This place has changed hands. I booked over the phone and asked for a confirmation email. This arrived saying that 'my booking was confirmed in the attachment'. There was no attachment. A mistake easily rectified you might think. But no. It took a further four emails to finally get confirmation of dates and rate. Tthe attachment never appeared.

On arrival (late afternoon) the 24 hour reception was closed with a note and number. There is a not-so-obvious phone behind a partition at the side of reception that can be used providing you realise you need a prefix to dial an outside line first.

I had been told there was free Wi-Fi. The reception lady (owner) confirmed this. But when I tried to use the internet I had no joy. I went back to reception and asked again to be told it just ‘opened up’ and I was the first person to have a problem. Could she tell me the provider? No. After a bit of cajoling she said she would phone a guest who used the internet successfully. No reply. She could not help further. Surely she knew her provider? No. A bit more cajoling and she finally dug up a plastic card with the name of the internet provider clearly stating it was pre-paid. Even with this information she still insisted that the internet was free. At this point I gave up.

What happened next blew me away. Waiting for the lift (which must be the slowest lift in Australia), the lady looked at me from behind her computer and hissed ‘Don’t mess with me’. Excuse me? ‘You’ve picked the wrong woman to mess with’ she continued. What did she mean? Was she going to send the boys round? I have always considered myself a ‘nice’ person and generally prefer to walk away than have confrontation. In all my years of travelling I have rarely had cause to complain. When I have, comments are usually taken on board and problems fixed. Perhaps I had caught her on a bad day but the viciousness of these comments was amazing. I thought it best to ignore her.

The rooms are basic. You get what you pay for and these are standard motel style. Seeing previous comments on here, I had asked for a room at the back but was given one at the front. And there was a dead cockroach on my bathroom floor.

I will not be staying here again.

Arrived late afternoon to be greeted by an extremely friendly receptionist. Our pre booked room was situated on the top floor at the rear and was clean, comfortable and quiet enough considering the close location of a busy street, with nearby clubs and pubs. Air conditioning is centrally controlled and can be enhanced with a room boost system operated by the room key. Room was serviced daily. Reception staff extremely helpful. Early check out with a pre booked taxi was no problem. Nice swimming pool. Very handy to the social life and entertainment area if that is your scene. Can be noisy but it did not bother us two oldies.

Got to say that I was apprehensive about this place after reading the previous review, but when I got there, I was pleasantly surprise with the motel right in the city centre, which brings me to downside of being close to the city.. The ambient noise from the nightclubs on the street are still audible from the rooms facing the street.

As far service goes, the manager Graeme and his wife Sue has been very hospitable and accommodating, and for the price you pay, really could complain about the place.

So to sum it up, I would recommend this place to anyone who are looking a well priced accommodation in Darwin. Just remember to ask for the rooms facing the carpark if you can, unless you have got some earplugs.

Shaun.

I stayed at the Poinciana for 6 nights on holiday. I was travelling by myself, and had read the other reviews about the noise, so I requested a back room, off the ground floor. This was accommodated with absolutely no problem. I arrived at 2am, but had pre-warned them, and someone was out the front ready to meet me, and very quickly check me in. The rooms are the typical motel set-up, but I found my room and servicing to be spotlessly clean, and more than adequate for my needs.

In response to some of the other reviews... 1. Noise - if you don't want noise, don't stay on MItchell St! and I didn't find it a problem at all. 2. The air con needing the key - I actually found that the set up of the room only having one small window actually kept the room very cool, and the air con was really only needed to top up once you arrived back for the day. 3. The cost - from talking to other travellers and researching before booking, I think the nightly rates were definitely comparable to other similar accommodation in Darwin. It's not a cheap town.