19 April 2016

Our first look - Vibe Hotel

| Ryan Johnstone
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Several weeks ago, Canberra’s first Vibe Hotel opened up at Canberra Airport. However it wasn’t until Thursday last week that it was officially declared opened by Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, among a few hundred lucky guests, myself included. With hundreds of millions of dollars spent upgrading Canberra Airport it seemed only fitting to build a world class hotel to compliment it. Designed by Bates Smart architects, the 191 room hotel reflects architectural highlights of New York’s Guggenheim Museum, showcasing a stunning seven story atrium over the lobby, bar, and restaurant social areas.

The hotels grand opening exhibited everything the hotel had to offer in ways of fresh gourmet food and a variety of premium beverages. The highlights of the events were the fromagerie station (cheese) and the charcuteries (meats) sliced before you at its section. As well as a chilled seafood buffet, there were waiters with canapes of anything you could imagine, from beetroot and goat’s cheese tartlet, to oysters and caviar. With all these delicacies coming out of the kitchen it’s no doubt that Helix Bar & Dining at Vibe knows what it’s doing.

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For those who weren’t at the opening, Helix Bar & Dining offers its menu all day bar menu from 10am with options such as Rabbit and Hazelnut Terrine, Suckling Lamb Macaroni, Eggplant and Buffalo Mozzarella Parmigiana, and for dessert, try the Date and Macadamia Tart with Calvados Ice cream. As well as a creative cocktail list, the wine selection offers regional favourites as well as international and interstate options.

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I would assume that Vibe has done their homework and it will go ok. It’s their commercial decision. I can not see what all the fuss is about.

dungfungus said :

Masquara said :

Airport hotels only work as stay over hubs for busy people where it’s hard to get from the airport to the CBD of a big city, or where people need to stay over to make an international connection at an international airport. A cheese plate doth not make a good hotel. Look out that window at the awful view of a hillock and a puddle!

In this case, busy rich people.

It’s only a four-star ….

Mark of Sydney10:40 am 07 Dec 15

The responses to this post are unfortunately typical of many on this site in recent times.

Believe it or not, thousands of people stay overnight in Canberra hotels like this. Some pay their own way, many perhaps most have their costs paid for them by the employers or clients. It’s the way the world works, in Canberra and elsewhere.

I don’t have any connection to the airport or hotel, but going by the comments on Tripadvisor the hotel is already working well for some visitors. If you’ve no need to stay in a Canberra hotel, why would you be an expert on what visitors want out of a hotel? Why not limit your comments to issues that affect you and you know something about?

Is it something in the water in Canberra that makes people so negative? I doubt you’d get such a response in any other city.

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wildturkeycanoe6:26 am 07 Dec 15

Masquara said :

Airport hotels only work as stay over hubs for busy people where it’s hard to get from the airport to the CBD of a big city, or where people need to stay over to make an international connection at an international airport.

There’s the problem right there, Canberra isn’t a stop over on the way to an overseas destination nor is it difficult to get to the CBD, relative to other major cities in this country or the world. There isn’t really a good reason to stay at the “Vibe” other than if you are traveling from Brisbane to Cooma and got tired an hour before reaching your destination. Then again, if one was only in Canberra to do business out at Brindabella Park then they could stay at the Vibe to avoid having to see any more than necessary of our capital.

Masquara said :

Airport hotels only work as stay over hubs for busy people where it’s hard to get from the airport to the CBD of a big city, or where people need to stay over to make an international connection at an international airport. A cheese plate doth not make a good hotel. Look out that window at the awful view of a hillock and a puddle!

I think that “puddle” is the road. A better view than most airport hotels I have stayed in. But I agree with dungfungus’ comment here. “In this case, busy rich people.”

Masquara said :

Airport hotels only work as stay over hubs for busy people where it’s hard to get from the airport to the CBD of a big city, or where people need to stay over to make an international connection at an international airport. A cheese plate doth not make a good hotel. Look out that window at the awful view of a hillock and a puddle!

In this case, busy rich people.

Holden Caulfield5:33 pm 06 Dec 15

Yeah, I tend to agree. I hope Vibe does well, but it’s difficult to see a strong demand for a hotel in that location.

Airport hotels only work as stay over hubs for busy people where it’s hard to get from the airport to the CBD of a big city, or where people need to stay over to make an international connection at an international airport. A cheese plate doth not make a good hotel. Look out that window at the awful view of a hillock and a puddle!

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