The Lost Camel Hotel - A member of Mercure Hotels 3.5 stars

Ecocertified

We arrived around 11am, and the rooms were not ready. We were able to leave the bags in the lobby and walk 2 minutes to the town center area for coffee. There were a few shops, a restaurant, coffee bar, and an IGA grocery store. It was 2pm by the time our room was ready. The bed was comfortable with new comfortable bedding. The only window was a push out in the bathroom - but we already knew that. Knowing that there was no window in the room, you would think they would have installed adequate lighting. There was no overhead light, just two bedside lights and a light over a small sofa . The WIFI worked well, and there were bedside chargers. There was a small refrigerator. The shower was separated from the toilet, which I like! The room was very clean - I didn’t see any bugsThe pool was nice, but there were no shaded areas to enjoy. Having a free laundry was a huge plus! Transportation within the resort and to/from the airport was excellent and mostly on time. We booked outside tours so we really didn’t participate in much at the resort. The sunrise and sunset “shows” were very expensive, and the reviews for the resort “barbecues “ weren’t great, so we skipped them ( I’m a picky eater - so it’s just not worth it for me). Instead, we had carry out dinner from the Wok. We had so much food left over! The next day we took the shuttle to the outback hotel, which has a communal kitchen , so we could use the microwave to warm our leftovers for lunch. The Outback is the only hotel selling “take away” alcohol , so we bought some beer to go with our lunch. We were glad we weren’t staying there. it’s very bare bones, but the bar looked like it would be fun in the evenings.

Check in is 3pm , our room wasn’t ready when we arrived , but reception let us know 2-3 hours before that we could put our luggage in the room. The rooms are tired, in need of decorating. Cleanliness is at the lower end of the scale, the toilet was cleaned in our stay of 3 nights . The hotel is adequate, there isn’t a restarts hotel, but we had breakfast in our package which was at the Sails in Desert hotel, 5 minutes walk away , this breakfast was very good . The TV is limited in channels and the receipts poor so the screen keeps freezing. WiFi was very good in our room. The staff were helpful. There are better hotels in the resort

The hotel is basic but the rooms are clean and roomy. The staff is friendly and helpful. Laundry was free so that was a nice perk. The buses don’t stop there so you need to walk a short ways to meet any shuttles. The cinder block hallways are off putting, but the rooms make up for it.

This was a pretty good hotel. The stuff inside the room was clean, modern, and made our stay convenient. They had a proper hair dryer, solid water pressure and the toilet and shower are separate so there was no urgent waiting, lol. There is a pool outside with decent temperature that is big enough to swim in, the staff is very kind (if you show up outside of business hours, the folks at Sails in the Desert will take care of you), and the room is well positioned to the town square and supermarket. You won't go hungry. There are insects, but that's just... Australia. I don't know how much influence they have over their insect population, but think of it as learning about the biodiversity of the Northern Territory, lol. What I didn't like is, strangely... the door. There are quite a few folks running about from outside the hotel, and our door was lightweight, as in you could probably knock it down if you really wanted to. You could almost see the outside through the gaps when it's closed, which is not a great feeling when strangers are running out and about at night. It made me feel a bit unsafe. All in all, a good stay for a couple of days! I probably wouldn't want to stay longer, though.

We stayed 3 nights at the Lost Camel Hotel. Location is central to everything. All tours for the Lost Camel leave from Sails in the Desert which is a 5minutes stroll. The shopping centre is next door, very convenient. The room was tidy, the A/C was strong and the linen and bedding was fresh and clean. Having a sette/couch in the room was a bonus. There is a kettle in the room for tea/coffee. Since there is no onsite restaurant a microwave would have been good to heat up meals. The toilet bowls have a grey stain and it seems to be endemic due to the minerals/ storm water used for the flushing system. However, there is no mention of this in the toilet area so it a bit confronting. Bath area needs better cleaning and a nonslip bath mat would be good as the tiles are slippery. The use of the free laundry and detergent was a welcome addition as you do get sweaty in the desert and carrying soiled clothes back is not ideal. It’s a pity that not many aboriginal people are involved in the tourism and hotel industry in the Red Centre. This would add so much more to the experience. I hope this can be changed in the future. Overall a very good experience staying at the Lost Camel Hotel.