Categories
Cammeray NSW

Stockland Cammeray – Cnr Miller & Amherst Streets, Cammeray NSW

Overall: Great. Another piece of Stockland excellence. Nappy change, feed, play, rest.


Good Points: Clean and well maintained. One private feeding room with locking concertina door, comfortable armchair, soothing colour scheme and artwork, plus side table. Facility to provide instant feedback to the centre regarding the Parent Room. Push-button auto-slide door to the Parent Room. Adult and child size toilets, with push-button access to the bathroom, locking door from the inside, emergency button, matching adult and child size sinks with individual soap dispensers and paper towel.
Separate food prep area with microwave, bottle warmer, sink and soap dispenser. Two change bays on nappy change bench, with mobiles hanging overhead from a painted ceiling. Sink and soap between the change bays. Disposable change mats. Complimentary nappy wipes in a warmer. Compact kids play area, with armchair and television for the parents.


Bad Points: Blank signage when coming in from the direction of the street. Sanitary bin in the toilets is between the child size and adult size toilets (too close to little hands). 



As always, Stockland has created yet another amazing Parent Room. This one is smaller than other Stockland ones I’ve visited, but that aside it is still a fabulous facility.


Stockland Cammeray is basically a residential complex with a few cafes and Harris Farm Markets on the ground level. It’s not a huge place, which is probably why the Parent Room is only small. Coming from inside the centre, head towards the street and on your left you’ll see the signs for the toilets and Parent Room. If you’re coming from the street into the centre, be aware the sign facing the street for the Parent Room and toilets is actually blank. Not sure why this is. It would have to be an oversight. So if you are looking for the Parent Room and are heading into the centre from the street, just look to your right and down the hallway to find the Parent Room at the end.


My favourite frosted, push-button auto slide doors open without any hassle. Once inside, the great interior design is instantly welcoming and warm. I just love these Parent Rooms! 
Now the most important thing, particularly for mums, is the nappy change table and the feeding cubicle. Well these do not disappoint.


The change bench has two change bays, each with disposable change mats which pull out from the back of the bench. Between the two bays is the sink with soap dispenser. Nappy bins are in pull-out drawers located underneath the bench, and paper towel is against the wall. Above the change bays (this is my favourite feature) the ceiling is painted and cute mobiles are hanging down. These are absolutely magic for distracting little ones from the sometimes unhappy business of changing nappies. Only at these Parent Rooms am I able to change my little one without there being any tears, and it’s definitely because of the diversion created by the mobiles from the ceiling.
Oh!! And the complimentary baby wipes in the warmer, both you and your baby will LOVE it!


There is one private feeding room here. Normally I refer to these as cubicles, but in Stockland Cammeray, it’s a little room. The interior has been warmly decorated, with lovely little artworks on the walls. The armchair is comfortable and in great condition. And the best thing is you can latch the concertina door. Most other Stockland Parent Rooms I’ve reviewed have solid locking sliding doors, so this concertina door is a bet of a step down. On the other hand, just being able to lock it makes it a thousand times better than the curtains most other facilities give for privacy.


The toilets are fantastic. A big push-button is pressed to open the toilet door, but from the inside it can be locked to keep the door closed regardless of the button being pressed from the outside. There’s both adult and child size toilets, with hand washing sinks to match. Each has it’s own soap dispenser, which is so important for teaching kids to wash their hands. Paper towel is easily accessible for little ones. And in case there are any dramas, there is a big red Emergency button on the wall. It’d probably be better located next to the adult toilet, however, rather than the child’s toilet.


The kids play area is small but good. The Play Panel is in great condition with no missing parts, and the little stools, play mat and extra toys are pretty cute and suitable for most little ones. For us weary parents who just want to sit for a minute, there’s another comfy green armchair near the play area. Just turn the chair around so you can watch the television 🙂


Seriously, Stockland creates the BEST Parent Rooms. I am yet to find one anywhere else that comes close to what they provide. Go and check them out and let me know what you think.

Categories
NSW Stanhope Gardens

Stanhope Village Parent Room #2 (K-Mart end) – Cnr Stanhope Parkway & Sentry Drive, Stanhope Gardens NSW

Overall: Pretty good. Easy to find. Clean and well maintained. Nappy change, feed, rest and play.


Good Points: Clear signage, easy to find. Parents with Prams parking spaces outside the main entrance to this part of the shopping village. Two private feeding cubicles with microwaves in each. Armchair in each cubicle. Play Panel to keep bigger kids entertained. Adult and child size toilets. Separate sink in nappy change bench. Two change bays in nappy change bench. Soap, hand dryer and paper towel at change bench. Clean and well maintained.


Bad Points: Big inward opening door, requiring a bit of effort to open. Nappy bin not underneath change bench. No additional powerpoints. Private feeding cubicles are too small to have a pram inside. Curtains for privacy instead of locking doors. Only one toilet paper dispenser for the two toilets. Play Panel missing a toy.












We quite enjoyed our first trip to Stanhope Village last week, so decided to head back there sooner rather than later to check out the second and final Parent Room. This one is at the K-Mart end of the shopping village, and is as nice as the one near Coles but with a couple of extra features.

When we came out here last week, I couldn’t see any Parents with Prams parking spaces but this time I found them! Maybe there just aren’t any up the Coles end, or I might not have looked hard enough. Anyway, there are a few right at the entrance to the K-Mart end of the village so just drive down there and you’ll find some decent size car spaces. Hopefully going forward there will be shade sails over these car spaces to provide protection from the weather (it was pelting down with rain during this visit and we were soaked!).

The Parent Room at this end is just as good as the other one, but with a couple of extra/different features.  Just look for the toilets sign hanging from the roof, just near Fresh Nails. Head down the well lit corridor and at the end you’ll find the big frosted door of the Parent Room. It takes a bit of effort to push open, so if your hands are full I’d recommend using your body weight to push it open and wheel the pram in behind you. Just be mindful when coming in that there’s no-one behind the door. It’s frosted for privacy, which is great, but that can mean you might not notice any little ones running about behind it.

Immediately as you walk in, you’ll notice it’s initially alot bigger than the other Parent Room. You walk right into the change area, which has a bench with two change bays, a sink in between with soap and paper towel, and a hand-dryer. The nappy bin is right underneath the hand-dryer, which isn’t very helpful. It’d definitely be more useful and accessible if it were under the change bench. But on the upside, it is a clean and well maintained space. Nothing broken or damaged.

To the right as you walk in, there’s the Play Panel mounted on the wall. These are a must-have to keep toddlers and older kids entertained while attending to younger ones. It’s missing one part, but apart from that it’s in pretty good condition and has enough going on to keep kids happy. Opposite the Play Panel are the two private feeding cubicles. I like and dislike these cubicles.

In each of the two private feeding cubicles there’s a clean and working microwave, sitting on a bench set above the comfy armchair. This is a great feature I’ve not yet seen in any other Parent Rooms. However, it’s offset by the tiny size of these cubicles! Seriously, I doubt whether you’d be able to get your pram in there with you, and still keep the curtain closed for privacy. The available space is just too small. So either put the pram outside the curtain (and end up blocking the walkway to the toilet), or sacrifice privacy and have the pram (somehow) covered by the curtain. I’d like these cubicles a whole lot more if they were bigger, but there just isn’t the space available in this room to make that happen. 

The toilets are at the end of the room, past the feeding cubicles. This room is better than the one near Coles, when it comes to toilets, because there are two of them! An adult and child size toilets. However, there’s a problem which is really puzzling. There’s only one toilet paper dispenser!! And it’s not between the two toilets either. It’s against the wall, next to the toilet at the far end. Crazy!! At least have it between the two toilets, not against the wall where it’s only accessible to one toilet. Whoever decided to put it there needs to have a bit of a rethink.

Overall, I like this second Parent Room at Stanhope Village. It has a little bit more than the one near Coles, but both are super clean and well looked after. And this makes for an enjoyable shopping experience for mums, dads, carers and bubs alike. Oh!! Make sure you check out the outdoor semi-covered playground too. It’s definitely toddler friendly, but make sure you bring sunscreen and hat – for both you and your child.










Categories
NSW Stanhope Gardens

Stanhope Village (Parent Room #1) – Corner Stanhope Parkway & Sentry Drive, Stanhope Gardens NSW

Overall: Good. Clean room with private cubicles, and all the other things you need for a snug but comfy visit. Nappy change, feeds, rest and play.


Good Points: Easy to find! Clean and in great condition. Two private feeding cubicles, with a microwave in each one. Comfortable armchairs. Curtains for privacy. Separate cubicle for nappy changes. Nappy bin right next to the change table. Clean and tidy toilet at the end of the room. Sink, soap and hand dryer. Single wall mounted activity centre against the main wall. 


Bad Points: No additional powerpoints for those mums needing to express. Tiny feeding cubicles. No separate sink for food prep. No paper towels. Just one sink.










We spend loads of time in north-west Sydney, but hadn’t ventured out to Stanhope Village until yesterday. It’s really quite a nice relaxed shopping centre. The instant likeability for anyone with small children is that it’s all on ground level. No steps, stairs, escalators or lifts to navigate. This makes life so much easier for those of us with little people and prams to look after. There’s two Parent Rooms here, one at the Coles end and the other at the K-Mart end. We only reviewed the one near Coles during this visit. Spending time  in the outdoor, partially covered play area took up the rest of our time. We’ll just have to come back another day to check out the other Parent Room (might check out the library across the road on that visit too!)

The Parent Rooms and toilets here are really well sign posted, which is such a relief. This room is down the hall on the right hand side, as you walk into the Coles end of the Village from the carpark. The door is one of those pesky pressurised swing doors, so you’ll probably need to use your body weight or the pram to push the door open and keep it open while you get you and your little ones inside. The last thing you want is the door to swing shut on you or your little one.

I do love finding clean, well maintained, great condition Parent Rooms. This is one of them. The feeding cubicles, furniture, play centre…everything…..is all in great condition and has been well looked after. It doesn’t make you cringe and want to get out of there asap. While the feeding cubicles really are incredibly small, that they’re in such good nick makes up for it.

There are two private feeding cubicles. Each has a curtain at the front for privacy, and inside there’s a comfy blue armchair, plus above there’s a microwave and shelf. How good is that?! It looks like mums who bottle feed are being recognised and appreciated. Even when bottle-feeding, you still like a bit of privacy for your baby. 

There are two downsides, however, to these cubicles. The first being there’s no additional powerpoints for mums who need to express. The second is the cubicles are just so small!! There’s no way you can have you, baby, and your pram in the cubicle with the curtain closed. It’s just not going to happen. Either keep the pram outside the curtain, or if you’re not happy doing that, keep the curtain open and the pram half-in, half-out of the cubicle. 

Past the two cubicles is the nappy change cubicle. Yep! There’s a separate cubicle for changing little bottoms.  Again, it’s quite small but you’re probably not likely to want to spend anymore time in here than is essential anyway. There’s a wall mounted fold out change table, which is clean. Below and to the side is the nappy bin. Nothing more to tell.

At the very end of the room is the toilet. Like the rest of the facilities, it’s clean and in great condition. While there’s just the one toilet, there are hand rails which will  be useful to little ones who need a bit of assistance getting on and off the loo. For washing hands, there’s a sink, soap and hand-dryer. Sadly no paper towels. 

This really is a pretty good Parent Room. I know the other one near K-Mart is bigger and has a couple of extra features, but this one is just fine. Easy to find, in great condition, so go check it out. Let me know what you think of it too.