This new Hotel is prominently positioned in front of a quiet beach, 10 minute walk into the local township.
If you expect quality and helpful staff this facility certainly will tick all boxes...for a price.
We purchased a one bedroom apartment that had ample room to spreadout, feel comfortable, watch a DVD, or gaze at the ocean (very small view). Our apartment looked over the majestic pool that had amazing light effects upon it at night. Pillow menu is very useful for fussy sleepers, and prompt service. The package included a bottle of wine (Hardy's, a rough drop however a nice thought), a well prepared buffet breakfast (over looking the ocean), and most importantly for 2x sleepy heads a late 2 pm checkout. This cost us $240. Not cheap, but ok if you want to have a little splurge on some winter luxury.
It was pleasing to see although this is a relatively pricey Hotel, all furnishings and trimmings we observed were to our high expectations and the staff go out of their way to say hello and provide as much help as possible. Extra commonsense thoughts have also been considered, such as providing you with an empty fridge (with no overpriced chocolate or softdrink) so you can immediatley store your own food/drink supplies. This could be different in suite rooms as we did have a well resourced kitchen in our apartment.
Importantly for 2 sportaholics, the artificial tennis court was in excellent quality, although we lost 2 balls into the muddy construction site on the other side of the fence. I am unsure of the rental equipment available, reception did tell us tennis rackets could be hired for $10 and lost balls would be charged at $3 each...i would advise bringing your own equipment for this one. Aditionally, the second pool, an indoor lap pool was presented well and must have been warm as it was consistently used by patrons. Gym junkies will also appreciate the best Hotel gym i have ever used. This consisted of a large range of light to heavy dumballs, space ++ (incl an aerobics room), and cardio machines overlooking the ocean. If you like the aded extras of a Hotel you should not be dissapointed. Also this was winter time, so as you can imagine patrons, like the price will go up in the summer. We found the Hotel booking service easy to use and no commissions were paid, they have a very easy cancellation policy in place also if something has to be changed.

My two children and I (7 & 5) stayed for 2 nights over the June long weekend. We can't wait to go back. Everything about the hotel was spot on. Great location, well designed, good looking, great facilities & because it's only recently opened, everything was new & spotless. The service was great, all staff very helpful & friendly.

We had planned to explore Torquay until check in time, but when we arrived my 5 year old wasn’t feeling well so went to the hotel early to see what time the room would be ready. They gave us a room straight away.

Upon checking in we opted for the on property parking spaces, but after returning from an outing there were no nearby spaces available (plenty across the road though) so we used the valet service ($20 per day, secure undercover parking). Even though it looked like bedlam at peak check in time (we were fortunate to have checked in early), we were dealt with immediately.

The indoor heated pool was brilliant, a very warm 27 degrees. The outdoor pool is gorgeous though too cold in June! However it does have a big spacious heated spa which looked very tempting. The whole place has more of a resort feel than a hotel, I think this comes from it not being high rise, and with lovely landscaping that I look forward to seeing when it’s more established.

We had an apartment with a king size bed in a separate room & a fold out sofa bed in the lounge with an additional 2 lounge chairs so you could sprawl on the bed or sit on a lounge. Brilliant kitchen/dining with all essentials (Miele applicances). Bright shiny bathroom (shower over big bath), take your best bubbles, you'll want to soak & sip! Huge fluffy bath towels. Plus a washer & dryer discreetly located behind door. Plenty of storage. Our room was on the ground floor with 2 large sliding glass doors leading out to the tennis court & a couple of bench seats for soaking up the winter sun. The room also had 2 lockable, opening windows, though we didn’t have a key. The room was both private & quiet. One night we could hear a tennis game going on, but it wasn't too bad. Great beds & linens.

We had a breakfast in the restaurant. The usual hotel buffet selection, though quality of food & service both above average, they even have crispy or soft bacon to choose from! Cappuccino’s & Café Latté’s offered upon arrival, definitely beats the usual coffee pot on offer. This restaurant is on the 3rd floor so the views over the ocean were really lovely.

The beach (Fisherman’s Beach) is directly across the road with lots of grassy open space & there's a fantastic (huge) playground about a 10 minute walk up the road - you can walk most of the way along the beach.

The on demand movies were on average about $16 each, but you can pause, rewind & fast forward. You can also book mark & return to the movie later (they are cleared daily). The selection was good, but could have been great with a few more G rated movies. The room had a dvd player, so you could take & watch your own movies.

The room service menu was great for big people, but was limited with what you could have ordered for the average child. I guess they could probably offer something child friendly if you asked, but we didn’t, and were happy to use the in room kitchen facilities. On our last day I discovered a very casual dining area off reception (a café I think) which I will definitely visit next time. I believe they do light lunches & maybe dinner or breakfast as well. A bit sketchy about this, so check rather than take my word for it.

If you like a good glossy magazine to unwind with be sure to take your own.

We had a couple of minor concerns which I advised the hotel of. They were resolved quickly. They would not affect my decision to stay here again so I won’t go into details.

Two things we had difficulties with …..

I found the hotel impossible (literally) to reach by phone. Telstra directories gave me the number for the Casino in Melbourne (similar name) & Voda directories only had a 1800 number. This number leads to a prompting service where you can select from 3 Crowne properties in Melbourne but not the hotel at Torquay. After getting onto an operator I was given the hotels direct number. Upon ringing this, I was diverted to the same 1800 number & went through the whole process again. Very frustrating, though this does not deter me from staying there again.

The other issue is with elevator access to the restaurant. I tried 2 different elevators on our floor to reach level 3 where the restaurant is. After several attempts at getting no where (my children thought we were stuck – twice!) we went to enquire at reception. It turns out the hotel is actually 2 separate buildings joined by the undercover arrivals area & the reception & restaurants are located in the other building. You can’t tell (at least I couldn’t) from the ground. Anyway, to access the restaurant you need to take the lift from the lobby. A couple of signs by the elevators should advise guests of this.

There’s a lot more available that we didn’t experience, but it’s all on their website.

All in all, a wonderful place to stay. We loved it and we can’t wait to go back with my husband. And then we’ll have to do a summer trip as well…..

Torquays newest hotel the Crowne Plaza is a welcome 5 star addition to the accommodation available in this town. It looks great, has excellent facilities and is in the perfect central position overlooking the bay. Most of the staff were polite and enthusiastic. The biggest problem is the enthusiasm they display in emptying your pockets i.e. in room internet at $2.00 a min or $27.50 per day, Valet parking is compulsory! or so we were told although there is plenty of free parking for guests and resturaunt patrons all around the hotel, note there is a $4.50 charge per tray on room service - not per delivery but per tray, if you order entree main and desert this will add $13.50 to your meal bill. Don't even look at the room service drinks menu - $7.00 for a local beer and wine at 6 times bottleshop prices. Unfortunately I ordered a bottle of spirits as a gift for a business associate at a function we attended in the hotel which was charged to my room, unfortunately I never checked the price and they charged me $150 for a $29 bottle of spirits. Ruthless. Anyway as I said great location and facilities but be wary of the excessive charging.