Sharing a waterfront position overlooking Corio Bay, the $120 million, 10-storey, 200-room IHG hotel adjoins the yet-to-open Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention & Event Centre and is already a hit with the Geelong community.
“I thought this was going to be another hotel opening – I’ve done a couple – but it’s so much more,” says Crowne Plaza Geelong’s general manager John Dickson.
“When you understand what this will mean to the City of Geelong, the convention centre and a new hotel will bring in national and international guests. Not just for the hotel but for retail in Geelong, for other businesses, for families, for suppliers and producers…it’s a big deal,” he says.
The new hotel, built by Plenary Group, whose CEO is Geelong identity Paul Crowe, was due to open in May but was completed early and opened in mid-January. This allowed Dickson to cater for summer visitors to Geelong, notably the teams competing in major events, including the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Plenary Group is also overseeing the finishing touches to the $450 million Nyaal Banyul, scheduled to debut in July, which Dickson describes as “ a destination for Geelong…it’ll put us firmly on the map”.
Having accepted the invitation to stay last week, micenet awoke to a fantastic multi-hued sunrise over Corio Bay offering a 180-degree view: at one end, Western Beach, and past that in the distance, beyond the Spirit of Tasmania terminal, the You Yangs, and the glow of Melbourne’s lights on the horizon. In the foreground in the opposite direction is the imposing 170-year-old Cunningham Pier, the carousel and water-based activities along Eastern Beach to Limeburners Point.
When micenet later told Dickson his property had the best view of any hotel on this side of the West Gate Bridge; he agreed, adding it was Victoria’s only waterfront hotel facing north. However, should you not wish to be woken by the sun, there are blackout curtains behind the drapes.
Apart from the dress circle position that Crowne Plaza Geelong occupies, global architecture firm Woods Bagot – architects of MCEC – has designed a functional modern property with generous use of space in its lobby area, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a calming palette of colours with indigenous and local artworks.
Offering the same great views across the water and popular with locals and travellers alike was the 10th floor SkyBar that can seat up to 80 and has its own kitchen.
The key amenities within the hotel that Dickson notes are a 160-seat all-day dining room, two other dining spaces and eight event spaces that include a ballroom for 200 in theatre, or 180 on round tables or 300 standing. He points out a “social space” for co-working on the first floor, while the accommodation rooms have a good internet connection.
The hotel has been set up to cater for associations with 90 of its 200 rooms configurable as twins. And should more than 200 delegates be in-house, by arrangement with Nyaal Banyul, the convention centre’s ground floor food and beverage hub could be used to service those delegates.
Part of the hotel’s official launch event last week was dinner at the hotel’s first floor Italian trattoria and bar, Sociali. A five-course feast was offered, washed down with local wines and spirits.
Among the great attractions locally for delegates and leisure guests, Dickson nominates the region’s produce including Port Arlington mussels, local organic beef and a range of wines and spirits produced in the Bellarine and Otways.
Getting to the hotel and convention centre from Melbourne was a breeze on the V-Line train, taking about an hour from Southern Cross station, with Geelong Station being a five-minute walk from the precinct.
For those travelling from further afield, the nearby Avalon Airport offers Jetstar services to several Australian capitals and Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport is a 65-minute drive.
