposes of this unpaid review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. Stay date, 2nd July 2017.
Rooms at the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport start at $295 per night. Short Stay packages are available.
Wow, what a luxurious stay! I’m not the travel lover, but that hotel is very enticing. I want to try the pool, take in the nighttime airport lights, and have a wee taste of the Persian fairy floss. (I didn’t know what Persian fairy floss was. I had to look it up!) It sounds like your family had a wonderful time.
It’s always a treat to stay in a nice hotel, even if it’s only for one night. We really made the most of it I think 🙂