All Seasons Verona Hotel, Mt Isa Queensland

I was actually pleasantly surprised returning to the All Seasons Verona. Nothing much has changed on the outside but once you get into the rooms you’ll realise that serious renovations have actually been done.

On my first visit about a year ago I was sorely disappointed about how dilapidated the whole place looked. It was like stepping back in time but not in a nostalgic wishing it was still the 70’s good way. Every aspect of the hotel looked tired and antiquated. The carpeting was worn out. The single lift worked fine but the sound it was producing made me wonder if it wouldn’t suddenly drop. Thank God there were only 3 levels. The bathroom tiles, bed spreads and table lamps were like op shop rejects. All I wanted was to do what I had to do and get out of there.

How things have changed, literally. It wasn’t my habit to take photos of rooms back then so it’s a shame I couldn’t do a before and after photo comparison. Now the All Seasons Verona feels like it actually belongs to this decade

Mantra Pandanas

43 Knuckey Street, DARWIN

Mantra Pandanas is a pretty standard business hotel. But it stands out among the rest for four special reasons:

Pandanas plant (very prolific in the NT)

1. It’s new

There are two Mantra properties in Darwin. One is the Pandanas (newer) and the other is the Esplanade (older). I was a bit suspicious of the older Mantra after visiting their website and finding no photos of the rooms. The link to the Pandanas, on the other hand, featured photos of the bedrooms quite heavily.

2. CD Player

This is actually the first time I’ve ever stayed in a hotel that has a CD player in the room. I did not use it but it’s good to know it is there just in case…

3. Extra large lotus-shaped shower head

Coming from Queensland where water restriction is de rigueur I was pleasantly surprised to see this monster of a shower head. The size betrays little about how gentle water flows out of it. This one I used a lot!

4. Good ground coffee and a French press

Most hotels give you only two options of in-room coffee. It’s either decaf or caffeinated instant coffee. Mantra excelled in this in that you still get the instant option but you are also given the choice to have freshly brewed coffee using a French press. The hotel charges $6.00 bucks for a 50g pack but I think that is quite reasonable.

So whether for business or leisure in Darwin, I highly recommend the Mantra Pandanas!

In-room dining 23.04.08

Entrée
Chicken and prawn nasi goreng
Sautéed rice with coriander, green shallots and bean sprouts

Main
Tasmanian Salmon
On Minted green peas, steamed Kipfler potato and lemon butter sauce

Dessert
Rich Chocolate Cake
With coffee cream and pistachio ice cream

Drink
Lemon, lime & bitters

I thought I better write about what I just had for dinner while it’s still fresh on my mind and palate, of course.


The Holiday Inn in Darwin offers two types of Room Service menu. One is called A La Carte and the other cheaper option is affectionately called Take Inn. A La Carte comes as a full tray service and finishes at 10pm. The hotel charges $4.00 for the tray. Take Inn, on the other hand, is served “Takeaway” style with some items available to order 24 hours a day. The 24 hour availability is a very good idea as some flights to Darwin from interstate does not get in till close to or just after midnight.

Looked promising!?!?!?!?!

For what the hotel charges for such a simple dish I was certainly expecting something much better than what most take-away shops offer. Most of what I paid for probably went into the packaging. (Ok, ok, the office is paying for it). The dish came in a Chinese takeaway box. The box really looked good. But as soon as I opened it my heart sank with what I saw. The Nasi Goreng looked more like a badly made risotto. The grains of rice were hardly recognisable as they were all stuck together like glue. Parang paste! The coriander and green shallots were also missing. Big disappointment! I will not order it again!

Really bad Nasi Goreng!

As a Pinoy, I actually did not have the courses separately. I did not finish the Nasi Goreng first before having the salmon. I had them both at the same time.

I’m not really fond of minted peas. I’ve decided early on to eat the salmon with the Nasi Goreng anyway so it didn’t really bother me that the salmon was served with it. I just would not eat it. To my surprise though, the minted peas (which was mashed) actually tasted good. I finished all of it together with the Kipfler potatoes. The salmon was a bit overcooked but it was nice enough I finished all of it.

The pistachio ice cream that was supposed to be included in the dessert I ordered was nowhere to be seen! Yes, the chocolate cake was served with ice cream but it was not pistachio! I was already suspicious when I first saw the ice cream. The colour was too much on the pale side. It wasn’t pale green. It was white! Maybe it’s coconut (I was hoping)! What other white coloured ice cream are there around? Of course it’s vanilla! It was plain old boring BANILYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cake, unfortunately, was not able to make for it. It was more like boxed Sara Lee chocolate cake straight out of the freezer.

All in all, tonight’s dinner is a 4 out of 10!

In-room dining 21.04.08

Entrée
Warm crab frittata
Flavoured with Roma tomato, chives and potato with lemon aioli and soft herb salad

Main
Char grilled Emerald Hills porterhouse steak
On creamy mashed potato, Puttanesca relish and baby beans

Usually on my first night in every city I visit I tend to have my meals in the hotel first. And tonight was no exception.

Frittata is sometimes served cold that is why, I suppose, it was emphasised on the menu that this item in warm. Frittata is much like the Pinoy tortang itlog. The ingredients are not much different either. Anyway, I enjoyed this entrée tremendously. I could have ordered another one as a main. The aioli worked well with the frittata. It was a bit tart to balance the richness of the frittata.

There were no surprises with the steak. It was medium just as I ordered. The mashed potato was creamy indeed as stated in the menu. I like Puttanesca as a pasta sauce but not on my steak that’s why that one was pushed aside. The beans were fresh and done just right.

Dinner tonight is 7 out of 10!

Breakfast today

Main: Mushroom Omelette served with bacon, hash brown and grilled tomatoes
Drinks: 400 mL Berri Pineapple juice, Jasmine green tea


The breakfast I had today was exactly the same as what I had yesterday. I ordered it again for the obvious reason that I enjoyed it the first time and it seemed to be the most appetising item on the menu. All the others one would be able to scoop from the buffet. The omelette would have to be prepared from scratch (I think?!?!?).

Today’s omelette was a bit “watery”. You could see the slightly dark liquid seeping out of the omelette. Mushroom juice, if you like. This fact made the meal look less inviting.

But actually, it tasted quite fine. It’s quite a big serving early in the morning. I could only finish about half of the omelette and less than one rasher of bacon.

The jasmine tea was courtesy of Qantas club. I grabbed a few while waiting for my flight to Newcastle. The Berri juice was as expected.

I would give this morning's breakfast a 6.

Last Night's Dinner

Entrée: Sydney Rock Oysters Natural
Main: Angus Fillet with Half Lobster in Shell
Drinks: Iced Lemon Tea (no sugar)
Dessert: None

The oysters were presented nicely enough. The six of them were arranged in a circle on a bed of rock sea salt. It was served with a wedge of lemon and some sort of seafood dressing at the centre of the plate. The oysters were good but didn’t taste that fresh. Had them with a few drops of lemon. The “seafood” dressing that came with it did not pack enough punch. It tasted too much like bottled mayonnaise with a bit of tomato sauce (to add colour i think, rather than taste).

I was really looking forward to having the main course. This is how it was described on the menu:

"250gm char-grilled angus fillet, with ½ lobster in the shell, lemon & thyme risotto and garlic butter sauce"

The steak was done just as I ordered (medium rare). The lobster was cooked just right. The risotto that came with it was alright. It was supposed to have lemon and thyme but I tasted neither the lemon nor the thyme. The garlic in the garlic butter sauce tasted too much like garlic from a bottle. I have a particular dislike for this. I love garlic! It just bothers me how some restaurants have this preference to bottled garlic? How hard is it to use fresh garlic???? You can really taste the difference!

The most disappointing part of the meal was the Iced tea. I ordered the same drink s I was quite pleased when i hd it the night before last night. It was made from scratch. Fresh lemon was used and no sugar was added. It was cool and refreshing. But what i was served last night was far from that. It was iced tea WITH NO ICE! You can't call it iced tea! THERE WAS NO ICE! It was warm and totally disappointing.

For what the hotel charges for the entire meal they could have done better!