Hotels Near The Borrow Pits in Townsville

The Mercure Townsville is a very comfortable hotel. The rooms are exactly what you'd expect at Mercure, comfy beds, all the necessities. The service is impeccable, and the food is to die for. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay... for the most part. The one downside for us, was the fact that at all hours of the day, sun up to sunset, the manager in place at this hotel deems it acceptable to run Sky News on every TV set around the bar and restaurant. Politics in public spaces is never a good idea. Extreme political bias in public spaces, is downright uncomfortable. Every night we sat there at dinner whilst the typical Sky News opinion piece headlines flashed all over the multiple TV screens throughout what is supposed to be a relaxing space. These headlines were loaded with such extreme (and I would go so far as to say hateful) political bias, that I do not even feel comfortable writing them here, or attaching pictures, for fear that my review may get rejected for the use of the words contained in them. Regardless of your own political standings, I’m sure that the vast majority of reasonable people can agree with me when I say that it is never appropriate to broadcast such a politically charged news station in what is supposed to be an all-inclusive, welcoming space. And let’s not conflate fact as opinion here, it IS an extremely biased, politically charged station, who’s owner is the subject of a royal commission campaign, and who has only very recently been taken to court in the U.S and forced to concede that his media empire knowingly lies. I’m not sure what management is trying to achieve by the all day broadcast of such a controversial station, but it has most definitely resulted in the loss of my own, and my family’s business. Very disappointing, as we otherwise would have been regulars. This has nothing to do with being a “left wing snowflake”. It has nothing to do with being “woke”. This has to do with wanting to go away on holiday and leave politics at home where it belongs. Now, to be fair, we did approach the manager about this situation before coming to the decision that we will not return. The response was entirely unacceptable and in our view, unprofessional. He told us that he did change the station after our last visit, but that the regulars at the hotel asked for it to be turned back onto Sky News, and so he did. So on our next visit to the hotel, there it was again. We approached the manager again regarding this, and his response to us was that “he can’t win”. He then told us that he will make a note to ensure the channel is changed when we visit. We found this utterly demeaning, condescending and, to be frank, insulting. He doubled down on the previous reasoning that the regulars ask for Sky News because, in his own words, “It is the most informative”. Sir, there is nothing informative about the headlines we witnessed on this station during our multiple visits. It is not news, it is political “discussion” loaded with extreme bias

If you are here in Townsville, choose this one, don’t hesitate, because this one has a fully functioning air conditioner. If there is no air conditioner in Townsville, or the temperature of the air conditioner is locked, it will keep you all night. Can't sleep at night. The girl at the front desk was very enthusiastic.

We have been using Rydges SouthBank as our home base for quite a few years now due to its close proximity to the Football stadium and it is within walking distance to town and various eating places. We usually stay in the top grade rooms some of which have been updated and some are badly in need of an update. Luck of the draw which room you get allocated although they all cost the same regardless of fittings. We have found the staff to be friendly and helpful most of the time. We enjoy their Buffett breakfast and as Rydges members we get that as a 2 for one deal. Unfortunately their restaurant is no longer operational so the other perks of being Rydges members cannot be used. We do like the undercover off street parking for our car.

We had four bookings on the Friday evening, we arrived at 1:15pm, one rooms wasn’t clean which was okay as Check-In was 2pm. When I arrived back to the hotel a little after 3pm with my keys to the room, I went up and the room had not been cleaned. I went down to reception they did apologise and gave me another room key. A few staff members had called in sick, which is understandable at the post-Covid times. When we got to the the room it was run down and didn’t look like the photos at all. On our check out morning, the adjacent room, had obviously checked out early with housekeeping being in the room around 8am, making all sorts of noise and speaking really loudly, too bad if you wanted a sleep in. Our other friends had some issues too. They also had a weird cemetery photograph on the wall which seemed out of place. I was really hoping this would be a new place to stay as we are frequently in Townsville, next time let’s hope Rydges isn’t fully booked so we can stay there again.

Just when we thought Townsville could not possibly have any more surprise offerings, we stepped into the Rambutan Resort on Flinders Street. The ground floor bar and small lobby belies what we found in arrival on the 3rd floor accommodation level. We have a relaxed Italian restaurant - Armati’s, fabulous bar, rooftop pool, poolside cabanas encircled on 3 sides by the accommodation suites. Our room was tastefully furnished, somewhat “Hamptons style”, large comfortable beds and while the ensuite was on the small side, this was compensated with an overly generous shower - were talking 1.8m x 1m. We did hit a minor hurdle with a water leak from a pipe in the bathroom ceiling, however management were prompt and efficient in their response and you could not really hope for more. The only concern is that with it’s own pool, bar and restaurant at your door - I mean really at your door- you might have no reason to leave and find you’ve missed out on some of the sights of Townsville. And Townsville really has a lot to offer. However this is now certainly my go to accommodation in Townsville.

Really loved staying here. Room was very comfortable, cleanand spacious. We had a ground floor unit with a peak of the sea. It was very central to shops and restaurants and the waterfront and amazingly quiet. No oven but the cooking facilities were great. The staff could not have been more helpful. We would definitely stay here again.

The location is right on the strand of the beach. The sunset is very beautiful at dusk. It is also very convenient to go to the coffee shop to the supermarket and walk for 10 minutes. Buy all the daily necessities and sit on the terrace to watch the sunset until dusk, which is pleasing to the eyes. As for the service, there is basically nothing except Check In. It's not like living in a hotel in the Asia-Pacific region, with five-star service In terms of price, in terms of 1000 heads, it does not include anything. It is really because there is no choice.

From the minute I arrived I was made to feel incredibly welcome! Adam the manager made me feel immediately at home! My room was everything I needed for my 2 week stay. Clean and comfortable with comfortable bed with all the nessacary amnenties. Conveniently situated by rhe pool with beautiful views across the road to Geoffrey Bay and a short walk to Alma Bay which in my opinion is the best swimming beach on the island! Situated next door to the pub with great seating and a pool with a very extensive menu it was everything I needed! The bus stop was also a short walk away which was a good way to explore the rest of the island. Arcadia Hotel is also a good starting point for walks into the National Park and over the hill to Nelly Bay with stunning views! A perfect way to end the day is to walk across the road in the evening to the old wharf and see the Rock Wallabies that come out looking for food! Within days my room.became home and Adam made me feel like family. Nothing was too much trouble to ensure my stay was the best it could be! I cannot recommend Arcadia highly enough for the perfect place to stay and base yourself to explore the Island and come back to at end of day to relax on private balcony area looking out to sea! I've travelled extensively all over the world and stayed in many different places and Arcadia is up there for ticking every box you need for the perfect place to be! It was very hard to leave so I will definitely be back.! It really was my home away from home. Thank you Adam for your amazing hospitality. Magnetic Island is such a magical place ...and Arcadia Motel is the perfect place to stay and experience it!