Ibis Styles Canberra: An Honest Review Of The Narrabundah Hotel.

LOOKING FOR AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION IN CANBERRA?

Canberra is Australia’s capital and the showpiece of the nation. Home to the governing parliamentary body and a stunning ornamental lake, there’s plenty more to see in this city than meets the eye. We’re talking museums galore, fascinating sites of space technology, romantic hot air balloon flights and stunning natural attractions such as Cotter Precinct, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the phenomenal Namadgi National Park and so much more.

And if you’re looking to explore as many of these places as possible and want to stay somewhere spacious and affordable, here’s everything you need to know along with all my thoughts of Ibis Styles Canberra, especially if you’re staying in the capital for longer than the average visitor, such as a road tripper.

Disclosure: This review is a non-sponsored post based on my stay at Ibis Styles Canberra in October 2022. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Ibis Styles lies in the southwest residential suburb of Narrabundah on the outskirts of Canberra, about halfway between the city and the border. It is about a ten-minute drive from the hotel to Capital Hill, the city’s centre, and the location of the popular tourist attraction Parliament House lies.

Room Types: Diverse Accommodation Options.

Narrabundah’s Ibis Styles Hotel has a range of guestrooms and apartments on two levels that can house up to 5 guests. They also have some accessible rooms for people with mobility disabilities and are pet-friendly, allowing you to explore Canberra with your furry friend. 

Standard Queen Room. – One Queen Bed.
Superior King Room. – One King & One Single.
Family Room – One Queen, One Single & One Set Of Bunk Beds.
Superior Twin Room – Two Queen Beds.
Two Bedroom Apartment. – One Queen Room & 2 Single Beds. 

Room Features.

• Renovated Bathroom
• 40″ SMART LCD TV.
• Two Wardrobes.
• Mini Fridge.
• Desk.
• Full-Sized Mirror.
• Hair Dryer.

Standard Queen Room – Room 116

The most notable thing about the Ibis Styles Standard Queen Room is how much space there is. At 24sqm, it’s generously sized with plenty of space to move and with two full-length cupboards, a good-sized TV stand, a large table, a bag stand and two chunky bedside tables, there’s more than enough furniture to place belongings.

Rounding out the furnishings is a single couch chair for relaxing and a reasonably sized SMART LCD TV, which for the first time in my experience, is centrally positioned in front of the bed. In terms of the decor, it’s not the most interesting. It’s outdated and has a monotone vibe, with almost everything being of a similar light-wood colour.

Some areas are noticeably worn, like the scratches all over the table and the trim around the door losing paint. Speaking of the door, it doesn’t close smoothly. It requires some force to shut it and scrapes as it does because something with the mechanism is slightly misaligned.

Moreso, while there is a sufficient amount of power points throughout the room, one of them was upside down. And as an older establishment (the layout suggests it was formerly a motel.), it doesn’t have any USB ports either, which was only slightly problematic.

Noise-wise, I couldn’t hear cars outside, which is good, but sometimes there’s a slight buzz to something in the room. And occasionally a gurgling noise like boiling water happened even though the kettles are not on. And there is definitely something skittering around in the ceiling. I heard it many, many times. Maybe a possum.

Bathroom.

The bathroom was the highlight of the room. The renovated space has a lovely quality and modern feel to it and while it’s not huge, it was sufficient enough that it didn’t feel overly cramped. But while it’s a beautiful bathroom for a 3-star hotel, it wasn’t without its problems.

The light switch is in an unusual position behind the door, not near the door frame as expected. As with most hotel bathrooms, the exhaust fan turns on with the light, but it was incredibly noisy. Additionally, the toilet paper dispenser was horrible and hard to use. I’m not sure why there is such a thing in a hotel room as that’s normally what you’d expect to see at a public toilet, (perhaps people were stealing TP!) but the paper just broke up into unusable pieces.

Lastly, the shower head, while it had fantastic pressure, wouldn’t stay up. It flopped to just above my head height. To end on a more positive note, the use of multi-use cruelty-free and environmentally-friendly bottles of vegan shampoo, conditioner and body wash was the most satisfying thing about the whole stay.

View.

The Ibis Styles Hotel is limited in views. And by that I essentially mean non-existent. It was just looking at the fence surrounding the property. Some people who had balcony rooms on the other side had views overlooking the car park.

Reception, Restaurant & Bar 203.

The open layout of the reception combined with the restaurant, bar and lounge area was beautifully designed with a touch of humble sophistication. Recently renovated, the spaces were a mix of white and soft grey tones contrasted with dark accents and cabinetry. It was fresh and welcoming. 

The spiral staircase was the most notable feature of the reception and added to the modestly high-end feel they were going for, except it was uncomfortably close to the entrance.

The restaurant served a Continental buffet breakfast every morning and had a few fruits, cereal, dead animals and toasts to select from. 

Pool.

The outdoor pool was a gorgeous and inviting space between the reception, dining areas and meeting rooms. There were plenty of black weaved seats and deck chairs overlooking the bean-shaped pool which is great when it’s busy.

But when I attempted to go for a swim, it was so cold I couldn’t go further than just above my ankles even though it was 11 am on a relatively sunny warm day. It felt like entering ice water.

Laundry.

Another facility the hotel has is a laundry room, but it wasn’t listed on the map given to me at the beginning of my stay. It was only because I asked that I found out there was one, but the directions he gave on its whereabouts were a little hard to understand.

He also didn’t tell me it required special coins to operate, nor were there any signs in there saying so either, which was another thing that was only found out after enquiring about it at reception.

Inside the small laundry were two old-model washing machines, two dryers and a sink. The ones I used worked fine and all cost the same. $4.50 each for the special coins for one use.

Additional Facilities.

• Gym.
• Meeting Rooms.

Is Parking Available At Ibis Styles Canberra?

Yes. Parking at the hotel is located outdoors within the hotel complex and is free of charge. They are also conveniently close to the rooms.

Staff.

Most of the staff at the Ibis Styles Hotel were polite, friendly and approachable, but a couple of them I found a little hard to understand. There was one lady though that I was increasingly getting the feeling she didn’t like seeing me towards the end of my stay, and I am unsure of why because we barely interacted and of the times we did before I felt it was polite.

Public Transport & Accessibility To Other Attractions.

As mentioned before, the hotel is in an odd area not typical of where you’d expect a place like this to be, but there is still a bus stop directly opposite the hotel that provides access to the city’s attractions.

Canberra has tonnes of great attractions and activities. Some of my favourites are the many lookouts, which includes the Telstra Tower, the tallest structure in the ACT, hot air ballooning over the countryside, visiting Cotter Precinct and exploring the ruins of the Mt Stromlo Observatory.

The capital is also surrounded by many fantastic day trip destinations, such as Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, and Namadgi National Park, which is an epic hidden gem no outdoor enthusiast should miss.

It is also an excellent launchpad for many weekend escapes, such as ski trips to Thredbo Valley and Perisher Valley, and coastal adventures to places such as Batemans Bay.

Ibis Styles in Narrabundah is a modest hotel on the outskirts of Canberra. The reception, bar and dining area outshines its 3-star rating, but the rooms are typical of what you’d expect.

What was most appreciated about the room was the generous amount of space. And while the bathroom was stylistically beautiful but needed some maintenance, like amending the droopy shower head and the irritatingly loud exhaust fan. And the toilet paper dispenser needs to go, pronto!

As someone who was accommodated here during a road trip, I appreciated how close you’re able to park the car to the rooms because the stuff I needed for the stay was all over the vehicle, and I needed to make several trips back and forth to collect it all.

It was sad I couldn’t utilise the pool as it was so cold, but given all the factors and the kind of trip I was on, the hotel suited me well enough to have an enjoyable and affordable stay, especially since being an ALL – Accor Live Limitless Member, I received a discount on my stay.

Canberra’s Ibis Styles is very much a hotel for people travelling to and around the ACT by car due to its layout and distance from the city and layout.

The accommodation format is akin to a motel, making accessing the car very easy. It is particularly convenient for folks doing long-term travelling as everything isn’t necessarily all together in a suitcase as it would be for many other travellers.

Furthermore, as there are no attractions within walkable distance, it’s easier to drive to Canberra’s attractions than it is to catch the bus, which, while just across the road, the city doesn’t have the most comprehensive bus system.

Therefore, while the Ibis is oddly located in the residential suburb of Narrabundah, it doesn’t really matter because most guests staying here will likely have a car to get around.

Ibis Styles Narrabundah is a solid 3 star-hotel that caters well to road travellers looking for an affordable place to stay while exploring Australia’s stunning capital city of Canberra.