The Novotel & Mercure Darwin Airport Resort offers 423 rooms including new pool villas, suites and bungalows and is looking to attract the business events market.
The resort can host events for groups of up to 150 delegates, with nine spaces for organisers to choose from.
“As Australia’s first-ever airport resort we are aiming to completely redefine the experience for individual travellers and groups,” said the general manager of Darwin Airport Resort, Chris Chaffe.
“The convenience for conference organisers of being able to have their delegates fly from key destinations around Australia and overseas and then be in a world-class resort environment just minutes after they collect their bags at Darwin Airport makes our venue very attractive.
“The resort can offer a vast range of accommodation styles from 5-star Tropical Pool Villas ideal for VIPs to contemporary hotel rooms, enabling us to cater for all types of business events as well as functions, parties and weddings.
“We will also deliver an authentic taste of the destination by integrating Larrakia Indigenous culture and heritage into every guest’s experience. The new resort is enriched with Aboriginal art and themes, inside and out, providing an appropriate reminder that this pioneering world-class resort is on the lands of the world’s longest-surviving culture,” said Chaffe.
“We also aim to provide an ideal base for incentive groups visiting the Top End. Darwin Airport Resort is just an hour from Litchfield National Park and under three hours’ drive to Kakadu, while Darwin Airport services many local Territory destinations such as the Tiwi Islands and Arnhemland.”
The hotel has added two large Indigenous murals to the exterior of the Novotel and the 41m tall water tower in front of the property has also been decorated with an Indigenous mural. Different areas of the resort highlight different regions of the Northern Territory through their colour palettes, artwork and landscaping, while each of the new villas has been named after a leading Territorian, helping visitors learn about the Larrakia nation, upon which Darwin and its airport are built.
The Airport Development Group (ADG), who owns the airport and the two properties, funded the refurbishment. ADG runs an Indigenous Training Academy which helps develop Aboriginal talent for the airport, hotels, tourism and hospitality sectors in the Northern Territory.
A new Indigenous experience, Gurambai Cultural Experience, led by Larrakia guides will also provide insight into the local Indigenous culture and traditions, through a tour of the nearby freshwater creek.
