Mantra on the Esplanade Darwin



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About
Whether you're visiting Darwin for business or pleasure, you'll love the tropical style of Mantra on the Esplanade. Offering Hotel Rooms, One, Two and Three Bedroom Apartments, all are designed to reflect the local tropical style and comfortable casual laid-back atmosphere. Apartments feature a large private balcony, fully-equipped kitchen and laundry, air-conditioning, LCD TV with Foxtel and in-house movies, iPod docking station and alarm clock and in selected apartments, a dedicated workspace offers WiFi internet (fees apply). Guests enjoy the outdoor pool, beauty salon, same day laundry service (excluding Sunday), business and secretarial services and tour desk. Situated with in the CBD and shopping precinct and in close proximity to Darwin Harbour, Darwin Entertainment Centre, Government House, Cullen Bay Marina, Wharf, Museum and Art Galleries, Mantra on the Esplanade is the perfect choice for your next Darwin getaway.
This hotel does not accept cash as a payment method. Credit, debit and prepaid cards are accepted to buy goods and services.
Location
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1) Its location is excellent. A stroll along the Esplanade, the street behind is Mitchell Street with all the restaurants, convenience stores, coffee shops, Coles supermarket
2) the carparking is underground over two levels and is only $15 per day (at time of stay). Easy to navigate the rental car into and out of
3) the swimming pool is marvellous after a long day sightseeing in 35 deg C. Our hotel room had two pool towels sensibly provided. The pool is salt water chlorinated and enough lounge chairs to sit and read
4) our room was large and comfortable. The hotel had left a pass key in the light switch near the door so we could leave the aircon running in our absence. The room has double curtains, needed to block out the strong bright morning sun
5) at time of stay, housekeeping was only provided on day 7 or at time of checkout. This worked fine for us, as we don't need daily housekeeping. The kitchen cupboard had replacement bin liners, so it was easy enough to take full bags to the garbage bins in the basement. The Coles supermarket (when it was open) provided extra supplies such as more soap, tissues, toilet paper, without us having to ask Reception staff (though they did offer).
Notes to self for our next stay:
1) phone the hotel before arrival to see if their restaurant and bar are open at all. Due to Covid-19 and lack of staff, this hotel, a 4 star, didn't have any onsite catering to offer. We obtained takeaway breakfast from Auntie's in Mitchell St and The Coffee Club each morning. Dinner was from My Friend's Kitchen or Coles supermarket
2) never take a room with a city view. The hotel looks onto three backpackers' hostels (all in Mitchell St) so they compete each night with loud DJs and live music till midnight. It's so loud we couldn't sit on our balcony. The harbour view rooms are more expensive and well worth the extra expense, just to sit on your own balcony without someone else's music (and the hostels' pool parties)
3) Darwin city restaurants and major stores such as the supermarkets are firmly shut on public holidays. Tourists are left to their own devices to find meals.
Despite the disadvantages, this is a good hotel for its location and amenities, and we'll stay here again.
However, as in other's reviews, if you have a city view, be prepared to hear much noise night after night from the backpackers at the rear. May I suggest you pay the extra and get a Harbour view. We had to be moved one Sunday night due to the incredibly loud music.
The Hotel is tired and still has old leaky taps, no mixers, bathrooms need upgrading and are showing signs of age with mould appearing on tiles. It's definitely not 4 star.
Due to Covid, many luxury items had been removed from the room like cushions, blankets, cleaning stuff and lamps. They can be provided if you ask.
In the pictures they show a super spa with lots of bubbles (jacuzzi) well if you're looking for a relaxing spa after a long day, forget it, the water is cold and the jets have long ago stopped working. False advertising as we chose this hotel partly because we thought they had an operational spa. The staff were less than helpful and said no it's not a spa - well they need to upgrade their pictures.
When we booked, the agent still had the hotel advertising included breakfast. Their restaurant is currently not open due to staffing and Covid. We were offered breakfast at their other Mantra property in the city but parking is a problem so we accepted an upgrade to a one bedroom apartment.
We really appreciated the extra space, the full kitchen and washing machine and dryer.
We knew there was no daily room service and it was easy to dry our towels each day. Staff provided a clothes airer and extra blankets on request, and they were unfailingly friendly and obliging. We were able to start our cruise with clean clothes, and we appreciated cutting costs and eating healthily at breakfast and lunch, by self catering. There is a large Woolworths and a Coles supermarket both within 400m. For dinner, there were plenty of nearby restaurant options.
Both the corridor on level 3 and our room looked to have been freshly painted, decorated and carpeted, and the kitchen was also quite modern. The bathroom was showing signs of age but was very functional.
There were plenty of bathroom, kitchen and laundry supplies, and if we needed more we only had to ask.
The pool was clean and a good temperature, although it was fairly small and had limited lounges. It was no problem to collect a pool towel from reception as we had to walk through there to get to the pool.
Obviously, it pays to do your research: pay for a Harbourview room if you don’t want noise from the backpacker accommodation at the rear of the hotel. The rooms aren’t serviced daily. If this is important to you, stay elsewhere.
Another thing we were quite disapointed about was the bedding. The doona/blanket they had on the bed was a sheet and the doona we requested just looked like another sheet that did not provide any comfort during the night and reception made us go down stairs to retrieve it rather than brining it to us.
Overall the location was great, but the lack of services not provided by the hotel (general housekeeping) for the amount of money we paid for staying here was very disappointing. We stayed in the same type of room (1 bedroom apartment) at the waterfront few weeks earlier and in comparing the adina vibe hotel to mantra on the esplanade the service provision at the adina vibe prevails and trumps the service provision and our experiences we had at the Mantra esplanade. We don’t think we would be choosing to stay here next time.
Im really big on first impressions and I have to say that my first thought was "this is a mistake" the reception area was pretty basic to say the least. There was no "Welcome to the Mantra Hotel" it was pretty much the man behind the desk staring at us and waiting for us to say hello. No customer service at all.
I asked for a quiet room for two reasons, firstly I was recovering from major surgery and was in a lot of pain the other reason was I had read several reviews where everyone said that the noise from the building next door was very loud. We got room 702 and I can tell you that even with my ear plugs in I could hear very loud music, we both had a terrible nights sleep.
The room was very dated, the bed was old and lumpy. The shower, bloody hell. It was in the bath! Really? Getting in and out was a scary moment for me.
I would like to say thank you to those people who placed reviews on Trip Advisor, one of the main things that was mentioned was that you need to ask for extra pillows and blankets (apparently this is due to Covid-19 which Im not sure about, other hotels we've stayed in this year all had extra pillows and blankets available). When we checked in I asked for extra and its just as well I did as we had 1 thin pillow each and only a sheet on the bed. Luckily I travel with my pillow from home so I was ok but my husband needed extras.
I need to warn everyone who has a 4WD and plan to park underneath the building. Firstly you have to pay $15 I think. Secondly if you have something like a Hilux and a roof rack, dont bother. You won't be able to fit getting into the car park. Luckily we dont have a roof rack so we just squeezed in. Once your in the car park the spots are tiny. Good luck.
Upon checking out, we weren't asked how our stay was the girl behind the desk just looked up and said "yep you're good you can go". Seriously that was it. No thank you for staying at the Mantra we hope to see you again.
This was not a good experience for us at all. We weren't made to feel welcome and I like others who have left a review on Trip Advisor will definitely not return.
Positives - good location for first timers to Darwin. Staff allowed us to store baggage whilst we went on a trip before our official stay with them that was greatly appreciated. Accommodation has a beautiful fresh scent when you walk in from the street which is delightful. Staff ordered a taxi for us for pickup which was appreciated. Room supplied towels for pool which we have never had which was a nice addition. Room had hairdryer and iron and ironing board provided and Wi-Fi which was good. We had a very comfortable stay whilst at the Mantra. Good value for what we paid - special. Price was usually $3000 pw and I would not pay that.
The view from the room over the sea was spectacular, especially at sunset.
The hotel is fixed in the 1970's.
Hot water was available in the kitchen some days and in the bathroom some days, but never both.
The room is only serviced once during the week so you have to go and ask for coffee, toilet paper and bathroom products.
There is only a thin sheet and cover on the bed so we had to turn the air-conditioning off or freeze all night.
There was a space for the microwave at eye height, but it had been installed down by the floor which made it really hard to operate safely.
Only two bath towels are supplied-no hand towels.
The pool is OK but has no privacy and is open to the street.
What looks like a spa pool is not and there is a notice stuck on it to let you know.
There is no shower near the pool and you have to go in and out through the front hotel entrance as the doors straight from the pool used to go into the bar area.
There is a whiteboard with daily recommendations. That included events that had happened two week previously but did not include things happening this week, (The cocktail festival and the Darwin Cup!).
This room cost us over $700 per night and we stayed for 7 nights. That's the worst value I have ever experienced in my life.
I am an Accor Gold member, but that's the last time I ever stay in an Accor Hotel.
"Rooms facing the town are probably noisy on weekend night so the ocean view rooms are recommended."Read full review
"Do not under any circumstances book this hotel if there is a chance you will arrive late."Read full review
"The shower is over the Nath, it’s slippery and extremely dangerous. Staff are not helpful and really rude. "Read full review
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