There’s something to be said about experiencing the world, though being able to travel with the comforts of home. It’s walking barefoot along a windy beach and at the end of the day having access to a laundry for your sandy clothes. It’s waking up and having the freedom to cook your own eggs, without the need to make yourself decent for other guests. Where to stay in Wollongong

While you may not think twice about these kind of things on a short vacation, it’s these little luxuries in life that a full time traveler craves, and why we were so taken by our recent Wollongong stay. Wollongong apartment hotels

There’s something to be said about experiencing the world, though being able to travel with the comforts of home. It’s walking barefoot along a windy beach and at the end of the day having access to a laundry for your sandy clothes.

It’s waking up and having the freedom to cook your own eggs, without the need to make yourself decent for other guests.

Known as the ‘Gong’, a short one hour drive south of Sydney, Wollongong is the “envy of many cities”. In a beautiful natural setting, this is a city where alfresco dining, beach-side breweries and bars, arts, culture, and entertainment all combine with a laid-back beach lifestyle, surrounded by a belt of subtropical rainforest and eucalypt trees. Stay in a Wollongong apartment

This is the city where Australians relax and unwind with a picnic blanket and a good book under the shady trees of the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area. A city where tourists spend their days surfing, swimming and investigating rock pools nearby. Wollongong apartments

This is the city which offers skydiving onto the beach, playing golf on a beachside course, and bushwalking through coastal rainforest teeming with kookaburras, lyrebirds, and where you can hear the unique catbird call (this is probably the world’s weirdest bird call – these strange birds make a cat mee-ow sound, and we were genuinely wondering if there was a tortured cat in the middle of the forest stuck in a tree!). Best apartments in Wollongong

Come here for great waves and beautiful scenery.

Kookaburra in the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area.

Wollongong offers a wide variety of accommodation from hotels and bed & breakfasts to cabins, hostels and camping options as well. Though our preference was an apartment hotel which allowed us to fully self cater during our stay. Where to stay on Australia’s south east coast

In a fabulous location in the heart of Wollongong’s CBD, Adina Apartment Hotel is the perfect place to call home when visiting the Gong. Throw on some shoes and it’s only minutes before you’ve hit the city’s beautiful main beach, or strolled past vibrant restaurants on the boardwalk. There is a huge shopping mall located right up the street, and those traveling with a car can find themselves in the rainforest in 15-25 minutes.

Hiking the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area.

Rooms are warm and welcoming with a stylish beachside-inspired décor.

In a location where the main sights of the city are an easy walk, and some of the best bushwalking in the world is a quick drive, we quickly learned that a stay at Adina makes it easy to get the most out of the hours in your day. And an apartment means travelers are afforded the luxury of packing their itinerary as full as they like, and then retiring in comfort at the end of the day.

A 4 star property, Adina Apartment Hotel Wollongong is a relaxed hotel which offers modern studios and one bedroom apartments, with all of the comforts of home. Review of Adina Apartment Hotel Wollongong

Generous on space, the one bedroom apartments come with a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a laundry with washer/dryer, and separate living/dining area. A private balcony with outdoor seating is attached to every apartment, offering views which stretch over the city streets and out to the sea.

Generous on space, the one bedroom apartments come with a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a laundry with washer/dryer, and separate living/dining area.

A private balcony with outdoor seating is attached to every apartment, offering views which stretch over the city streets and out to the sea.

Generous on space, the one bedroom apartments come with a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a laundry with washer/dryer, and separate living/dining area.

Rooms are warm and welcoming with a stylish beachside-inspired décor. Floor to ceiling windows with white walls make the space as bright as can be, and while some of the furnishings were reasonably tired, our room overall was beautifully modern and clean. Adina Hotel Wollongong review

The bedroom was spacious and sleek, and it was an incredibly comfortable sleep, though it was the bathroom which really stood out.

Winning obvious points for the addition of a private laundry, (a traveler’s dream is having the ability to wash and dry as they please!), the bathroom was well put together with a large amount of room to move. There was a separate shower from the tub, and the cleaners had really made the whole room shine.

The bathroom was incredibly spacious with a separate shower from the tub, and the cleaners had really made the whole room shine.

The kitchen was similarly very clean, equipped with a full length fridge (fully stocked with a mini bar), microwave, oven, dishwasher and stove, and every cooking appliance or utensil you could possibly think to need.

There’s an outdoor pool, a sauna and a fitness room. On-site parking is available for a fee. The rooms also come with pay TV, and broadband internet. Internet is free up to 100 MB per 24 hours per room, though it’s important to note that this is a very basic plan, and any internet use past quickly downloading your emails will require an unlimited plan at a $9.95 set 24 hour fee. Where are the best hotels to stay in Wollongong

The kitchen was similarly very clean, equipped with a full length fridge (fully stocked with a mini bar), microwave, oven, dishwasher and stove, and every cooking appliance or utensil you could possibly think to need.

The most memorable experience which you will take away from a stay at the Adina Apartment Hotel isn’t, however, the freedom to do your own laundry, or to cook your own meals, but how welcomed you feel, and how pleasurable it is to be in the company of their staff. Best hotel in Wollongong

Everyone wears a genuine smile, from the receptionist on check-in to the cleaners you pass in the hall. They’re all friendly, well mannered, and always wish you a wonderful day. And when it comes down to it after check out, it’s not the clean bathroom floors or the access to the beach which you remember as having made your stay – it’s the warmth and friendliness of the Adina hotel staff. What hotels in Wollongong are close to the beach

They make the hotel feel like home for as long as you are there to stay.

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In a fabulous location in the heart of Wollongong’s CBD, Adina Apartment Hotel is the perfect place to call home when visiting the Gong.

In a fabulous location in the heart of Wollongong’s CBD, Adina Apartment Hotel is the perfect place to call home when visiting the Gong.

Megan is an Australian Journalist who has been travelling and blogging since 2007, with the main aim of inspiring others to embark on their own worldwide adventure. Her husband Mike is an American travel photographer, and together they have made the world their home.

Committed to bringing you the best in adventure travel from all around the globe, there is no mountain too high, and no fete too extreme! They haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on their list.

Follow their journey on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.