Last weekend we enjoyed a staycation at the PARKROYAL Parramatta which is located about 35 minutes from central Sydney. The hotel offers three styles of accessible accommodation, with the recently opened extension delivering particularly stylish rooms. It’s so refreshing to walk into an accessible room which has a designer, rather than clinical, feel.
When I first looked at reviewing the PARKROYAL I was thinking of families visiting Sydney for specialist appointments or hospital visits at Westmead Children’s Hospital (only 10 minutes drive from the hotel). But, having stayed at the hotel for leisure I can see its location is fantastic for a holiday or staycation.
ACCESSIBLE CLUB ROOM
As soon as we walked through the door we were won over by the Club accessible room. It has a spacious, stylish decadence which makes an overnight stay feel like an occasion.
The rooms can be made up as a twin-bedded or king room, with the option of an interconnecting room.
There’s plenty of room to transfer to the bed from either side and good space in general to manoeuvre with a wheelchair.
Tea and coffee making facilities are located in an easy to open drawer at a good height for wheelchair users. For coffee addicts you’ll be pleased to know there’s a Nespresso machine with complimentary pods.
ACCESSIBLE CLUB ROOM BATHROOM
I fell in love with the bathroom in the Club room. As much as I appreciate a roll-in shower of any variety it’s novel to have an enclosed shower. The glass door on the shower recess opens wide to allow entry, a drain ensures the whole bathroom isn’t flooded when showering and the door keeps it much warmer inside.
A large flip-down bench seat, height adjustable shower head, lowered shelf and grab rails throughout make this a wonderfully accessible bathroom.
The toilet features a back rest and grab rails either side. Lever taps are installed in both the shower and on the bathroom sink.
CLUB BENEFITS
Guests staying in a Club room have many added bonuses but the one which caught my eye (a sure sign I spend too much time washing) is the offer of 2 pieces of laundry washed per room per day (non-accumulative). When travelling this would be something I’d certainly appreciate and use.
Breakfast is included and served in the exclusive Club Lounge.
Twilight drinks and canapés are included and available in the Club Lounge from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
Regular refreshments are available in the Lounge throughout the day.
Guaranteed late check-out of 12pm
INTERCONNECTING ROOM
The interconnecting room mirrors the accessible room but with a regular size bathroom.
Both rooms have ultra plush bathrobes which beg to be used for relaxation post long shower.
SUPERIOR ACCESSIBLE ROOM
Three Superior Accessible rooms are available in the original portion of the hotel. All of these rooms offer the option of an interconnecting room.
These rooms can be made up as a twin-bedded room (as pictured) or a king bedded room. While these rooms are not as spacious as the Club Accessible rooms there is still a good amount of space to move around.
All amenities are lowered with the mini-bar and all crockery located within the cabinet under the television.
The hotel has shower chairs available for guest use. Please request this when making your reservation to ensure availability. These rooms have a roll-in shower with a height adjustable shower head, grab rails and lever taps. The bathroom sink is wheelchair accessible and the toilet has sufficient room beside for transferring.
PARKING
Secure undercover parking is available (at additional cost) at the hotel with lift access to reception. There are disabled parking bays in the carpark.
DINING
Staying in the Club Accessible room gave us access to the Club Lounge for breakfast. The buffet included the usual options including scrambled eggs, bacon, cereals, fruit and a variety of juices. There’s a few upmarket touches with omelettes and eggs made to order and an unusual variety of jams, including Wild Lime Marmalade, Rosella and Wild Plum and Passionfruit and fig.
Lounges, wing back chairs and a variety of magazines and newspapers make this a comfortable oasis in a busy hotel environment.
The kids were happy with pancakes for breakfast and always love making their own.
For guests staying in the other rooms there is an extensive buffet breakfast in the restaurant in mornings. I was particularly pleased to see an area with gluten free treats well labelled and with a toaster especially for use with the gluten free bread.
On the evening of our arrival we took advantage of the seafood buffet dinner available in TABLE:30 restaurant. The restaurant was fully booked so it’s popular and bookings are recommended.
The buffet has a range of hot and cold items and for non-seafood eaters there are alternatives like pasta, chicken dishes. Although Hubby and I were content with the savoury items we saw the kids’ eyes grow wide at the variety of sweet options.
They tried several items and then moved on to the crepe station.
Staff were friendly, helpful and accommodating in the restaurant making it a lovely evening for us all.
ACCESS
The hotel has excellent access in the main areas of the hotel and accessible restroom facilities in common areas. The pool has steps to enter the water.
We were happy to use the ramp at the entrance of the hotel but BJ particularly enjoyed riding the lift.
Our family stayed and dined at the PARKROYAL Parramatta as guests of the hotel. As always, our enthusiasm is based on our experience during our stay.
NEARBY
We’ve had the pleasure of attending several performances at the Riverside Theatre this year and love the accessibility and inclusive program the theatre offers. The theatre has many relaxed performances for families with additional needs and a varied program to suit all ages.
Within a few minutes of the PARKROYAL is the Parramatta River where there’s level accessible pathways on both sides perfect for a leisurely walk or wheel. We decided to walk off a bit of what we consumed at the buffet breakfast and had a lovely morning exploring the extensive walkway.
The story of the local indigenous people is featured on the walkway in a series of artworks and explained on information boards staggered along the way.
Along the foreshore we came across Parramatta Riverside Park which is a challenging playground set on the sloping hillside. Sadly there’s no accessible elements but I’m including it in the blog as we have a variety of readers with varying needs and abilities.
The PARKROYAL offers great dining options but if you fancy venturing beyond the hotel you don’t need to go far. Within a half a block of the hotel you’ll find a range of restaurant options and if you need a late night snack, Gelato Messina is in the same street.
TRANSPORT
Situated out the front of the PARKROYAL is a free shuttle bus which can be used to access the ferry wharf, the Westfield Shopping Centre and train station.
Only two blocks from the hotel is the ferry terminal which provides guests with a relaxing and scenic way to travel to the city.
There’s lots of great reasons to stay and play at the PARKROYAL at Parramatta including various conference facilities. So, if you are visiting Sydney, it’s a fantastic accessible hotel to consider for your stay.
I thoroughly enjoy your posts, dreaming of a day we can travel to Australia from Canada. Our son uses a power wheelchair, so it would be very helpful to know whether beds have space under them for the legs of a patient lift.
Great spot to stay in Sydney, I think. There’s lots to see and do in Parramatta. But also so handy for the hospitals too.