hotel review: little national hotel
Ever wondered what it would be like to sleep on clouds?
Well, if you stay at the Little National Hotel in Canberra, you might get a little taste of what it could be like! The beds have pillowtops so huge, we have never been on anything quite like it. Sleeping on it was like sleepy in the arms of a marshmallow (at times a toasted marshmallow!). And not to forget the enormous and plump pillows for our heads. The bed, linen and pillows swallowed us up, it was like fighting a marshmallow to get out in the mornings.
Opening only last September, this boutique hotel, located in easy walking distance to the museums of Canberra, is still looking very fresh and modern.
The first thing you might notice upon arriving at the hotel is how minimalistic it is and that is looks like a big parking station from the outside. But, if you look up, there are two floors of accommodation at the top.
Reception & Check In/Out
Then it’s a long walk down the driveway (unless you drive down) arriving at typical revolving doors before entering quite a quaint reception area.
One long tall desk with the staff perched on bar stools behind big Apple Mac computers, it’s not often you get to see the staff and their legs when checking in.
Check-in was prompt, smooth and easy. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We were given $25 credit per day to use for food at their sister hotel (Hotel Realm) restaurants which we put towards the buffet breakfast at Buvette Bistro & Wine (more about that later).
Check-out was a wee bit more clumsy and slow. Considering that it was about 9-9.30 am, there was only one staff member on with a line about 4-5 people to check out. This is probably where there could be improvement.
Rooms
So we’ve mentioned the beds and that is very much what dominates the room.
The rooms are small and the name of the hotel is very fitting. But that doesn’t mean that we had to go without because we stayed there.
It probably is more ideal for single or couple travellers who are there only for a few nights, it will be a bit claustrophobic for longer stays.
Working our way from the door, there is the bathroom. The bathroom is equipped with the basics; a toilet, a shower and a basin with an enormous mirror. Although, we say “basics”, it is far from basic. The mirror has a button to turn the lights on and off, the shower head and pressure could shower a family of four at the one time. Then there are the little extras as well such as; hairdryer, toiletries, towels, shower cap, tissues etc.
Next in the bedroom is a wardrobe. Then a table with two seats.
And then the feature of the room, the BED. It is a king bed placed up alongside the window, from wall to wall: that is the width of the room.
We did scratch our heads how people could comfortably climb in and out of bed to go to the bathroom when they slept closer to the window. Hmmmm……
Anyway, at the foot of the bed is a TV with access to Foxtel (i.e. pay TV) and a huge range of new and old movies.
And of course, there is air-conditioning which worked very well and which we had control over.
One of the best things about the room were the motorised blinds. Flick a switch and there is the option of two blinds coming down. The heavier one blocked out all light and we seriously had no idea what time it was when we woke in the mornings.
Breakfast
As mentioned earlier, it is across the road from the hotel at Buvette Bistro & Wine. With the large windows encompassing the seating area, the natural lighting made this place a great place to start the day. There was a variety of hot breakfast choices and cold breakfast choices, drinks, fruits, teas, danishes, breads…. We were very content with having our breakfast here two days in a row.
Parking
Being above a parking station, there was no shortage of parking, at least not to our knowledge. But it does come at a cost of about $12 per day. We were fortunate enough to always find parking not far away for free as long as it was for 2 hours or less between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. Outside those times were free for as long as we needed. It was convenient and saved us at least $24. Just make sure you read the parking road signs carefully.
The Other Bits
- Free wifi
- There is a bright lounge area where guests are welcome to sit, relax and enjoy.
- Guests of Little National Hotel can use the facilities of that in Hotel Realm (such as the gym).
- Hotel reception is 24 hours.
- Tea/Coffee making facilities
- MiniBar
- Fluffy robe
The Verdict
Little National Hotel was perfect for a short stay. It was comfortable and conveniently located for us to visit a lot of the touristy places of Canberra. For a little hotel, it made a big impressions.We really enjoyed our stay and were made to feel so welcome.
It really is the little things that often count.
So would we come back again? Most probably.
Disclaimer: Little National Hotel offered us a special room rate. There was no expectation for a review or endorsement. This review is a Wise Monkeys Abroad initiative and opinions are entirely our own.
wise monkeys abroad 
February 1, 2016 at 12:50 pm
This looks like a compact but somehow cozy room. If they do offer a decent price, i wouldn’t mind choosing such hotels.
February 2, 2016 at 8:15 am
The price was very reasonable… we did have a discount but even before the discount, it was reasonable 🙂
January 8, 2016 at 4:58 pm
Those large pillows might cause a nightmare! I’d dream that the marshmallow was eating me, probably in revenge for all of the marshmallows I’ve eaten. 🙂 Curt
January 9, 2016 at 8:45 am
Hahahaha! Curt – you are too funny! Happy New Year to you and the family. Many adventures in store for 2016?
January 9, 2016 at 10:10 am
Some good ones: I am going to drive the route of my 10,000 mile bike trek I did around North America in 1989 and blog about it. And I am going to do a 250 mile backpack trek following the Pacific Crest and John Muir Trails through the High Sierras. –Curt
January 7, 2016 at 11:31 pm
it’s very… 2016! they seem to like squares a lot!
January 7, 2016 at 11:39 pm
Happy New Year, Andy! Hope it is an amazing one for you with plenty of travel adventures and tales to go with 🙂
Yeah, it was pretty boxy.. that’s a good way to describe it! Everything very geometrically measured and divided into squares 🙂
January 7, 2016 at 9:57 am
Mmmmm – not sure about that bed for us old folks! 😉 Great review 🙂
January 7, 2016 at 11:37 pm
Oh Ken, “old folks”… there’s no such thing as old – only experienced or vintage or classic 😉
January 8, 2016 at 7:20 am
Thank you. I’ll take any one or more of those you wish to confer 🙂
January 9, 2016 at 8:45 am
😉
January 6, 2016 at 5:07 pm
I think wordpress swallowed my previous comment! So I’ll just go ahead and try to remember & retype what I posted..
I laughed out loud at the descriptions of the hotel bed! Sounds like a lovely cozy hotel. The question I am dying to ask is, how do you have sex in that bed? 😉 You don’t have to answer!
January 7, 2016 at 11:34 pm
It didn’t swallow your comment – it did shoot through to us twice 😉
You made us LAUGH with your comment!
Hahahah – yes, we won’t answer as we don’t kiss and tell 😉
January 6, 2016 at 6:14 am
I’m not sure about the soft squashy bed. I like something a bit firmer. But everything else looks lovely, especially the breakfast spread. We’re in Hawaii at the moment, on Maui, and the pillows in our room are like marshmallows. I feel like my head is being swallowed. Can’t complain too much though…I am in Maui.
January 7, 2016 at 11:36 pm
You know…. we will confess that we have never been to Hawaii! As much as we would love to, we have never got around to it. Have a great time 🙂
January 8, 2016 at 7:14 pm
You would enjoy it. The scenery is beautiful.
January 9, 2016 at 8:44 am
Will have to make sure we get there 🙂
January 5, 2016 at 7:39 pm
This sounds like a very cozy hotel. It is quite an interesting setup with the bed being right up the window. But I like it – waking up and then having a nice view right by your side first thing in the morning. You can see the world without even getting up 😀 Don’t know if I’d be watching the TV lying down on the bed like that – don’t want to get a crook neck! Hope the two of you are well. Summer is in full swing here 🙂
January 5, 2016 at 7:50 pm
Hi Mabel!
Happy New Year to you. We are NOT getting a summer at all. We have been getting torrential rain for the past few days.
This hotel is highly unusual but we enjoyed it because it was different. Yes, we couldn’t watch TV comfortably due to the odd location of the TV. But we weren’t there to watch TV…
Hope you are well and have much planned for 2016 – can’t wait to read all about it 😉