You can smile at this crocodile and sleep soundly inside (Holiday Inn Gagudju Crocodile Hotel Jabiru)

Member Name: catsholiday

Product:	Holiday Inn Gagudju Crocodile Hotel Jabiru
Date:	18/04/09 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: In the Middle of the National Park

Disadvantages: none really - did want it was designed for

Holiday Inn Jabiru - Kakadu National Park

This hotel is in the middle of the World heritage listed Kakadu ( Gagadu) National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. This is Crocodile Dundee country, hot and wild with scrubby bush and not much else. This amazing hotel is designed in the shape of a crocodile is coloured a sort of camouflage green and is only two stories high. You enter the hotel through its mouth .

Reception area :

Once through the jaws then reception is on the left hand side and there is a gift shop on the right.

Upstairs in this area is a meeting area with chairs and tables.

In the middle of the reception area is a mock Lilly pond with a large natural rock in the centre. My husband was busy looking up at something and did a wonderful arabesque almost into this pond which was hilarious for me but a little nerve wracking for him. Towards the back of this area is a scene with a huge crocodile chasing a fish in 3D.

As you go to the right you walk through the art gallery of Aboriginal paintings tastefully hung with lights hanging down shining on the paintings. Once you reach the automatic door you can go in either direction toward your room depending on its number.

POOL:
We went left and passed the pool area with its large canopy sail covering it to give shade from excessive sun. There were rocks and foliage all round it with seating and tables after our long hot day in the coach and walking this looked most welcoming.

We went on to our room which was number 116 along the outside of the crocodile. We followed a path round and all along the path were wonderful coloured tropical plants with exotic flowers. The entire hotel complex was set in wonderful gardens with trees providing welcome shade.

Rooms:
Our room was big and light with two small double beds. Each bed had normal pillows in white cotton like the sheets, the small throw and small square decorative pillows were brown and dark blue striped and there were also large plain brown decorative cushions. At the end of the room were glass sliding doors opening out on to an open courtyard area. Inside were had two comfortable chairs and a small round table, There was a desk with the TV on it, a separate dark wooden wardrobe with extra pillows, iron and ironing board and two drawers under . Then another unit had the fridge/mini bar, a kettle with coffee, tea and sugar and there was milk in the fridge. In this unit was a cupboard with the coded safe.

Bathroom:
The bathroom was small but had all you needed and the shower was over the bath. This hotel also had a washing line which pulled out which was unusual in the hotels we stayed at in Australia. They provided an iron and ironing board and often there was a laundry within the hotel but very few had lines in the bathroom so this was a plus for me. There were gorgeous, fluffy white towels, again some of the hotels had rather less than fluffy towels so I appreciated this too. Also provided were Shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and body lotion and very nice smelling green glycerine soap.

Little Outside area:
We opened the sliding door and we able to sit in the wooden chairs and put our cuppa on the little wooden table between us. It was quite hot so we didn't stay there for long. It was also very useful for drying the clothes I'd washed. The courtyard was in the middle of the crocodile - inside his stomach and could only be accessed by people staying at the hotel. It was possible to get to the pool through this courtyard which was useful if you wanted to change and not have to get fully clothed to walk round the outside of the crocodile.

The Restaurant:

The restaurant called the Escarpment also had the bar. It was large and airy with Didgeridoos lining the entrance. An Aborigine screen hung from two square raised areas in the roof. There were also interesting metal sculptures in a central decorative area. The food offered looked good. We had a starter of Kakadu taster - garlic bread and chips the taster had unusual things such as crocodile kebab, kangaroo spring rolls and other interesting local offerings. We enjoy trying different food and this was presented really nicely and was very tasty too. The fish and chips sounded good and there was steak and other interesting items on the menu but we were not greatly hungry so we just had the starter. The average price was $30 for a main and just under $20 for a starter; most deserts were £13 on average.

Service was slick and professional and the waiting on staff very pleasant. They explained what was in the various items on the menu and were very happy to have a bit of a chat too. The restaurant offered breakfast, lunch and evening dining and there was a buffet menu available as well as the a la carte.

If you preferred there were barbeques on site that you could use to cook your own food but we were not aware of this so had not brought our steak or prawns to throw on the Barbie.

Other Amenities;
The pool area I have described already.

There is a guest laundry with washers and driers available for a small fee.

Internet is available in the business area but no wifi in the rooms. There was a charge of $2 for about 15mins I believe but I didn't use this so I cannot comment on how efficient it was.

There was a gift shop and a little convenience store selling a few basic food items and not a lot else.

SUMMARY:
The hotel was not a resort so it did not have gyms and other luxuries but it was very different in its design. The decor was so very Aboriginal Australia and fitted perfectly with the setting. Most people who stay here come to explore the Kakadu National park rather than to enjoy relaxing in the hotel and this hotel is in a unique position within the National Park and is perfect for visiting the area and exploring places where Crocodile Dundee was filmed.

It was not luxurious but the rooms were light airy and clean. The beds were extremely comfortable and really served our purpose for a night's stay in this amazing area. I really loved the hotel but before we went I had read quite a few negative comments on trip advisor so I was very pleasantly surprised.

Another dooyooer has comented on the fact I have not mentioned wheel chair access. All the hotel is one level throughout so this wouldn't be a problem but I did not notice any special equipment for disabled access to the swimming pool nor did I ask about special bathrooms in rooms. i would suggest if you are needing those sort of facilities that you contact the hotel directly to check.

The website for this unusual hotel can be found here:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/ja bgg

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© Catsholiday

Summary: Great hotel, confortable clean and very different design