Author: Office

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Broadbeach QLD

Oasis Centre – Broadbeach Mall, Victoria Ave Broadbeach QLD (Roomy but basic)

Wow!! This was a while ago, looking back at the photos. January 2009 we had a lovely little family holiday to Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, QLD. We stayed at the Sofitel Broadbeach, which is a nice enough place to stay – just watch out for the sharks who run the Accor Advantage holiday programs. Savage and nasty people. I would highly recommend NOT going along to any of their sessions. We did go. We listened to the offer. We agreed it was a good idea. We said we did not want to shell out thousands of dollars to participate in it. We were told to our faces that we were liars. Charming!
Which reminds me, I still have to send in a massive complaint about that – jerks.


Anyway, apart from that the Oasis Centre on Broadbeach Mall has loads of shops to cater for all your needs while on holiday. From Woolworths for your groceries, through to surf shops so you can buy a new bikini (i forgot to bring mine so had to buy a new one – what a shame ;)).


We tracked down the Parent Room in the shopping centre. Sadly it was not that easy to find. It was not on the ground level, which would have been a good idea. To get to the upper levels, you could either risk life and limb on the escalators with the pram and baby in tow…..or wander around and eventually find the lift to get you to the floor where the Parent Rooms are.


When you do find it, you’ll be content enough. If for no other reason than it took a while to get there and you are happy for moment to sit in peace pretty much anyplace.


It has:

  • fold out change table
  • bottle warmer
  • nappy disposal bin
  • chairs
  • sink
  • low set tables
  • loads of room (great for prams with a big turning circle)
The entry door is the usual self-closing kind which is not easy to use when you are maneuvering a pram. Would be better if the doors were the same as most disabled toilets, where you turn the handle push the door open with a flick of the wrist and it stays that way until you flick it closed. Much easier! Maybe we can get some kind of campaign running to make it happen. 
In the meantime, here are the pictures we took of this facility (me and my little one feature in this pictures – we’ve both changed a bit in a year!).
Categories
Campsie NSW

Campsie Centre ā€“ 14-28 Amy Street, Campsie, Sydney (Shocker! (by Kieran))

This room was just plain uninviting. It was dirty and old.
I am glad that I did not have my little Casey with me this day.
Iā€™d suggest only using this room in a dire emergency.
Features:

  • It has a space where the Microwave used to be.  Apparently a local needed it more than the parents who use this room  – but we do thank Big W for donating the one that used to be there!
  • It has change bays
  • Sink
  • Big/Small Toilets.

IMG_0339 IMG_0340 IMG_0341 IMG_0335 IMG_0336 IMG_0337 IMG_0338

Categories
Castle Hill NSW

Amway Business Centre – 46 Carrington Rd, Castle Hill, Sydney




Overall: Good for quick nappy changes.
Good Points: Clean, basic essentials for changing little bottoms.
Bad Points: Pesky pressure-push doors (don’t know the correct term) where you need to use your body or pram to keep the door from closing while you try to get in/out of the room; no space for feeding, resting, or little ones to play.

Love Tuesdays!!! Bubba girl and I make our weekly pilgrimage to Gloria Jeans where we indulge in the deliciousness of a Regular Creme Brulee Chiller and a Babycino – yummo. There was a time when bubba girl was happy with just the Babycino. That was until she had a sip of my fantastically coffee based beverage. Now it’s a battle for me to be able to drink the chiller without having to share it – NO FAIR!!

I don’t really mind. Bub is a laugh and makes any trip to Gloria Jeans at Amway an absolute joy. Toosh is such a gem – she makes the best Babycino’s….adding extra marshmallows and making little flowers on the foam with caramel syrup. So thoughtful šŸ™‚ Love you Toosh xx
Anyhoo, after the morning wake-up drinks we headed into the Amway store for the weekly shop. Naturally we checked out the bathrooms to suss out the baby-change facilities.
Honestly, it’s a pretty basic setup. Found in the disabled acces/unisex toilet (it also has a baby picture on the front so you know it has something in there to change bubs).
The change table is one of those hard plastic fold-out things attached to the wall. It’s a good height for me so I don’t have to bend down to far to change bub. But it’s quite narrow, and bub doesn’t seem to like it too much. She grips on to the sides for dear life and is soooo relieved when everything is done and she can get mobile again.
The change table does have a long cylinder shaped cushion. I guess it’s meant to cushion bub’s head, but it’s not easy to make that happen ‘cos there’s no way to make the cushion sit still!
Would be good if it and the table had opposing velcro attachments so the thing would stick, but it doesn’t. So the trick is – change bub fast!
The doorway is not the biggest. Can be tricky navigating most contemporary style prams inside, so goodness knows how anyone in a wheel chair gets in there. And it’s a self-closing door which you have to push open and basically use the pram to keep it open until you get inside. The turning circle inside the bathroom is pretty tiny. I’d definitely recommend leaving the pram outside the bathroom and just taking bub and the nappy bag inside. Much easier.
There are standard sink, soap, paper towels and nappy disposal units. Would be nice if the disposal units were auto ones where you only have to wave your hand over the top to open it instead of having to touch the lid. But I guess it’s better than just having a normal bin to chuck the nappies in – that’d be nice n pongy by the end of the day.
Anyway, have attached a couple of pictures. We’re home now. Bub is taking a nap – yay!! – and I am going to get organised for the rest of the day. Hmmm…. a cup of tea, maybe some reading…