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| Accommodation Guide for Australia |
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| Scroll down for information about Accommodation Standards Guide, Types of Accommodation, Eco-tourism |
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| A wide variety of accommodation types and standards are available in Australia, in a range to suit every budget. We recommend that, wherever possible, it is prudent to make reservations in advance to avoid disappointment, particularly during weekends and key school holiday periods. |
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Australian Automobile Clubs issue ‘star’ ratings to accommodations throughout Australia. The ratings relate partly to facilities and location and partly to prices charged so the results, although a good guide, are not necessarily comparable to star ratings in Europe and elsewhere.
Some accommodations even do their own rating. 5 Star: International style establishments with superior standard and excellent facilities. 4 - 4.5 Star: Very well appointed properties with high quality furnishings and a high degree of comfort. 3 - 3.5 Star: Well appointed establishments with comfortable, clean rooms and good quality furnishings Boutique: A confusing name choice that is increasingly used to describe individualistic properties, normally small rather than large in size and normally ranging from 3 to 5 Star. Less than 3 Star: Establishments offering (normally) well maintained but basic facilities. |
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NOTE: The description 'Suite' in Australia does not necessarily mean the accommodation has a separate bedroom. : 'Self Contained' usually means that the room or apartment has self-catering facilities |
| Resorts: Designed to offer more than just a place to stay, resorts offer a holiday experience that can be as active or as relaxing as guests wish it to be. They are normally situated in scenic areas and in attractive grounds with a wide range of facilities and activities available. Resorts can however vary significantly in the holiday experiences they offer and range from the quiet and intimate atmosphere of Orpheus Island to the razzmatazz of some high rise properties on the Gold Coast. |
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| Hotels: There are numerous international hotel groups in Australia who, along with privately owned prestige properties, offer high quality accommodation in the main holiday and business centres. There is also a good range of comfortable 3 and 4 star hotels in the cities and country areas. Note that in Australia hotels rooms described as ‘suites’ do not necessarily have a separate bedroom as would be the norm in Europe. |
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| Motels and Motor Inns: A wide choice of modern, comfortable motels are located around Australia. They offer rooms with private bathroom/WC, telephone, TV, tea and coffee making facilities. Many have restaurants and other facilities such as swimming pools. Because this type of accommodation is largely aimed at motorists, most establishments are located close to a road and traffic noise can sometimes be a problem for guests. |
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| Apartments: Apartments are sometimes known locally as ‘units’. They normally offer good self-catering facilities (in Australia the term self-contained is used instead of self-catering) for those travellers who like to have the option of cooking some of their own meals. Apartments have one or more bedrooms, a separate lounge area, private bathroom/WC, laundry facilities and a fully equipped kitchen including stove, oven or microwave oven, refrigerator freezer, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. Linen is normally provided, or can be hired. Most apartments are serviced daily and this is included in the accommodation cost. Some apartments in the major centres have facilities such as a restaurant/bar, gym and swimming pool. |
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| Hostels: These are geared for the budget traveller. They include YHA hostels and privately owned backpacker hostels. Room types vary from dormitory style to hotel style rooms with private bathrooms. All hostels have common area self catering kitchens, laundries and lounges. |
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| Bed and Breakfasts: These home stays are normally small, family run operations. They are in a wide variety of buildings, from historic houses and homesteads to inner city townhouses and conventional family homes. Standards vary, but are normally reasonably high – prices are therefore invariably higher than hostel prices and usually higher than motel prices. |
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| Farm Stays: This is a variation of Bed and Breakfast accommodation, often with an evening meal also included. Standards range from simple to luxurious, smallholding to huge outback station. Normally guests can join in farming and other activities if they wish. |
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| Country Pubs: Offer simple but comfortable rooms, usually with shared bathrooms. Pub meals (called Counter meals) are also normally available. |
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| Camping and Caravan Parks/Tourist Parks: There are chains of privately owned parks as well as camp grounds operated by local councils. Facilities vary but basic amenities include toilets and hot and cold showers, a laundry and often an electricity hook-up. Many parks also hire out on-site vans and cabins, some with linen provided and some without. Often the most scenic camping grounds are in designated areas of national parks where special environmental and safety considerations apply. Facilities, such as a cold water tap and a composting toilet, are normally very basic if they exist at all. Fees for the national park sites are often paid on an honour system basis and access to some of the more remote locations is strictly by 4WD vehicle only. Some of the national park campsites have permanent barbeques for use of campers (and even provide wood for burning) whilst other sites do not allow open fires – bushfires are a serious danger, particularly in the summer months and all fire ban warnings must be heeded. |
| Australia has a mixed reputation as a
green and eco-friendly nation. In recent years the tourism
industry has tried to improve its image with several 'eco-tourism' and
'green' bodies being created. These bodies have created
environmental benchmarks that Australian tourism suppliers are
encouraged to achieve and the overall impact has been very
positive. Notwithstanding this, there are
certain contradictions with eco-tourism schemes in Australia. Many approved
accommodation establishments proudly promote energy and water wasteful
spa baths as a key selling point (very odd for a country which has a
chronic water shortage), whilst some of the approved operators think
nothing of regularly driving passengers along beaches in 4WD vehicles,
despite the obvious environmental damage this causes.
Unfortunately the right to drive on beaches is deeply embedded in
Australian culture and is widely accepted even when access on foot is
easy. We also feel that, in a very small minority of instances, some
accredited accommodations/operators/attractions
need to improve their animal welfare practices and attitudes. The view of Truly Australia is that the growth of eco-tourism awareness with the Australian travel industry is to be applauded. However if an Australian tourism supplier does not display an eco-approved badge, it does not necessarily mean that they are not eco-friendly - they may purely object to the fees that approved suppliers are required to pay in order to obtain an eco or green accreditation. |
| KOALA CUDDLING Truly Australia strongly disapproves of this practice, which is banned in New South Wales but permitted in other states. Cuddling wild koalas is particularly objectionable as it causes stress to these delicate and unique native animals. Most of the zoos and wildlife parks that allow visitors to cuddle koalas argue that their koalas are not wild but have been born in captivity and are used to being handled from an early age. These establishments also claim that they rotate the koalas that are cuddled so that any stress to the animals is kept to a minimum. |
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| Truly Australia have attempted to give an honest and objective description of the topics covered on this page and have deliberately avoided regurgitating tourist office media releases. The information shown has been compiled from a variety of reputable sources and our own experiences. We check and review this information from time to time, but we assume no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the details given. |
