NOVOTEL CANBERRA – ACCESSIBLE ACCOMMODATION

Canberra’s a destination which has become a firm favourite with our family. We’ve visited in all seasons and explored many attractions and it has continued to win over the kids through their different ages and stages. A few months ago we were pleased to have the opportunity to check out the Novotel Canberra’s accessible accommodation and we think it’s a winner.

One of the features we were most impressed with was the option of having a standard room inter-connecting with the accessible accommodation. It would be lovely to see more hotels offering this option.  This allows families, or those travelling with an assistant, the option of space and flexibility. We often talk to hotels about this in the hope that they will keep it in mind for any future planning. This set-up made our stay more comfortable, allowing us to be together but to spread out over the two rooms.

ACCESSIBLE ACCOMMODATION

The accessible accommodation is spacious without losing any facilities like a lounge, desk and AJ’s favourite, the comfy leather chair. We found that there was plenty of room for BJ to manoeuver around the room with his wheelchair.

We enjoyed having a lounge and seating area to relax in after our long sightseeing days.

BATHROOM

The bathroom is spacious with a flip-down shower seat, grab rails throughout and lever taps.

The hotel has paid great attention to detail with lowered towel holders and clothes line.

The hand-wash basin is wheelchair accessible with room to roll under it.

INTER-CONNECTING ROOM

The inter-connecting room was a standard room which was comfortable and well appointed. The comparison between the accessible room size and the standard room can be seen with the photos above.

FACILITIES

The hotel caters well for families with an indoor pool (this was under renovation at the time we visited but we had a look and could see ramp access into the pool area.)

We had a delicious dinner at the hotel and were pleased that the kids were well catered for with a kid’s menu which received a thumbs up.

The breakfast buffet was equally popular with the kids. They lined up for seconds at the pancake machine and happily concocted their own varieties of juice using the juice machine and the fresh fruit.  I am a big fan of a made-to-order omlette and the chef made it just right.

LOCATION

The hotel is centrally located and within easy reach of restaurants and shopping. The area around the hotel is level and paved with good wheelchair access if you want to leave the car behind.

SPECIAL OFFER

The kids were thrilled that we were staying on the Family 3inFun Package which included tickets to three of Canberra’s major family-friendly attractions including Cockington Green, Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Questacon. We had an absolute ball visiting some of our old favourites and exploring the AIS for the first time. You can read about Cockington Green here. I’ll be writing about the AIS tour and Questacon soon.

PARKING

There is secure accessible parking under the building with lift access to the lobby and rooms.

The Novotel Canberra is a 41/2 star hotel in the heart of Canberra. It is ideally located to make the most of all that Canberra has to offer. The access at the hotel is excellent and we found the staff friendly and helpful. We stayed as guests of Novotel but as usual, my opinions are my own and my enthusiasm is based on an amazing weekend at the hotel.