Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel 3.5성

The whole hotel needs a refurbishment. Our bedroom and bathroom were tired and worn out. The bed was comfortable enough. The public areas need a general tidy up and a though clean. However our memories will be the lack of customer care by senior staff. When we arrived at reception 2 police officers were there talking the manager. The police were asking her to reinstate a member of staff who she had seemingly fired. The police were saying the ex staff member was innocent of wrongdoing. The manager refused. Why the manager thought it was acceptable for this conversation to be conducted at the front reception desk is beyond words. The young person who checked us in was clearly embarrassed by it. We ate in the restaurant both nights. The food was acceptable, although a bit pricy. In the restaurant we witnessed the same manager person bullying a young member of staff over and over again in clear view of customers. There is clearly something seriously wrong at this hotel. I have never commented on anything like this before, but it was awful to witness.

Really liked the location, the staff were really freindly and tried to help in any way that they could

Flew into Darwin, hired a car (not a 4WD) and drove across the Arnhem Highway into Kakadu National Park for a stay in Jabiru at the Kakadu Crocodile Hotel. I’m not a camper so a hotel is the option for me. The drive to Jabiru is on a good sealed road and although the monsoon was late arriving, it was still the wet season so the skies were spectacular and there was water lapping the side of the road most of the way – with the mandatory beware of crocodile signs everywhere and particuarly on the long low bridges crossing large creek crossings. There’s no hard edge to stop either, as it was very soggy – and also with crocodiles around, why would you stop! I actually saw a crocodile on the side of the road, who then slithered seamlessly into the dark pool of water at the road’s edge. It’s a few hours drive to Jabiru from Darwin. You'll see wild dingoes padding along the side of the road and gorgeous black tailed wallabies. You need a pass to enter Kakadu NP and there is a service station on the Arnhem Highway that sells passes otherwise it’s easy to do online. Arrived at the Mercure Crocodile Hotel in daylight to very high humidity and a hot day! That humidity hits you as you get out of your air conditioned car. The hotel is built in the shape of a crocodile - although you wouldn't know from the ground - and it’s a great spot to stay to do further exploring of Kakadu. The onsite Ochre Gallery has a fabulous assortment of indigenous art for purchase or just looking at. From this hotel, you can explore the northern end of Kadadu including Ubirr, Cahils Crossing (that road was closed due to water over the road) – and is famous for the crocodiles that rest on either side of the road spillway. Other places easy to reach are the Nourlangie Rock Art Site (best do that prepared with water and in the early part of the day) and the Mamukala Wetlands (the Wetlands were closed for access as water was over the road). The hotel has a good restaurant onsite serving the ubiquitous barramundi and kangaroo, as well as a bar for a drink after a day’s exploring. The restaurant does lunch as well. The barramundi was fabulous and the kangaroo was very tender, probably a bit ‘pink’ for my liking but the food was good although the service was a bit hit and miss and quite slow. One of my meals missed an element and I requested that be adjusted and a discount was applied to a final bill. Back to checkin – the parking is outside the hotel so there is a walk to rooms which are on two levels. There’s parking undercover just for Reception checkin – but I found the signage to Reception really hard to find – so ended up parking in the open and walking to Reception to check in. I had a ground floor room, the opposite side to the car park so a bit of a walk with your luggage. I’m not sure if there are lifts to the higher floor but I was happy with a ground floor room. My room had a dehumidifier running when I entered and I kept this running although you need to empty the water container fairly regularly as it doesn’t take long to fill up. There was an air conditioner that cooled effectively. The room itself was a bit tired and basic although the bed was comfortable – there’s a Nespresso machine but I didn’t use it – it looked like it needed a wash. The usual tea and coffee suspects were supplied but nothing special. The bathroom was very very tired, patched up and had a shower over a short bath with that toggle button on the bath tap that took a while to adjust to water for the overhead shower. Once you worked it out the shower was efficient and plenty of hot water. My room looked out to the pool and had chains on the sliding doors – it was too hot to sit outside so I didn’t bother with the doors. Toiletries were the large local Kakadu labelled pump bottles with a side of a few other usual hotel things. The shower caps were useless as they fell apart when you pulled them so they went in the bin. TV even for this remote part of Australia had enough channels to find the news. I had breakfast both mornings in the restaurant and the continental was adequate as a start to the day – the fruit and especially the passionfruit were amazing. There’s a full breakfast of cooked items in a bain-marie style if you are after eggs and sausages. Filled the car up in Jabiru, there’s a service station that is branded differently but under the auspices of BP – which I noticed on the eftpos machine. The maps of Kakadu National Park are easy to read but always check about road closures and accessibility for vehicles. Carry some drinking water. All the main roads are sealed. Did a day drive from Jabiru to Cooinda for the Yellow Waters Cruise. The cruise left from Cooinda because the water levels were so high that the other wharf area was under water. The Warradjan Aboriginal Culture Centre is on the way into Cooinda Lodge and worth a visit. The cruise left at 4.30 pm which meant driving back to Jabiru in the dark – the road is good but it’s dark, very dark with thunderous skies and you really need to concentrate. I was told there could be water buffalo on the roads or verges but I didn’t see any – still, just knowing puts you on heightened alert. The Yellow Waters cruise is sensational and shouldn’t be missed. This is an amazing part of Australia to visit. The Mercure Crocodile Hotel is a great base to go North or South in Kakadu.

Stayed Jan 2025. Nice Hotel, the reception and restaurant/bar areas are very well presented. Room is a good size but poorly utilised for a 2x Queen room. This is an Accor-wide issue - how hard is it to have a table and 2 chairs and even an easy chair when you have a 30m2 room. beds & Linen very good. Air Con good. The bathroom was disappointing - small & dated, shower in bath. Staff very good. Food was good but pricey even with Accor Plus discounts, OK for 1 night.

2 night stay as part of an Outback Spirit tour. My room was clean, quiet, and comfortable. Wifi signal was strong. Breakfast Buffet had a good selection and dinner was very good. Apparently this region is very humid, as the rooms had dehumidifiers, in addition to AC. Some in my group were not aware they needed to be emptied. I know I emptied mine 2 or 3 times the full day we were there. Made a big difference in the efficiency of the AC!