For some, swimming with the sharks and deadly
stingrays just doesn't offer enough risk. For
these travelers, their idea of risk is whether
the house is holding a winner. At one point not
so long ago, Australia was a vacation haven for
those looking for an exciting experience filled
with scenic views and natural beauty. But recently,
Australia has become noticed for its world-class
hotels and casinos. With the natural allure of
Australia's wonders combined with five-star hotel
casino accommodations, Australia makes the ideal
vacation hotspot for vacationers looking for a
wider variety of memorable experiences.
The
only problem you'll have now, is deciding which
of the stunning casinos to call home while you're
Down Under. Thanks to the Internet, you can easily
search and compare the rates and amenities at
the various casinos, while booking a cheap flight
to Australia at the same time. Plenty of deals
can be found if you just look for them online.
One tip for planning your trip - try to book a
flight departing in the middle of the week. You
can save a bundle on both your airfare and your
hotel rates simply by traveling on mid-week days,
and if you're planning an Australia casino vacation,
then that money will surely come in handy later
on.
The
Casino in Your Australia Casino Vacation
With
hotel casinos in nearly every region of Australia,
you'll want to know what the area has to offer
along with your luxurious accommodations. Some
casinos may be within walking distance of a famous
golf course, while others may be a stone's throw
from one of the world-renowned Australia beaches.
Here are five Australia casinos to consider for
your next visit Down Under.
* Country
Club Casino - Located within the lush rolling
hills of Launceston in Northern Tasmania, the
Country Club Casino features expansive grounds
that include an 18-hole golf course. With 88 rooms
and 16 suites, the Club offers visitors an exclusive
atmosphere that larger hotels lack. Rates start
at $165 USD per night.
* Conrad
Jupiters Hotel - In the heart of Queensland's
famous Gold Coast lays the Conrad Jupiters Hotel.
This five-star hotel casino provides every amenity
a visitor would need to ensure their stay is exceptional.
With a host of first-class restaurants, and a
huge selection of nearby activities including
theme parks, shopping, nightlife and golf, the
visitor can get a real understanding of why this
region is called the "Gold" Coast. The
Conrad Jupiters has 594 rooms and 29 luxury suites.
Rates start at $158 USD per night.
* SkyCity
- A beachside resort situated right next to Mindil
Beach in Darwin, SkyCity is set on 18 acres of
prime Australian real estate. Enjoy playing in
the huge casino and then stroll the grounds for
a glimpse of the indigenous plants and animals
that make SkyCity their home. With three award-winning
restaurants on the premises, you know you'll always
be enjoying the very best cuisine around. Rates
start at $144 USD per night.
* Crown
Promenade Hotel - One of Melbourne's highest regarded
hotels, the Crown Promenade Hotel is like walking
into a stream of fresh air. With a bright and
airy atmosphere, the glass walls offer a panoramic
view of the marvelous city or harbor. Melbourne
is one of the most action-packed cities in Australia,
and during your stay at the Crown Promenade, you'll
be right in the middle of it all. Rates start
at $170 USD per night.
* Star
City Hotel Casino - Star City Hotel Casino overlooks
the colorful Sydney Harbor and it's the only casino
in the New South Wales region. An all-round entertainment
center in itself, the Star City Hotel Casino offers
nightly live music and performances designed to
make your stay at the luxury hotel a memorable
and exciting one. Rates start at $210 USD per
night for this Sydney, Australia getaway.
An
Australia Casino Vacation to Remember
Imagine
coming back to your hotel room after a day spent
diving the Great Barrier Reef, walking among world-famous
art galleries or driving your Australia rental
car to investigate the mysteries of the Aborigines.
Enjoy an incredible five-star dinner then spend
the evening trying your luck at the casino. Is
there any better sounding vacation? With so much
to see and do Down Under, choosing an Australia
casino vacation is like winning a high stakes
game of poker - it's exhilarating!
Australian
Casino Hotels
Taking a vacation is often one of the most exciting
things you will do in any given year. A vacation
to beautiful Australia can make for wonderful
memories that will last your entire life. If you
want to stay where you play, then you’re
in luck, because just about all of Australia’s
casinos offer hotels for your Australia casino
vacations!
Do
It All in Australia Casino Hotels
If
you can’t decide which Australian casino
hotel will be best for you, check out as many
as you want by taking a tour of Australian casino
hotels. These tours often offer special rates,
especially for the times of year when school is
out and people are able to travel. And of course,
deals are even better when you book far in advance.
Where
Are the Australia Casino Hotels?
Australia
is divided into provinces, with at least one casino
hotel found in the major cities of the province,
like Sydney, Australia.
The
largest Australian casino hotel can be found in
Melbourne, at the Crown Casino and Entertainment
Complex. The complex holds two hotels, in addition
to the casino, as well as several nightclubs and
restaurants, making it popular with a younger
crowd. It is located off the river, making it
a beautiful location.
Australian
casino hotels can also be family friendly, like
the Lasseters Hotel Casino of Alice Springs in
the Northern Territory, which offers a pool as
well as a children’s menu in one of its
three restaurants. It also has a variety of rooms
and suites, large enough to accommodate a family.
Other
than the excitement of the game tables, Australian
casino hotels also offer other entertainment,
like Conrad Jupiters Hotel of the Gold Coast.
Conrad Jupiters is located in the middle of activities
varying from golf to theme parks to nightlife.
Australia
travel might take you to the capital city, Canberra,
where the casino is small and does not have its
own hotel, but you can arrange to stay in nearby
hotels as part of a package the casino offers
for your Australia travel.
Australia
Casino Hotels: Just So You Know
If
you have a favorite game or machine, it is a wise
idea to check with the Australian casino hotel
beforehand to make sure they have it. Most casinos
offer all the classic table games as well as machines
and some even offer new games.
Any
cheap flight to Australia will allow a traveler
to stay at a number of casino hotels. All of these
offer many of the same amenities as traditional
hotels, with the added bonus of the casino, for
those who love to gamble while on vacation!
Australian
Casino Vacations
Brilliant turquoise oceans, massive mountain ranges,
leaping kangaroos and cuddly koalas are usually
the first things that come to mind when one thinks
about Australia. But the land down under has been
gaining notoriety lately for being a great gambling
hotspot, thanks in part to its luxurious casino
hotels.
With
casinos located in each of the continent's eight
provinces, planning an Australia casino vacation
is easier than ever. The only problem is determining
which one of the beautiful Australia casino hotels
you want to visit.
Planning
an Australia Casino Vacation - The Casinos
An
Australia casino vacation might see you visiting
the Sofitel Reef Casino in Cairns, which is regarded
as the finest boutique casino in Australia. Thanks
to its unique dome construction, each of the 128
rooms offers guests breathtaking views of the
city. The high-class nature of the five-star hotel
and casino means that there is a (not overly strict)
dress code to be followed on the casino game floor.
The hotel has a Rainforest Dome, where many of
Australia's indigenous animals can roam freely
within the environment. Guests can even get up
close and personal with them. Plus, the hotel
has a boutique of fine shops where guests can
shop till they drop and a terminal where you can
leave to take day trips to the Great Barrier Reef
and other attractions. Book a cheap flight to
Australia, and get ready to place your bets.
The
city of Darwin is home to the SkyCity hotel casino.
This five-star boutique hotel offers the guest
a luxurious and relaxing visit with all the amenities
one expects from an AHA Award-winning hotel. With
117 lushly appointed rooms available in four different
styles, SkyCity has accommodations suitable for
every guest. You can also choose from an eclectic
ensemble of dining choices, from the fine dining
of Evoo and Dragon Court to the buffet-style fare
at the Sunset Restaurant. The casino at SkyCity
is a cohesive mix of traditional favorites and
newer, progressive games where payouts are large
and frequent.
The
Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart, Tasmania is
Australia's original casino hotel, opened in 1973.
Located on the gorgeous Derwent River, the Wrest
Point Hotel Casino has 269 luxuriously appointed
rooms that offer spectacular views of the river
or the magnificent Mount Wellington. The hotel
offers five dining establishments, including the
romantic, visually stunning Point Revolving Restaurant
where you get a bird's eye view of the surroundings
while enjoying fine Australian cuisine. The casino
game floor is home to some of the latest video
gambling games and countless traditional table
games and slots.
Star
City Hotel and Casino, located on the Darling
Harbor in Sydney, Australia, is one of the largest
hotel casinos in the country. With 351 hotel rooms
and 131 privately owned apartments, this is casino
living on a massive scale! The complex is so large,
that there are two gaming floors, seven restaurants
and eight bars. There are also two theaters on
the premises, the Lyric theatre and the Star Theatre.
An ultimate entertainment center, the Star City
always has something going on and for a moment,
you may even forget that you're on an Australia
casino vacation!
How
to Get a Great Deal on an Australia Casino Vacation
Most
Australia casinos offer package deals which include
accommodations, restaurant vouchers and sometimes
even tickets to a show or one of the nearby attractions.
Before booking your Australia casino vacation,
use the Internet to ensure that you're getting
the best travel deal possible.
It
was a sure bet that gambling in the skies would
be the next seat-side diversion in airline cabins,
and now it is happening -- with computerized gambling
scheduled to begin aboard Swissair's 16 MD-11's
and 5 Boeing 747's by November. Two small carriers
are also going for gambling: Debonair Airways,
a London-based start-up carrier that wants its
BA-146's to be "the Southwest Airlines of
Europe," and Oasis International Airlines,
a Madrid charter company that flies Airbus 310's
to the Caribbean, South America and the Far East.
Naturally,
it took a company based in Las Vegas, Nev., Interactive
Flight Technologies Inc., to get in-flight gambling
up and running. It has simply adapted what's already
on the Strip, Fortunet's digitized games, to the
confines of airline cabins. Thanks to digital
technology, which eliminates tapes, the I.F.T.
system also features video-on-demand with up to
60 selections, depending how many rental fees
an airline wants to pay.
With
I.F.T.'s touch-screen video, passengers will be
able to play the slots, poker, blackjack, lotto,
keno or bingo after one swipe of a credit card.
There is a limit of $350, set by Visa and other
card issuers, that a passenger can bet or lose,
but winnings have no cap. What a gambler wins
-- or loses -- shows up as charge card credits
or debits.
The
casino's earnings? In Swissair's case the earnings
from bingo, keno and lotto -- the games it will
offer passengers -- will go to the Swiss national
lottery, which supports charities and cultural
organizations.
High-flying
gambling isn't as new as you might think. In the
mid-1980's, for instance, there were chartered
gambling flights between Melbourne, Australia,
and Hobart, Tasmania's capital. These days you
can play bingo on some flights operated by Colombia's
Avianca. And Virgin Atlantic offers Nintendo betting
games, but, as a spokesman, Richard d'Ambrosia
emphasized, "for points, not money."
Initially,
the new casinos aloft will be limited to foreign
airlines. The Department of Transportation prohibits
gambling on United States carriers, despite the
boom in legalized gambling in many states. The
department carries the fine print to the point
where American carriers can't even allow gambling
on international routes. It can also prevent a
foreign carrier like Swissair from landing at
United States airports if there's gambling on
its trans-Atlantic flights.
"European
and Asian airlines are excited about getting into
gaming," said Steve Fieldman, I.F.T.'s vice
president for business development. "Once
those fastidious Swiss engineers have checked
out our system, you don't need anymore due diligence."
Why
is Oasis one of the pioneers? "After the
Chinese," Mr. Fieldman said, "the Spanish
are the biggest gamblers in Las Vegas."
The
New Gnomes of Zurich
"The
Swiss franc is killing us," said J. Philippe
Jaussi, who was in New York last week to drum
up business for his Hotel zum Storchen in Zurich.
At the current exchange rate a room overlooking
the Limmat River costs at least $260 a night.
"Corporate travelers are so watchful about
their expense accounts these days," Mr. Jaussi
said. "They cover Zurich and Geneva in the
same day just to save on hotel bills. Or they
stay in Lucerne, where it's cheaper."
Does
anybody visit Zurich just for pleasure? "They're
not just looking at the Chagalls and Miros in
the Kronenhalle Restaurant," he said, smiling.
"They're all looking over their bank accounts
or seeing their insurance companies. But it's
a beautiful season now -- with the first white
asparagus from Cavaillon in the Rhone Valley.
It's on every Zurich menu."
Mr.
Jaussi's 600-year-old building, originally a guild
house, is rapidly adapting to the 1990's. "People
are living on efficient time," he said. "So
every room now has a plug for a modem. When a
Westinghouse team stayed for four weeks, we installed
an on-line computer system. They were always in
touch with home base."
"You
can call an AT&T number without a surcharge
from the Storchen," he added. "Some
hotels block wireless phones -- you can do that,
you know. We don't. We discourage people from
using cellulars in our dining room. But we don't
mind if they're outside in the square phoning
to get their call through."
Commuting
Around China
"An
hour into a three-hour flight I was taking in
China in the early 1980's, the plane unexpectedly
landed," recalled Milton Forman, president
of Toltec Fabrics Inc. "The cabin attendant
said it was lunchtime."
It's
not that lax anymore. Although Air China's reservation
computers still don't get things right every time,
the Government carrier's 747's on the Shanghai-Beijing
run, packed with business travelers, generally
leave on time. And China's domestic air service
is far safer than it used to be.
"I've
taken four flights on China Northern this year,
and they've all been good," said James L.
Le Pere, a McDonnell Douglas executive, in Beijing's
airport on his way home. "The six new regional
carriers really compete with each other. One airline
refused to buy a jet at the price negotiated by
the Government -- it said it could do better."
But
even with these capitalist improvements, there's
still that sign in one of the Shanghai airport's
waiting rooms: "Exit for Canceled Flights."
