October 2019 - Adventure, baby!

Month: October 2019

Cairns Hotel Review: Riley by Crystalbrook

October 29, 2019 / Australia, Cairns, Queensland, Travel, Tropical North Queensland / 0 comment

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Cairns Hotel Review: Riley by Crystalbrook

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Enjoy the tropics in style at Riley, a Crystalbrook Collection hotel located on the Cairns Esplanade.

Pool and lobby

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

The hotel is a stylish $170-million redo of the old RydgesTradewinds motel – not that you’d be able to guess it by looking at the slick lobby, breathtaking pool and elegant rooms. The Riley looks like a brand new hotel, one that is bright, light and full of fun.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

At the heart of Riley is its 1,000-square-metre lagoon-style pool. With its sand fringes, the pool is reminiscent of swimming at the beach – a nice feature given that Cairns doesn’t have any beaches.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

There is easy access from the pool to restaurants, spa and the hotel rooms, so it’s always a quick trip down for a dip in the sparkling water.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Sunscreen and water are available for use.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

The lobby is a soaring, welcoming space, with lounges, water available for drinking, and a pool table in a little nook. It’s a spot designed to entice visitors to stay a while and relax.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Sustainability

I really loved the approach to sustainability that the Riley has taken to minimise its hospitality footprint. In the bathrooms are amenities infused with native botanicals, supplied in refillable containers affixed to shower walls, room keycards are little discs made from 100% recycled wood; water is given in cardboard cartons rather than plastic bottles; and menus and area guides are stored on a digital device. In the restaurants around the hotel, stainless steel straws are supplied.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Rooms and suites

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

The majority of rooms and suites are located in the restored building, with 55 in a striking new 12-story tower that is also home to two restaurants and a spa.

There are four categories of views on offer: urban, resort, sea and panoramic sea.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

I stayed in a resort view room overlooking for beautiful swimming lagoon. The room included a balcony with chairs, choice of king bed or two king singles, free wifi, Apple iPad Control Centre, 55” HD Smart TV, Staycast by Google Chromecast for video streaming, complimentary movies, excellent air-con and blackout blinds, nespresso machine with complimentary pods, rainforest shower, freestanding bath, a minibar stocked with local goodies, yoga mat in the wardrobe, iron, hair dryer, safe.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

I absolutely loved the thoughtful little details at the hotel, such as the sleep mask and pillow spray that was left on my bed at night. What a lovely item to take home!

Cairns Riley Crystalbrook

When travelling with kids who are out of the cot, the best option are family rooms, which are adjoining bedrooms with a choice of two king beds or four king singles, or a room with a king bed and requesting a rollaway bed from reception.

Restaurants

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

There are three restaurants located in the hotel: Rocco, which serves dishes from the Mediterranean region, Greenfields, which offers to nourish your body with wholesome fare and Paper Crane, which is the spot for breakfast in the morning, or Asian cuisine at night.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

I only dined at Paper Crane in the morning, when the restaurant kickstarted my day with eggs made to order, pastries, yoghurt, fruit and plenty of tea and juice.

Riley Crystalbrook Cairns

Riley
131-141 Esplanade
Cairns
crystalbrookcollection.com/riley

Find things to do in Cairns.

Muddy’s Playground on Cairns Esplanade

October 29, 2019 / Australia, Cairns, Queensland, Travel, Tropical North Queensland / 0 comment

Muddy’s Playground Cairns Esplanade

This fantastic playground has fenced areas, a splash playground, flying fox, sound chimes, track ride, rope bridge, slides, mouse wheels, play houses, story telling areas, see-saw, trick track and puzzle games. Muddy’s Playground is one of the top Cairns attractions for families and it’s easy to see why!

Muddy’s Playground is the prefect example of what modern playgrounds should aim for. IIt incorporates active, passive, interactive and educational facilities alongside play equipment.

The theme of Muddy’s Playground “Life in Trinity Bay”, which is reflected in the water play and other elements.

There are several water play elements spread throughout the park, which lets kids of all ages enjoy the water fun. There is a quiet stream, small jets and larger jets.

Muddy’s was exceptionally well designed to cater to kids of all ages, with equipment and activities that suit toddlers, preschool and junior school age, to tweens.

Bigger kids will love the large climbing frame and slides, plus tunnels to run inside, and the large net climbing structure.

The toddler area is completely fenced in, which prevents little kids mingling with older kids as well as making it easier to keep track of where whearabouts.

The toddler are features sand play and some great little houses to play in.

Muddy’s also features play equipment for preschool and lower-primary school-aged kids with smaller climbing structures, musical elements and balance elements, plus a giant fish that is endless fun to run in and out of, and reflects the Cairns aquatic theme.

There is a disabled-use Liberty Swing which uses the MLAK national keying system. Ask at Muddy’s Cafe for access.

There are two toilet facilities (one at the north end of Muddy’s near the cafe, and one at the southern end of Muddy’s) barbecues and picnic tables and a cafe.

Muddy’s Cafe, located in the heart of the playground, is open daily, 6am-8pm. They offer a breakfast and lunch/dinner menu for kids.

Muddy’s Playground is open every day of the year from 9.00am and 7.00pm (including public holidays and weekends). Sections of Muddy’s are closed for maintenance on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings until noon.

Inside the LEGO Certified Store at Broadway Sydney

October 12, 2019 / CBD, Sydney, Ultimo / 0 comment

Inside the LEGO Certified Store at Broadway Sydney

Take your little builders to the brand new LEGO certified store at Broadway Sydney. Located on Level 2, near JB Hi-Fi, the store is smaller than the Bondi Junction store, but is still packed with things to do (and buy!).

There are several large LEGO statues around the store, some life-sized and perfect for photos, and plenty that are the huge, expensive LEGO packs that are also available for sale.

The store is divided into themed sections – there are plenty of new Frozen 2 sets, plus Star Wars, Harry Potter, Friends, City, Disney LEGO and much, much more.

The Pick a Brick wall is a popular spot – fill a container with pieces to take home. Note: the bricks are sold by the container not weight, so fill the container to the brim to get the best value.

We loved the build your own Minifigure station where you can custom build your own LEGO Minifigure, including heads, torsos, legs, hair and accessory.

There is a large LEGO play table for kids to sit at and play with LEGO for as long as they like.

For LEGO buffs, there are plenty of hard-to-find LEGO sets, as well as lots of little items that are only available directly from LEGO store, such as the cute LEGO keyrings.