Esplanade Hotel Fremantle

We stayed at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle on New Years Eve.
Wow! What a hidden gem. The place was buzzing with families
Arriving early for for their New Year’s Eve festivities. Even though the hotel was filled to capacity with in house guests and patrons service
Was prompt and friendly. At check in I requested a jug of soy milk
Which to my surprise was in our suite by the time we reached our room after leaving reception. Parking was a breeze with the charming young man who valet parked our vehicle. Air conditioning was already on when we entered our room which was greatly appreciated. The house keeping staff are to be commended. The suite was immaculate
And everything was perfect. Breakfast arrived on time, steaming hot and delicious. The pots of tea so large we couldn’t possibly finish them, but more than enough milk if we had wanted to. Checkout was a breeze and we most definitely will be back again.

Why have I not been here sooner? Thanks to the summer rain on a Sunday we sought refuge in here. When the rain stopped, the relaxed atmosphere still kept us here. Friendly bar staff, centralised location in Freo and the décor is superb! Will definitely be back for more than just a lemon, lime & bitters.

There was a lot to like about the hotel, friendly and helpful staff, good sized rooms and all the expected facilities: pool, front bar, restaurant /​lounge.
However if you arrive at peek times there can be long waits to pull up as the valet service cannot keep up; and reception really only has the two desks do again if anyone ahead has questions you can be queueing a while.
The front bar does offer table service, but at least we found it patchy and the buffet breakfast was a little plain — though they are rarely my favourite.

The architect that designed rooms and corridors can not been talented. Bare flat walls in off white colors, no art to talk of, very, very few electric outlets in rooms and no convenient place to put shirts, underwear etc. even in junior suite. First night I got a very dull room facing the pool and I could smell what food they prepared in kitchen. I moved to a junior suite which was big but bare and not very inviting. I sent four shirts for laundry at $ 10.50 each!!! They came back without starch, damp and wrinkled so I had to iron them myself!!! Location is good and staff helpful but management seems absent.

Buffet lunch was very well presented. Good selection of vegetables and salads as well as a well organised beef carvery. Staff friendly and helpful. Deserts and coffee made it a great experience

Step into the ‘80s at the Esplanade Hotel!
That’s a little unkind to the hotel as a whole, but it’s amusing. While the rooms are modern and well kept, the front bar area is a bit of a hangover from when Fremantle hosted the America’s Cup in the ‘80s. It doesn’t look faded — they have kept their 80’s yacht club décor in astoundingly good nick. They make killer cocktails and their buffet restaurant is quite good value. It’s best enjoyed if you embrace the vibe and dress in your finest formal ‘80s threads.
As I touched on before, the rooms here are generally of a very high standard. A bit of a protip though; double check that your room is not on the side of the hotel that «faces the pool» as the reality of this is that your room will overlook the Collie Street Carpark and you’ll hardly be able to see the pool. Room service here is also a little lacking; the spaghetti I ordered last time I was here had clearly been microwave reheated, despite being sold at restaurant prices.
Aside from these quirks and qualms, this is actually a pretty good hotel that has a lot more character than some others in the area. It’s centrally located for tourists and is where I suggest people stay if they want to holiday in Freo. Not half bad at all.

Right in the middle of Fremantle and overlooking the esplanade and the the harbour, this hotel does very well in terms of wedding functions and tour groups. It is a privately owned hotel which is a bonus thesedays as small hotel owners are being bought out by the multi national corporations and big brand names of international tourism. It has a swimming pool that could belong in a tropical island retreat. Foodwise there is a selection of places and levels including bar food, restaurant dining and high tea.