Tag: Perth

For our 2019 Christmas present, we booked ourselves a show package at the Crown Metropol. A night with no kids, dinner and a show. There really is no bigger treat for working, busy parents!

Finally, last night was our night……

We arrived at the Crown at 3:30pm to face a rather long queue to check in. It was hard not to feel a tad disappointed. Dinner was booked for 5:30pm and we had to check out early in the morning, so we knew this was our only opportunity to enjoy the pool. We could see the plans of poolside cocktails slipping away!

But……. we needn’t have worried, the efficient staff chipped away at the line and we were up in our room, bathers on ready at 4pm. We headed down to the pool to a glorious Perth afternoon, a few fluffy white clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky, sunshine and drinks (oh and a lovely crystal clear pool of course).

Although there were no sun-lounges free, we found a comfy spot in the bar area and ordered a mojito each. It was a delicious and refreshing way to start our evening, a little bit fancy but not too sweet or heavy. We sat and chatted to each other. It really was lovely to be able to reconnect without the interruptions of children and every day life. It felt like ages since we really talked and listened to one another.

We had a quick obligatory splash in the pool and headed up to the room with 30 mins to get ready for dinner. Of course, as you would expect, the room was spacious and comfortable with a definite touch of luxury and class, including a complimentary bottle of bubbles on ice.

Metropol is the original hotel in the complex, first built in 1985 but with several renovations over the years, it still looks fresh. Not quite as luxurious as Crown Towers, but slightly cheaper and a step up from Crown Promenade.

We entered The Atrium restaurant in the heart of the Crown complex at 5:31pm (not bad at all, considering what we had already squeezed into 91 mins!). From here it was a glorious feast! The buffet included seafood, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Chinese, and Thai options, as well as a traditional English roast carvery. Mr Travel Bee went straight to the seafood bar as expected.

I was more conservative, although perhaps it was just pretending and started with a bowl of soup. It wasn’t long though and I was filling my plate with all sorts!! I think for me the pork belly with the divine crunchy crackling was a winner. For Mr Travel Bee it was the Oysters.

Then, there was dessert. The pictures say it all…..

And so….. with very full tummies we headed into the Crown Theatre for a night of entertainment with Tim Minchin. A musician, comedian, actor, lyricist, and director, we had seen him in a few things on TV and been to see his musical Matilda but really didn’t know quite what to expect.

What we got, was an evening that opened our eyes to many many things. Let’s just say he is a tad eccentric and definitely would not be everyone’s cup of tea. But there is absolutely no denying the talent this man has. One minute he is skilfully playing the piano and singing songs about growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, the next lecturing us about the internet and it’s stupidity, then religion and world atrocities, next he was singing about cheese.

We laughed, sang along, sometimes dropped our jaws in shock, laughed again and I have to admit, nearly cried as he finished the show with a beautiful song he wrote for Missy Higgins. Tim is an extraordinary talent who sees the world just as it is……. ever so slightly screwed up (he has another less polite word for it!).

Before we could call it a night and head to our luxury king sized bed, we could not resist a night cap in the Casino itself. This place has always been one of my favourite places to people watch. It is fascinating to see how some people can lay it all out, risk everything, others cautious and calculating. Then there are those just so drunk they have no idea what they are doing.

I followed my previous rules, placing a $50 bill on a Roulette table. It took a bit longer than last time, but I was lucky enough to turn it into $110 before calling it a night, my win covering our fuel costs for the weekend.

This morning after a cup of tea in bed, we were up and off to watch our son play soccer. Although a pre-season friendly, there was plenty of nerves and apprehension but the boys did well with some very encouraging play.

Looks like we will be spending many a weekend in Perth in coming months. Shame not many will be spent at the Crown though (that is unless I win a bit more than $60 on the Roulette table!).

TTB