Hotel Rottnest

Atmosphere is good. Food isn’t great. Had prawns - were saturated in batter and over cooked in the deep fryer. Apparently i need to have a minimum of characters so adding this sentence to meet this requirement.

Backpackers are back and so is the service, food and ambiance. With Island bar music playing, a sunny day and a good mix of day trippers, overnighters and yachties - Hotel Rottnest was the place to be. Loads of accents (mostly French, Italian and South American) from both the bar staff and the visitors for the youngsters, and Aussie accents for the older generation demonstrates island and hotel management have got it right. We loved it all.

Hotel Rottnest is an iconic location with fantastic views. Today however, while not overly busy, the service was severely lacking. Standing at the bar watching multiple people getting frustrated as the bar staff make no attempt to serve the next person in line and simply serve who happens to be in front of them. Not to mention those patrons who take advantage. Shame there is no other choice on where to go. Probably part of the problem.

We stayed at Samphire Resort for 3 nights on a Winter Package that included the ferries for 2, breakfast each morning at Lontara Restaurant, 2 drinks vouchers, a bottle of Prosecco and a dessert platter on arrival. It was a good deal. We were very excited about staying. Our room was in Beach Lane. We hadn’t expected to have our ground floor outdoor area looking straight on to a construction site. Might have been advisable to tell guests when booking. After trying to enjoy a coffee but having to endure less than delightful language of the construction workers, we asked for another room. We were moved to a first floor poolside room which was very kind. It seems though that someone cut corners with the Resort design. The painted wooden deck has peeled badly. The first floor balconies have no roof just wood slats that don’t protect you from the rain. . We had to dash out to rescue the Resort’s outdoor chair pillows on our balcony chairs. Just seems like a poor design. The concrete is failing on a number of locations at the perimeter. The outdoor settings are lovely but perhaps someone needs to ensure they are cleaned? Don’t ask us why but there are no toilet brushes in the bathrooms. We asked for one but were told housekeeping cleans. I’m not sure housekeeping wants to be called every morning. There is a very small toilet fan and no toilet air freshener. As the toilets and bathroom are frosted glass walls, it’s not ideal if the meal the night before creates a reaction. Just seems like basic hygiene? Our breakfast choices at Lontara were brilliant. The Chia and Granola bowls are very good. Poached eggs and sourdough were perfect. Coffee was excellent. The key ingredient to make a great Resort is staff who are enthusiastic, cheerful, happy to see you and help. It was missing at Reception. Very stern staff who made us feel like we had been sent to the headmistress/master’s office. Most delightful staff were those doing the cleaning. Very cheerful and happy to say hello and have a short chat about the weather. We realised they were short staffed as staff told us. So we did our best to be encouraging and supportive. We are in a pandemic. We get it. But as guests we came with reasonable expectations of being made to feel welcome. Some staff clearly missed any training on offer (assuming they do train). The stand out staff member was the delightful American woman (Maryland)managing the bar. She was so kind, personable and professional. We hope she gets to stay in Australia. She would certainly assist in raising the hospitality bar. Overall, it was a a good experience but not the luxury one we thought we would be getting.

Delicious lobster slider, burger and starters. Food came out quickly and compared to our last visit a year ago has improved. Order drinks at the main bar to avoid getting plastic wine glasses. Food was great and we were very happy!

Has to be the worst fish and chips ever served in the history of mankind. $29 for an undersized piece of shark in soggy batter and luke warm soft chips. Nothing else in the plate apart from a piece of lemon and a tub of tartare sauce. It’s clear to see there is virtually no competition for food in Rottnest when they can get off with ripping people off for substandard food. Oh and the plastic glasses didn’t help. A tip - buy your drinks from the inside bar as you get real glass, the outside bar gives you crappy plastic.