Palm Cove - Attractions

Not a bad way to spend the week-end I must admit....... 

We flew to Cairns on Friday Morning, a nice 3 hour flight from Sydney (only a little delayed, but I did get a chance to finish a very good book that I'd been reading) Then a 20 minute bus ride to Palm Cove. We were a group of 8 including a few impressive ladies who organise Incentive Programs, hearing some of the stuff that they arrange for groups was amazing.

Palm Cove is a favourite destination of mine and I've visited a few times but getting to meet some of the attraction operators and having a close look at the hotels and venues was fantastic. I will chat about the Hotel Venues in subsequent posts, but for now its all about the attractions and event venues.

Conference in a Tropical Paradise

The best time to visit Tropical North Queensland is between May and November when you will only need to pack T-Shirts, shorts and swimmers (sunglasses, hat and sunscreen too).  The worst time is February and March when it will be humid, wet, stingers in the water and the possibility of Cyclone action

There are a few things that make Palm Cove an attractive destination for me and a place that I love to recommend. Not only does it have some excellent hotels venues suitable for small to medium sized conferences, but it offers a great diversity of amazing experiences; Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest, Kuranda, Skyrail, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and Cains Zoo to name just a few.

Its not me, but this really is what it looks like

Clearly a trip to the Great Barrier Reef to experience one of the worlds natural wonders is must, the amazing variety of fish and corals will give your delegates a day that they will live long in the memory. You do not have to be a great swimmer or super fit, the tours do provide flotation aids. If your group is conferencing at Palm Cove I suggest getting a bus north to Port Douglas for your reef trip, the further north you go the less people on the reef and the closer the reef is to the coast, so if you depart Cairns its around 2 hours out to the reef, but if you depart Port Douglas its only 1 hour. Your delegates can join the larger boats that can take several hundred people out to the reef, but private charters are also available. Half day trips can be arranged to fit in with your conference program and a scenic helicopter transfer back to the hotel will give smaller groups an unforgettable aerial perspective of the Reef.

Stephen and Koala

Stephen and Snake

Cairns Zoo, which is only 5 minutes drive from Palm Cove, gives you delegates the chance to get up close and personal with some of Australia's iconic wildlife. You can hold a Koala or a Python, you can hand feed kangaroos or watch them feed a 4.5m crocodile, the size of this beast made us gasp, its big enough to attack and kill a cow, and hearing the loud crack as its jaws snapped shut made us take a step back even though we were behind a solid fence. Cairns Zoo also does night tours which are fascinating. You can use this place as a unique venue for a dinner or cocktail function.

Dinner in The Rainforest

Your group will certainly need a dinner or 2 and maybe a cocktail function. With Beaches and Rainforest on your doorstep Palm Cove offers some great opportunities for dining events. I attended an event that was set up in a rainforest clearing next door to the conference centre at Novotel Palm Cove, it was fantastic how they had set it up, melaleuca and rainforest palm with up lights, chandeliers hanging from the canopy, a smoke machine to add some mystery, and some gentle acoustic music - combine this with amazing food and it was great night. Another night we visited the spectacular Kewarra Beach Resort and had dinner on the beach surrounded by swaying palm trees - again a memorable location and some great food. I loved the wood fired pizza oven on the beach. What am amazing destination!

Rydges in Melbourne

I was invited to visit Melbourne and not being one to pass up a chance for a couple days away from the office and the chance to meet some people that I had only ever engaged with remotely, I was right into it and started packing the bags. Of course, having only recently boasted that my flights never get delayed, my flight was delayed by a couple of hours and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at the airport when my plan had been to dine in one of Melbourne's many fine eateries.

I wandered the streets of Melbourne, met a few people and looked at a few conference hotels, as you do. But, special mention here to the two Rydges properties that I visited, pleasantly surprised was the feeling.

Jacqui from their sales team showed me around and although we have swapped many e-mails over the years I now know why the feedback I get from clients I send to her is always good, shes a great lady with a big smile, positive and energetic, who knows her stuff.

The conference rooms at Rydges Melbourne were light and spacious with high ceilings, good size with the largest room seating up to around 300 people in a Theatre Style or 120 Classroom. I wont bore you with the facts and figures but visit Rydges Melbourne on the web site for more info. I also like this part of the City of Melbourne, easy walk to Lygon Street, close to Chinatown, The Parliament buildings and the Theatres. The accommodation was a good solid corporate standard,classic style, earthy tones, clean and comfortable with the amenities you'd expect.

Rydges on Swanston - Conference Room

Rydges on Swanston was next and again pleasantly surprised this time shown around by Mat and again an impressive operator and a decent human. This property is just on the northern fringe of Melbourne CBD, easy to walk into the city centre or jump on one of Melbourne famous trams that run past the front door. This place has a nice park next door which seemed like a great place to take conference delegates for a picnic lunch, a spot of group Yoga in the morning or maybe some team building activity later in the day. 


For the facts and figures visit Rydges On Swanston 

Rydges on Swanston - Roof Top Deck

Another surprise here was the rooftop pool deck area a great space for some welcome drinks, a cocktail function or a small dinner. This rooftop deck had some good views and enough space for a little live music. The conference rooms were well presented with lots of natural light and complimentary WiFi (more venues should be offering this, it doesn't seem right to charge a conference group A$20 per person per day for WiFi that you can get for free in a coffee shop or fast food outlet)

Rydges on Swanston - Restaurant

Rydges on Swanston has around 100 accommodation rooms, so for a conference group of 70 or 80 delegates you will probably have the place to yourself and benefit from being the only conference group in-house for the staff to focus on. The Restaurant and Bar areas have just been refurbished and have a bit of comfortable modern elegance about them. Mat and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea chatting and watching the world go by along Swanston Street to finish of the site inspection.

With the business over for the day I took a short stroll up to the lively Lygon Street and enjoyed some great Italian food.