voco Gosford (Central Coast, NSW, Australia)

What is your IHG One Rewards status?
Platinum Ambassador

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Standard Room, received 1 King Premium Balcony (two-category upgrade, visible online a couple of weeks out from my stay)

How are the rooms?
The hotel is brand new having opened just two weeks before my stay and as such, had all the modern comforts one could hope for. The King bed was plush and super comfortable, the TV was huge and included Chromecast and other apps in addition to free-to-air channels and there were plenty of powerpoints including USB points near the bed. Tea and coffee facilities were a bit limited but did include pods and there was ample storage space. The balcony was reasonably large with two chairs and I had a view overlooking downtown Gosford, I would say the rooms with bay views or stadium views would be preferable but for a short stay no complaints. Wi-Fi was fast and air-conditioning worked well. A hand-written card as well as two bottles of Wallaby water and a plate of exceptionally good macarons had been left on the table as a welcome amenity. The bathroom was spacious and fitted out with Apotheke white vetiver amenities. The shower had the option of a rainfall or regular showerhead and was very spacious with good non-slip tiling. Towels were large and plush. One small problem and I won't penalise them for it because it's to be expected from new builds but the tap in the shower fell right off! I was still able to turn it on/off so wasn't a huge deal and noted it for them to fix at check-out.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
The Good

• Surprising number of restaurants due to the hotel being part of the larger Archibald Precinct which includes luxury residential apartments. On the ground floor there is a large multi-purpose area containing Paolo's pizzeria as well as Archie's pub and the adjoining Ironbark restaurant, all of which are popular with the public as well. Within the hotel lobby they have the Lobby Bar, on the fifth floor by the pool they have the all-day Saltfire restaurant and bar, which is currently only open for buffet breakfast and serves the pool swim-up bar, then on the top floor they have the Astra Rooftop, not currently open but will serve drinks and Japanese food. Lunch and drinks at Archie's / Ironbark were great, they are also open til late on weekends.
• Good facilities - gym, pool and sauna, however the sauna was not open for guests yet. The gym was pretty well equipped with treadmills/bikes/weights etc and was nice and cold. The pool is huge and includes a swim-up bar, which seems pretty luxurious for a hotel in Australia let alone in a regional centre! At the time of my stay they hadn't gotten around to putting up any umbrellas or deck chairs so people were literally just sunbaking on the tiles but I assume this will be addressed soon.
• Brita filtered water taps by the elevators on every floor.
• Good variety of options for welcome drinks including a non-alcoholic beer which I appreciated.
• Late check-out of 12:30pm provided without any trouble.
• Most staff very well-intentioned and eager to help although some still getting familiar with the hotel and its systems. Particular shout-out to receptionist Bonnie who was super helpful.

The Bad (mostly minor)

• Room not ready on arrival at 1pm and the receptionist who initially assisted me was very unfamiliar with the system, struggled through the check-in formalities with some help from her colleagues and only mentioned at the end that the room actually wasn't ready yet and while they could guarantee 3pm they weren't sure if it would be available any earlier and wouldn't be able to call me either as it was a "manual check" to see if the room was available. It seemed they were turning away everyone arriving before 3pm. Check-in experience was saved by the previously mentioned Bonnie when I returned at 2:30pm and she apologised for the delay, recognised my status (the other receptionist hadn't) and was shocked I hadn't been given a drink while I waited so gave me a few extra welcome drink vouchers. She walked through all the facilities of the hotel pointing out it was the first day for a number of the restaurants/bars (still in soft open) and insisted on delivering my luggage to my room.
• Mixed experience at breakfast - buffet breakfast is served at Saltfire and at check-in I was asked if I would like to pre-book for $35 which was a $7 saving on the walk-in price so I took it. It was a reasonably extensive buffet with cold cuts, plenty of bakery, cereals, juices, a little bit of fruit and yoghurt and a hot selection consisting of mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages, hash browns, baked beans and scrambled, poached and boiled eggs. There were plenty of gluten-free items which were all well labelled. I would say the quality of the food was above my expectations, some of the highlights were the muffins, the sausages and I was surprised to see Pepe Saya butter in the bakery section. Two areas for improvement would be introducing cooked-to-order eggs (including omelettes) and improving coffee service; on arrival I was asked for my coffee order and after waiting a while I noticed later arrivals starting to receive their coffees so enquired about mine, even after asking it still took a while for my flat white to arrive and it wasn't a good one either. For $35 / $42 it is on the pricey side so I'd skip it unless included in your rate.
• There was a power outage shortly before my departure which lasted for about half an hour. There is still a bit of construction going on and being new these things will happen so I wasn't particularly fussed and the staff were very apologetic and checking in on guests to ensure they were ok and comfortable during the outage.
• All in all nothing too bad and mostly explained by the hotel being brand new and also at full capacity due to an international soccer friendly (Australia's Matildas vs. New Zealand's Football Ferns) with the Matildas and their support crew all staying at the hotel too - attending the game was the reason for my stay and to be honest all the hype and excitement of having the Matildas at the hotel was a massive bonus!

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
AUD $425 for one night. Rates are typically much less than I paid but they were charging a substantial premium due to the special event. Would be happy to return if there was another event that brought me to Gosford.

Photos in the spoilers below!