Desert Gardens Hotel by Voyages

Our family of 6 stayed here for two nights during a vacation to Australia - Despite its basic exterior appearance - the hotel bedrooms are nice, spacious & comfortable. The hotel is basic - but knows how to charge - our meal in the restaurant was very expensive & not at all good. On reflection a 1 night stay here would have been enough - Ayers Rock Uluru is spectacular and I am delighted we have seen it but there is very limited amount of things to do here - limited amenities within the hotel outside of whatever activities you may pre book - we booked the field of lights experience with dinner (expensive but a unique experience) and the biking around Ayers Rock - recommend both but defo in our opinion 1 night here is enough. Staff were a mixed bunch of helpful & friendly v not suited to the industry ! This place served a purpose - we needed somewhere to stay and it ticked that box.

I had Jetstar return flights booked from Sydney for 3 nights. Initially, we thought about flying to Alice Springs and hiring a car there, but realised that it is easier to fly into Ayers Rock and save time. There's only one resort in Yulura, Ayers Rock Resort. The resort has 6 different hotels. I booked our family room for 3 nights at Desert Gardens when they had a holiday offer on the website. Our room was very spacious, clean and had the view of Uluru in the distance. The grounds of the hotel was beautiful. We had dinner at Mangata restaurant once. The hotel provided us with breakfast one morning when we went for a sunrise walk. The resort offers free transfers , so it is very convenient to travel to and from the airport. All the Ayers Rock resort hotels are located not far from the Uluru Kata-tjuta national park, making it an ideal place to visit this sacred region. There is a town square where there are shops, restaurants, tourist information centre and a convenient store for the guests. We bought snacks & water from the shop. We also bought fly nets as well. We had food from Ayers Wok & Geckos Cafe from here. Geckos Cafe food was not the best we've had. We got a take away from Ayers Wok one night, which was better. There are day/guided tours, experiences and outdoor dining options provided by Voyages Indigenous Tourism and third parties. But as we didn't want any time restrictions, we opted to buy Uluru Hop on Hop off bus pass for 3 days. There are free / paid activities the guests can do at the resort. We attended a Didgeridoo workshop and went to an Astronomy & Stargazing session while we were there.

The Voyages Desert Gardens hotel of Yulara is a very comfortable place to stay. If you happen to get a room with the view on the majestic Uluru (formerly known as the Ayers Rock) you can consider this a an additional welcome bonus. The Reception works perfectly and responds to your requests without unnecessary delays. Desert Gardens is also a very good starting point for exploring this fascinating part of Australia. Meeting indigenous people - which had been the case - is an exceptional experience as well. They indeed can be proud of their heritage, ancestors and land. All our tour guides did an excellent job (dining during sun rises and sun sets in front of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, digging for honey ants, simply unforgettable). They are true professionals. The hotel is close to a shopping center with cosy market place where one can buy souvenirs including very intriguing and highly artistic paintings (which we did of course). Our main Tour Guide Ms Laurel of Inside Australia again did an excellent selection. Voyages Desert Gardens Hotel and Uluru - Kata Tjuṯa National Park is highly recommended. Wojciech Both Uluru and the Voyages Desert