From the moment we pulled up at four and a half star Crowne Plaza Hotel and handed our keys to Concierge to valet park the car, we felt relaxed. With limited time, a family staycation with just 25 minutes travel required, suited us perfectly. So, one minute you can be at home and then within an hour be sitting with your feet up by a pool – with no housework in sight!
The hotel is right on the edge of Perth’s CBD, with many attractions just a short stroll or free bus ride away. Crowne Plaza Hotel is found on Langley Park, opposite the Swan River.
Check in was very quick and in no time we were relaxing in our Premium River View Room. We picked that so we could enjoy a river facing balcony, a trundle bed for Little Chef would be set up after dinner. Large family rooms are also available, which have two queen beds and larger ensuites, with separate baths and showers.
The air conditioned room is very well appointed, with a Queen bed, a good sized 42” Flat-screen TV with some Foxtel channels and pay per view movies, an arm chair and desk.
I was immediately drawn to the balcony which overlooks Langley Park and the Swan River. The private balcony, with uninterrupted river views, has a table and two chairs which we’d be making use of later on. There are too many inclusions to name, some of the things in the room that we found useful were:
o IPod docking station
o Coffee pod machine and tea making facilities
o Fridge and mini bar
o Complimentary bottled water
o Iron and Ironing board
o Snuggly bathrobes
o Safe
o High-speed Internet access
o 24hr room service
The modern ensuite bathroom has a shower over the bath and has just about everything you might need, loads of quality toiletries, an ionic hair dryer and fluffy towels.
After we checked out our room we grabbed a couple of complimentary bikes. Crowne Plaza has adult sized bikes for guests to borrow and we brought Little Chef’s own bike from home. We headed out on this gloriously sunny day for a ride around the river – through East Perth around Claisebrook Cove, over the Windan Bridge and past the impressive new Perth Stadium.
We had an easy and mostly flat ride along the river, stopping at Lake Vasto and Mardalup Playgrounds along the way, then back over the Causeway to Crowne Plaza.
After our ride, we’d worked up quite an appetite! So we rang room service and enjoyed a delicious share platter that was promptly delivered to our room. We tucked into the platter (with tasty morsels – sausage rolls, garlic bread, chicken strips, samosas, tempura prawns, calamari etc) and some chilled glasses of bubbles on the balcony, which overlooks the Swan River from the Causeway to Kings Park.
Little Chef was still feeling hot from his ride, so we headed down to the rooftop infinity pool for a dip. While Little Chef splashed about, I put my feet up on one of the recliners and took in the fab view over the river and towards the city.
After, we borrowed a soccer ball from concierge and took it over the road to Langley Park. Chef and Little Chef had a kick about, trying to impress the other boys at the park having a kick – Sydney FC, who were also staying in the hotel.
For dinner, we dined at the hotel’s restaurant, Gusti, which is open seven days for both hotel guests and locals, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can sit on the outside deck, overlooking the grassy Langley Park or inside the contemporary dining room.
Before dinner, I enjoyed a cocktail on the deck, as the sun set. Chef and I then shared an entrée taster plate as Little Chef tucked into his slider dish from the kids menu.
For main I ordered the signature dish Crispy skin salmon, $38. The nicely cooked fish was served on a bed of tasty freekeh, chickpeas, roasted cauliflower and goats cheese with a tahini dressing. Chef enjoyed the 300g Black Angus beef sirloin steak,$41. We were FAR too full for dessert!
We headed upstairs and took in the city lights from our balcony and settled in for a comfortable night’s sleep, helped by the relaxing mist that was left on our bed to spray in the room, a nice touch. The bed was very comfortable and I loved having the extra dark block out curtains! We made the most of a late 11am check out with a lazy morning reading the morning paper in bed with my fluffy hotel robe while Little Chef watched some kids TV.
We headed downstairs for breakfast at Gusti, which is your typical hotel buffet with some excellent additions. There are plenty of options if you want the full “English” cooked breakfast with all the trimmings.
Or even something healthy like fresh fruit, bircher muesli and yoghurt. There’s a juice maker, where you can create your own healthy breakfast juice too.
There’s even honey dripping straight from the honeycomb for you to spread on your crumpet or pastries. Little Chef adored the pancake machine, with a touch of a button it makes your own pancakes! He was mesmerised. He made a little stack of pancakes, covering them with lashings of cream and jam! We all had a very filling and tasty breakfast.
It was a wonderful 24 hours at Crowne Plaza. It’s an immaculately maintained hotel, in a quiet spot in the city, but still close enough to the action. Now is an excellent time for a city staycation as room rates at Perth hotels have dropped dramatically. Crowne is great for a stay with kids or a weekend couple’s getaway too.
Check out current deals and book a staycation on Crowne Plaza’s website www.crowneplazaperth.com.au.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
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