They are mostly complete with the remodelling. Good breakfast and dinner buffet, good hot water, no internet although advertized as havin it - may have been a local telecommunication issue, but the front desk was not clear the problem and it remained over our 3 day visit. OK beds but no door sills so little bugs migrated in and out . Laundry service a real rip-off. No staff seemed to have change, so everything rounded UP - annoying, especially since it seemed to be deliberate. BTW - the hotel is walled with razor wire on top - it seems the town has some issues with crime. But this is about your best place in town as best we could tell. All the above being said, this place was heaven after 6 days on the Sepik River with no electricity, staying in village guesthouses.

This Hotel is fairly central, perhaps 500m from the city centre. It is the upmarket place in town. The Highlands being the populous place it is, the central area and large market is pretty bustling with people, which means you need to be extra careful regarding petty theft. Mount Hagen is at about 1700m elevation, surrounded by hills rising to about 2000m or so. Further away there are much larger mountains - if flying up from Port Moresby on a clear day a window in the right hand side is well worth asking for.

Staff were very friendly and eager to please. They managed to get things mostly right although check in counter was a bit chaotic if they were serving several people at once. They do a shuttle from the airport, which is about a 10-15 minute drive away on the other side of town. Some locals in the car park are well set up in a hut selling stone axes, bilums, paintings and the like, at pretty reasonable prices.

Inside the compounded area it is very pleasant, having a pool with thatched roofs over the poolside bar tables. There are a number of tall trees, a very well maintained garden and a caged tree kangaroo. The large Mountain Ash trees, planted by expats in the 50s, and the mild climate with morning mists give the hotel the atmosphere of the Dandenongs.

The hotel room - motel room better describes it -- might equate to a typical three star motel of the 1970s, with a comfortable king bed, (single) chair and a good sized bench that could be used as a desk, fridge, in room safe, etc. There was a small and aging television set. Things went rather downhill in the bathroom, the fittings all worked but the flimsy mesh shower curtain and mould on the shower walls and floor didn't enhance the experience.

There is wifi available in the restaurant, which worked sometimes in my room, although in my colleagues' rooms it didn't work at all.

The restaurant buffet for dinner was pleasant as well with a good range of dishes - seafood buffet was a bit of a non sequitur in Mount Hagen. The breakfast buffet was also quite reasonable, with a good range of dishes, and a man cooking omelets to order.

I stayed at the Highlander Hotel, Mount Hagen with a group of Australians travelling to a wedding in a Highlands village. We found that the service was fantastic, and the hotel has all the facilities you need. The breakfast is very good (as you'd expect in any Sydney hotel) and the bar served ice cold beer. Mt Hagen wasn't the safest place to visit, but Hotel staff walked with us down to the supermarket to stock up on everything we needed to head to the villages. After one week away we arrived back at the Highlander on our way home - and again the staff were very helpful. Owned by an Aussie named Nigel, we were able to withdraw some cash and organise everything we needed (airport transfers etc). The Highlander was a welcome refuge in what can be a demanding area to travel through.

This is the most secure and pleasant hotel in Mt. Hagen. The highlight is the restaurant which has a very pleasant ambiance with a wood fire and adjoining bar. The rooms are fairly ordinary, with little improvement since I last stayed in 1999. For the very high room tariff some improvements in the bed, bedding and bathroom would be expected. The place is clean enough though. One suspects that the room rates are very inflated due to the large number of politicians and public servants who stay here (and the lack of any competition). The service is generally OK and there is Datec wireless in the restaurant and reception area. A free airport transfer is provided (Kagamuga Airport is about 12km East of the Hotel). Little can be said for the area around the hotel or the town itself. It's one of the most filthy towns in PNG with little civic pride (in stark contrast to most PNG villages) but has the potential to be one of the prettiest. Don't be alarmed if you hear shot gun fire at night or early morning. This happens very often. Mt. Hagen has a serious crime problem (even by PNG standards).