A Complete Review of Adelaide’s Crowne Plaza Hotel
Last weekend we used our second Great State Voucher (Mr. Winter and I both scored one each) to stay at the brand new Crowne Plaza. Two parents-only getaways in a month, incredible! (Keep your eyes peeled for our review of the also-brand-new Indigo Hotel, which will be up in a few days).
Mr. Winter surprised me by taking a half-day at work, arranging care for the kids, and picking me up so we could check in straight away. We grabbed lunch at FancyBurger on the way, and popped into the city to buy some new accessories for the wedding we were attending the next day. Then we checked in for some proper chill-out time.
The Crowne Plaza makes a big first impression. It’s sleek, modern, and charming, with its brass accents and greenery throughout. Checking in on level 10 makes you feel like you’re on holiday – the views across the East End of the city with the Adelaide Hills as a backdrop are, to use a huge cliche, simply breathtaking.
Disclaimer: this review includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a booking, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. However, this review is impartial and we paid for our room, with the assistance of the $100 Great State voucher provided to South Australian residents by the South Australian Tourism Commission.
Food and Drinks at the Crowne Plaza Adelaide
Luna 10
Luna 10 is unique in that it’s both a lobby bar and a poolside bar. Make your way past the check-in desks to the ample seating area. Here you can enjoy the panoramic views over the hills and East End. Alternatively, sit outside right next to the rooftop infinity pool.
Luna 10 has one of the most extensive wine lists I’ve seen at a bar, which is a huge credit to the hotel. There’s also a creative cocktail menu (I ordered the Aviation, which features gin, cherry liqueur, and lemon) and Mr. Winter asked for an Old Fashioned. This actually wasn’t on the list but they knew what it was and made it happily.
Luna 10 also serves light meals and bar snacks, which are Asian-fusion inspired. Think lotus root chips, pork dumplings, or sweet potato fries with wasabi oil).
Koomo
Koomo is the Crowne Plaza’s signature fine dining option. Given this was a busy weekend for us, we weren’t able to dine at Koomo, however the Japanese-inspired menu looks absolutely sensational. We actually plan to book in without staying at the Crowne Plaza to try it… Or we could just book another night away!
Koomo also offers a lunch special, which is amazing value. This includes a meal chosen from the available options (lamb shoulder, pork ramen, chicken katsu burger, or roasted pumpkin) with a beer or glass of wine for $25.
Breakfast is served at Koomo each morning from 6.30am to 10.30. At the current time with COVID restrictions, this is an assisted buffet. This means all the normal buffet options are available (eggs, bacon, sausages, beans, vegetables, plus continental options including assorted delicious pastries) but there are servers on hand to dish up for you. This did lead to an amusing discussion between Mr. Winter and myself… do people eat less because they don’t want to be judged for going back for seconds? Turns out the servers heaped our plates up so we didn’t feel the need to go back!
Room Service
The room service options are more basic than the other eateries. However, they’re good if you really don’t want to leave the room, or you’re in a rush to be somewhere. For example, we had late check-out as we were getting ready for a wedding. In this instance, room service was a great option. We had the soup of the day, the chat potatoes, and the kids brownies (didn’t mention there was no kid staying in our room, hehe). My big complaint is that the brownies were served really cold, and I’m a sucker for warm brownies.
Rooms at the Crowne Plaza Adelaide
We booked a King Premium Room, which was located on the 12th Floor. The room had the same spectacular hills views as the lobby, which was wonderful. I ordered room service for dinner and enjoyed the view while eating. Once darkness fell, I was able to lie in bed and watch the city lights, the moon rising, and the planes coming in to land over the city. Important detail: the bed was incredibly comfy, and there’s a pillow menu. The room was really spacious with a table and two chairs and a couch by the window.
The bathroom is basic but tastefully done. A good quality hairdryer is always important to me (I HATE those little things on the wall that do a half-assed job of drying your hair), so the Crowne Plaza gets a tick here. A high quality iron and ironing board always helps too, so another tick there. While slippers were provided, there were no bath robes. This one was a bit of a shock – I reckon this is the first five-star hotel I’ve ever stayed in that didn’t have bath robes. To me one of the best things about a hotel stay is chilling in your robe!
The lead-in room is the King Superior Room; the next level up in the King Deluxe Room. These are on the lower floors. The King Premium rooms are found on the higher levels (floors 11 to 20). Junior Suites and Executive Suites are also available to book and located on the 11th to 20th floors.
Is there a Pool at the Crowne Plaza?
There certainly is! A gorgeous outdoor infinity pool is located on level 10 next to the Luna 10 bar. There are several loungers in the pool area and toilets/changing facilities very close by.
I took a couple of photos of the outdoor bar area with the pool in the background, but there were children happily playing in the pool so I didnt take closer photos. Scroll up to see the outdoor area with the pool in the background.
Gym at the Crowne Plaza
There is also a well-equipped gym next to the pool. It looked great but I did not test it out – this was a weekend of relaxation!
Parking
There are three parking options to choose from if you’re checking in with your own vehicle.
Firstly, there’s a valet option for $45/day. Simply drive up to the hotel’s side entrance on Tavistock Lane (off Frome Road) and the helpful valet team will park and retrieve your car for you as many times as you need.
Secondly, you can pull up out the front of the hotel (on Frome Road) and request a Multi-Trip parking pass from the Concierge on the ground floor. This will allow you to come and go from the Autopark carpark next door as many times as you like. This will set you back $30 per day.
Lastly, you can pay casual rates at the Autopark next door. It’s a maximum charge of $25 per 24 hour period, which goes down to $10 on the weekends. As we checked in on a Friday afternoon and out on a Saturday afternoon, and we didn’t need our car in the meantime, we chose this option and paid a total of $35 for two days.
Overall impressions
The Crowne Plaza is an excellent option if you’re looking for a sleek, modern hotel with good service and amenities. At times certain aspects felt a little “phoned in” – as though the hotel knew it was good enough so no need to go the extra mile. Examples are no cable TV, cold brownies (and other mediocre food options), and what kind of five-star hotel doesn’t have bath robes? That being said, it’s a new hotel in the middle of a pandemic – not everything is going to be perfect. The staff were absolutely lovely, the bed was heavenly, and the view was gorgeous. The pool and gym were excellent and the rooftop bar was a lovely touch. If you’re going to book a stay here, you’ll be welcomed, comfortable, and well-entertained.
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