Crocodile Hotel Australia
9 / 10
The Croc Hotel is a three-hour drive from Darwin and 35 minutes from the Bowali Visitors Centre on the northern tip of Kakadu National Park — one of the Northern Territory’s most striking sites for nature lovers (and the world’s largest terrestrial national park). This is an excellent casting off point for seeing Ubirr Rock and views over Arnhem Land at sunset.
Style & character
8 / 10
You’ll need to appreciate ambitious Eighties design to find the Croc Hotel truly charming; style-wise this stay offers something different (the hotel has wone the Northern Territory Tourism Award for ‘best unique accommodation’). Upon arriving, guests enter via the crocodile’s open mouth into a large open foyer with a mini gallery/museum. The restaurant and a pool sit inside the ‘mid-section’, and rooms occupy the ‘arms’, ‘legs’ and ‘tail’. Common spaces look a tad tired owing to dated colour schemes and fading paintwork. Rooms feature Aboriginal art and are plainly, yet tastefully decorated.
Service & facilities
7 / 10
An excellent management team oversee the hotel, yet general staffing can be hit-and-miss owing to the park’s highly transient workforce. Often, restaurant staff is spread thin, for example. Hotel facilities include a restaurant/bar; a lovely, large open-air pool with a pleasant lounging area; and an art gallery, gift shop and laundry. Be aware there’s no lift access to the hotel’s upper floor.
- Bar
- Laundry
- Parking
- Pool
- Restaurant
- Room service
- Wi-Fi
Rooms
Rooms are comfortable and warmly decorated with wooden furniture, local artwork and yellow- and white-painted walls. Thick, white linen is paired with golden bed covers, and beds themselves deliver a good night’s sleep. Bathrooms are older style and can do with a refresh — these feature occasionally loud fans and combined bath/shower recesses. Request a ground-floor room that opens out onto the pool.
