It is sad to read that website Trip Advisor, one of the most trusted websites for hotel reviews on the net, are facing a class action litigation because of some bad reviews from their readers. It’s sad because if the reviews are actually from real people who have visited those venues and they have had a bad experience, then their experiences should be allowed to be expressed to others who are interested to listen to their vents.

Of course readers to such forums as Trip Advisor should also realize that some people down-mouth a certain establishment for the most minor inconvenience. We here at funtours once had a facility for reader reviews, yet decided to stop the feature because of the overwhelming job of sorting through what sounded like real experiences from those who just wanted to spam the forum to get their website URL listed. Then of course there was the automatic robot spammers that dumped hundreds of bogus comments, so it was a no brainer for us to cease user reviews. We now do our own reviews personally and hardly ever have had a bad experience when travelling. There have been times when there was confusion with bookings or some features that were included when making the booking, usually these can be sorted out in a few minutes without too much hassle. If a room is not the cleanest, it can be cleaned again if you ask. Amazing what can be achieved if you keep a cool head.

Trip Adviser has built a reputation upon real people submitting real reviews, so much so that it is the number one website to check for those wanting to book hotels worldwide. Of course there will be good experiences and bad experiences. If the reader is intelligent, they will normally be able to see past some frivolous or bad comments and rate comments themselves on an average of reviews. If the majority of reviewers give a certain establishment bad reviews, then there is usually something wrong. If it looks like a dead fish, smells like a dead fish, it usually is a dead fish. Usually you get what you pay for, with cheaper hotels giving a lesser experience, but that is your choice when choosing your accommodation in the first place.

Without going into the rights and wrongs of this class action, if it does happen and the legal action succeeds, it will be the consumers that will suffer, as any reviews from that day on will have to be in favor of the establishment. That will be the end of websites such as Trip Advisor, a sad day indeed.

Novotel Hotels are usually good value, upmarket hotels, with fabulous facilities and excellent service. The Novotel on Darling Harbour, Sydney, has become a firm favorite of yours truly and are now offering specials, adding even greater value to an already competitive price. I have made a review of Novotel on Darling Harbour before, yet thought I would be letting you down if I didn’t update the review and let you know about the special offers.

Novotel on Darling Harbour is a four star hotel that lives up to that rating. Spacious and well equiped rooms are complimented with really comfortable beds and the best pillows that can be found in any hotel I have ever slept in. I’ll tell you a little more about those pillows later in this post.

With fabulous views over Darling Harbour and Sydney City for those who book a Darling Harbour view room, the extra cost involved to stay in a room with a view is far offset by the pleasure you will recieve. You could stay by the window all day just enjoying the view, and at night the scene is even more memorable.

You can access those specials online by either checking out the Hotel Club rates or at the Novotels website “specials page” itself. Sometimes the Hotel Club rates are the cheapest and are the best deals, with breakfast included in the price.

Now for a review of those pillows that I mentioned earlier.

These pillows are right up there with the best I have found in any hotel. They are soft 100% duck feather pillows, that mold to the way you like them. Want them flat, push down and they will stay that way. Want them high, fluff them up to what you require. The luxury pillows shape themselves around your head and seem like your favorite pillow at home. No more will you wish you had your own pillow. At Novotel on Darling Harbour, you won’t miss a good nights sleep because your pillow is the wrong shape, that’s for sure. And best of all you can now purchase these pillows online. 

It wasn’t long ago that I blogged that Sheraton on the Park hotel, Sydney, was offering a hot winter special. I took that offer recently and am more than surprised that more and more people are not taking that offer seriously.

Back home again after a 3 week working trip to Sydney, Canberra and the Snowy Mountains of NSW, I am sitting down today to write a full review of Sheraton on the Park, Rydges Lakeside in Canberra and Quality Horizons Resort, Jindabyne, plus a few “things to do”, attractions and tours in each location.

But if your after accommodation in Sydney in the near future, you must check out Sheraton on the Park. It will receive a glowing stamp of approval from this author for both quality of service and standard of accommodation, plus the included breakfast is one of the finest you could find anywhere.

This is fantastic value, but wander over to our full review as we have a few photos to show you, along with a few hints to make your experience at the Sheraton on the Park that little more enjoyable.

Recently we had the opportunity to visit Hervey Bay and Fraser Island to gather review material and do photography work. We chose to stay at the Allegra Resort for the position. What a fabulous find this turned out to be.

We traveled in the off season (late May) and upon making our search for a good hotel at reasonable prices, were surprised to find that the top Allegra apartment, the penthouse with roof top spa, was under what we normally pay per night for a double room in Sydney.

Overlooking Shelly Beach, the penthouse was luxury plus, with every mod con and 3 toilets. Yes, there was even a toilet upstairs for use while enjoying a rooftop barbie or relaxing in the large heated spa. Other resort features were secure undercover car parking, heated pool and a good gym.

The Allegra management was so friendly and helpful that it felt like we were old friends.

This is seriously good Hervey Bay accommodation opposite Shelly Beach. We enjoyed the morning walks along the esplanade, the beach and the relaxed friendly attitude of all the local residents.

Hervey Bay is a wonderful slice of Queensland coast and we highly recommend the Alegra to all and sundry. We here at funtours make hotel reviews, so would probably stay at another location when next in this glorious town, but if we can somehow get around that work commitment, would certainly make the Alegra our preferred stop.

Do yourself a favour and indulge in a bit of luxury. Book the Allegra Hervey Bay online now! Our full page review with images will follow soon.

Took a trip to central Queensland in May 2009, and stayed 4 nights at the Capricornia Resort, Yeppoon, which was originally built by Japanese businessman Yohachiro Iwasaki and now operated under the Rydges Hotel banner.

We chose to stay at Rydges while in Yeppon as we are Prefered Guest Members and could make a review of the hotel for this blog, while also reviewing the cruise tour to Great Keppel Island, plus photography and reviews of other landmarks around Emu Park, Zilzie Bay, Rosslyn Bay and Yeppoon.  The Capricorn Coast is a fabulous spot with beaches and islands equal to anywhere in Australia. 

Unfortunately we had a few issues which soured the whole experience.

Making our bookings online, we selected the option of room, plus breakfast and evening meals. As a Rydges Preferred Guest member, all our documentation was ready at check in, but there were no vouchers for meals. Upon querying this, the young man at reception said that it wasn’t possible to give meals with the booking, as night meals were mainly A La Carte, so we would be billed separately for meals. Then he gave us vouchers for the Seafood Buffet that night, saying Saturday nights were an exception, which was a little confusing yet understandable.

We decided that as we would be out early most mornings and back late each evening, perhaps not being tied to meals would be good for us, so would get meals outside the resort. No problems…. yet!!

Our room was nicely presented, clean and comfortable, yet could not be termed as luxurious. Perhaps tired would be a fair description. Good views from the balcony over the beach and Great Keppel Island. We took a walk around the resort and were very impressed by the pool and many activities, including horse riding, water sports and various beach activities. Of course the 2 championship golf courses are a major attraction and the real centrepiece of the resort.

Getting ready for dinner, clothes needed to be pressed, but there was no iron in the room. A phone call to reception brought us an iron with just a 10 minute wait. The seafood buffet was fabulous, everything was delicious.

We awoke early Sunday morning to the best sunrise you can imagine, went to have a coffee on the balcony to watch the fabulous color show, but alas, there was no electric jug to boil the water. Another phone call to reception but was told that no house staff was available to bring an electric jug to the room until after 7am. A man without coffee in the morning isn’t a happy man.

These 2 simple items, an iron and an electric jug, should be supplied. There is no excuse for them not being in a room which is deemed ready for customers. Cheap $50 a night motels in Dubbo can get this right.   

But the pain continued…

The day before departure, my partner checked the billing account via the television service in the room. Yep, we had been billed for breakfasts and dinners, just as we had booked via the internet. Down to reception we go and after a short time, got the billing sorted out.

Next morning at check out, we had a long wait while the person in front of us sorted his bill out. Yes, he was overcharged by around $500.00.  

The Capricornia Resort is a nice place to relax, play some golf or enjoy one of the largest resort pools in Australia.

Rydges Capricornia Resort isn’t a great place for service.

As frequent guests at Rydges Hotels around Australia, we were very disappointed and would stay elsewhere when next in Yeppoon.  

(This review of Rydges Capricornia Resort Yeppoon was written by T Puntti & J Hodgkin. It is an accurate, first hand account, of a 4 day stop over at Rydges Capricornia Resort from May 16 to May 19, 2009.)