We just finished a 5 night award booking here this week.

Nothing too exciting here, but thought it was a solid stay. Upgraded to upper floor, corner room. No extra Diamond amenities, past the two waters each day in the room. Standard lounge access and breakfast in Glass.

Lounge was fine. Nothing great, nothing bad. They get pretty busy in the evening, but we always managed to find a table. Desserts were nice. Otherwise, some sliced meats, cheeseboard, salad, bread, one or two hot items and various snacks.

Glass was ok, but I’d feel ripped off if I actually paid the asking price. Decent selection, ok pastries. I guess I’m too used to Asian Hilton properties, and this average restaurant pales in comparison. It is markedly better than the lounge breakfast, of course.

Nice Lindt mini chocolates left in the room in the evening. We came back our last day after the room was cleaned, to find one of the mini Pringles can knocked over on it’s side from the diabolical magnetic minibar stand. And I assume that’s the ridiculous AUD$16 charge that showed up on my final bill. A quick call solved that problem.

The bellmen were superhelpful here. Adele in the Exec Lounge was nice with some restaurant recommendations.

We hadn’t changed any money at the airport, as everyplace seemed a huge ripoff. I called the Magic line at the hotel, and was told they could exchange money, and was given the rate, which was good. However when I tried to exchange, I was told only to settle the bill at checkout. The Concierge pointed us to Crown Currency on the 5th floor at the nearby Westfield mall. A bit under a 3% loss on exchange.

Lots of smaller restaurants nearby only take cash.