“ Right price, great room ”

Reviewed May 27, 2012

by prairillon (2 reviews) Toddville , United States

We booked at the Marque based on traveler reviews and price, along with convenient access to the City Rail Central Station. We found the hotel very easily upon leaving the train from the airport and, although it was only 7:30 a.m., Maria allowed us to check in (a shower! heaven!) The room had a comfortable, king-sized bed, a small desk and straight chair, a small table and rather odd "easy" chair, closet with two drawers and a minibar with fridge, and iron and ironing board. We thought the prices for the minibar items were about what you'd expect at a US hotel, i.e. exorbitant. However, what we found out was that we just weren't prepared for the price of food and drink in Australia, over all. Even in grocery stores, standard items were easily 2-3 times as much as in the US (easily determined with an exchange rate of $1.06!)

The bathroom has a shower, only, featuring a rain shower head and too few places to put toiletries. The best thing in the whole room, in my estimation, was the full-length drawer under the sink, a place to put all your bathroom stuff so you didn't have to lug it back and forth from the suitcase. Oh, and they have a hair dryer (I actually look for this so I don't have to bring one from home). The shower worked fine, although it was pretty easy to overwhelm the drain capacity, although the main bathroom floor also has a drain in it. It's too bad the management chose the rainwater shower heads for their remodel, I think -- hand-held units are SO much nicer! Every hotel we stayed at in France had a hand-held shower head, so it can be done. One does also need to make a sharp mental reminder about the threshold from the room into the bathroom, as it is about 1/2" and has a very sharp corner.

We liked the Marque so much we made reservations again for the two nights after we returned from Port Douglas. During our first stay, we had a great view of the Quay/George intersection. Our second stay showed us the alley behind the building.

Internet is free for 3 hours each day, although nobody may tell you that unless you ask. Wireless worked well in both the rooms we had. There is a small restaurant at ground floor although we didn't try it and we never made it up to the rooftop pool. The staff was invariably helpful and pleasant. Do use care with the elevators -- the doors do not "jump back" if they catch you mid-entry and I did end up with some dark bruises, although it eventually let me go.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TravelPod member and not of TravelPod.com.