Tag: Castle Hill

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Castle Hill NSW

Castle Towers (old section) near Gold Class – Level 3, 6-14 Castle Street, Castle Hill NSW

Overall: Good. In the old section of the Towers. Relatively clean but small. Nappy change, rest, feed.


Good Points: Less busy than other Parent Rooms in the Towers. Separate feeding and nappy change areas. Separate sinks. Disposable change mat liners provided. Adult and child size toilets. Two private feeding cubicles. Bottle warmer provided.


Bad Points: No microwave. No additional powerpoints in feeding cubicles. Feeding cubicles are too small to fit a pram and also be able to shut and lock the door. Nappy bin is ENORMOUS and stuck between the doorways of the two feeding cubicles – just what you want to smell while feeding.

Parent Room is in the corridor between the escalators

The Towers is just one of those ever expanding shopping centres. It just gets bigger all the time, which makes shopping alot of fun, and sometimes a pain in the neck. But at least there are Parent Rooms on every single floor, and they’re pretty well sign posted too (take note Norwest Marketown!).

This particular Parent Room is in the old end of the Towers, near Gold Class and Geffro’s. Just head down the hall between the two escalators, turn right and you’ll find on the left hand side the doorway to the Parent Room. 

You know what I like most about this Parent Room? The door to get in! You don’t even have to press a green button to activate the sliding door. It just senses your presence and it slides open. Love it! To get out, however, you need to press a big green button but that’s alright. Better than trying to juggle a door handle and pram anyday.

Doorway to the Parent Room

The first part of the room you walk into has a couple of extra armchairs, and also the food prep bench. The armchairs are relatively clean and comfortable. The food prep bench has a sink, soap, papertowels and a bottle warmer. What it’s missing is a microwave. But it is a good size space and being separate from the nappy change area is a big plus.

Food prep area

Separation of food prep and nappy change areas

The next part of the Parent Room has the feeding cubicles, toilets and nappy change bays. There’s and adult and child size toilet in the bathroom, big plus! The nappy change bench has two bays, with a sink and soap dispenser between them and disposable change mat liners within reach. Another big plus! 

The downside to the change area is the ceiling. I know, it sounds like a random thing to say but it’s true. My little one HATES with a passion shopping centre change benches. Screams and tears spring forth until a fresh clean nappy is applied and we’re away from the bench. I don’t know what it is, but a fear of them has come from someplace. The only exception is at Stockland Mall shopping centres. The ceilings above the change benches we’ve seen so far are decorated with paintings and mobiles, which are enough to keep my little one happy while I change the nappy. But blank white ceilings with harsh lights, not interested. 

Adult and child size toilets

Nappy change bench
Opposite the change bench are the two private feeding cubicles. Be warned, these are TINY! Each has an armchair, and nothing else. The doors are lockable, but you’re not going to be able to take the pram in with you if you want to close the door. So you’ll either have to feed with the door open, or trust your pram and contents will be safe while you close the door to feed your baby. This really isn’t very good. I mean, it can be hard enough trying to find a Parent Room in the first place when you’re out and about. And then to find the feeding cubicle is too small to fit the pram if you want the door closed. It can really add to the exhaustion many mums already feel. But at least after reading this, you’ll be prepared. 

Tiny feeding cubicles


Oh and another thing. The nappy bin is ENORMOUS and is right between the doorways of the two feeding cubicles. This really isn’t the nicest place to have it. I’d like to see a couple of smaller nappy bins placed underneath the change bench, instead of this gigantic one against the feeding cubicles. Personally, I’m not a fan of having a whiff of dirty nappies hit me while I’m feeding my little one. Sure Parent Rooms aren’t going to smell like freshly cut roses, and various baby smells are going to hang in the air, but I think having the industrial size nappy disposal bin between the doorways of the feeding cubicles is a lousy idea. 

Wrapping it up, this is an ok Parent Room. Definitely not the worst on offer at the Towers, and it is one of the quieter ones I have come across. So check it out and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’ll head back to the Towers and check out more of the Parent Rooms on offer.





Categories
Castle Hill NSW

The Hills Homemaker Hub – South Building, Level 1, Cnr Salisbury and Victoria Rd Castle Hill NSW

Reviewed by B


Overall: It’s okay as far as Parent Rooms go. But compared to the Parent Room across the road in the North Building, this is poor. But overall, it does the job. Nappy change, feed, rest and play.


Good Points: Bright interior. Comfy armchairs. Working microwave. Sinks and soap dispensers. Two private feeding cubicles. Big and little loo.


Bad Points: Smelly and dirty. Overflowing nappy bins just inside entrance. Microwave on same bench as nappy change bay. Sanitary bin next to little loo. No additional powerpoints.

Look for the hallway to the right of Domayne

A few weeks ago we were out at Castle Hill, yet again. We’d covered the Parent Room in the North Building of The Hills Homemaker Hub on a previous visit, so thought on this trip we’d check out the South Building. Based on what we found, it looks like the South Building was built first and has not seen much money since in terms of maintenance.

Entry to Parent Room

On Level 1, to the right of Domayne, is the hallway leading to the toilets and Parent Room. As you head down this hall, the Parent Room is on your left. Just press the big green button to the left and the door will slide open for you.

Overflowing nappy bins




The first thing to greet us as we entered the Parent Room was three overflowing nappy bins, against the wall on the right hand side. Lovely. And it didn’t improve further inside the room.

Microwave should be over here!

Nappy change bench

There are two bench/sink spaces in the room. One bench is flat with a sink and soap dispenser, the other has a nappy change groove in it plus sink and soap dispenser. Now which one would you expect to have a microwave attached to it? You would reasonably expect the one WITHOUT the nappy change bay to have the microwave. But Nooooo…..not in this place. The microwave is on the same bench that has the nappy change bay. Yuk yuk yuk!!!!! Soooo not hygienic at all.

Activity centres to entertain little ones

To keep little ones entertained, there’s two wall mounted activity centres in the main part of the room. Better than nothing, and will hopefully keep them distracted from the overflowing bins.

Private feeding cubicle

Couple of armchairs and table in each cubicle

There are two private feeding cubicles in this Parent Room. They’re comfortable enough, with a curtain providing privacy. Each cubicle has a couple of armchairs and a tiny side table. Neither of them has additional powerpoints.

The loos – big one and little one

The last thing to check was the toilets. Good to see there’s a big loo and little loo here, but the sanitary bin is between both loos instead of being against the wall next to the big toilet. This was probably the cleanest area of the entire Parent Room. 
Got to say, compared to the Parent Room in the North Building, this is really bad. Definitely not the worst ever seen, but compared to what’s across the street – it’s bad. 


Categories
Castle Hill NSW

Supa Centa, Castle Hill – North Building, Level 1, Cnr Showground & Victoria Roads

Reviewed by B

Overall: Pretty good! Nappy change, feed, rest, play.
Good Points: Has everything you need – change tables, bins, sink, microwave, play area, loos, and feeding cubicles. And it’s in a quiet corner of the centre, which is a big plus.
Bad Points: Just cosmetic things really, like the change tables being a bit high, no side tables in the feeding cubicles. Nothing too major. There isn’t any pram parking which is a bummer.

Absolutely devastated!! My iron of 13years died the other week. It was soooo good! Ironed like a dream, survived many falls to the floor and kept working, but old age must have got the better of it. Obviously I needed to go out and buy a new one – and I was prepared for a bit of a hard slog in order to make sure I got another one that would be as hardy. Budget in mind and knowing what I did and didn’t want, bubs and I got in the car for yet another trip to Castle Hill. This time to the Supa Centa on the corner of Showground Rd & Victoria Ave.

Pram parking doesn’t seem to exist in the North building, which is a bummer, but there’s loads of parking anyway (at least on weekdays) so we found a park pretty easily and close to the travelator too. It would really be nice to have some pram spaces though, ‘cos it’s a pretty tight squeeze in regular spaces, trying to get bubs out of the car, in the pram and then between cars to get to the shops. Just a little bit of extra space for those of us with little ones would make the shopping experience soooo much  better.
From the carpark you can take the lift or the travelator to the shops. Bubs loves travelators, which is great for me because she is happy standing on her own two feet instead of wanting to be carried (hooray!).

Now finding the Parent Room is pretty easy. Like most shopping centres, look out for the signs hanging from the ceiling directing you to toilets and Parent Rooms. You’ll find this one in a quiet southern corner of the centre, near the elevators. Head past Kids Stuff & Wendy’s, and keep following the signs until you find the Parent Room. I nearly ended up thinking I had to walk back to the South building, but thought there had to be one in the North building – and there is. Just walk by  the exit to the other building and you’ll find the corner where the Parent Room is located.

There’s a reasonable size play space inside, with a 3-sided activity centre. That’s it. The change tables are wall-mounted fold out ones and there’s too. I found them a tad high and bubs was not a fan of them at all, clinging on for dear life yet again. The sink and bench space is pretty good, and the microwave is clean and working – yay!! It seems a bit strange to me though that the hand dryer and paper towels are next to the microwave – wouldn’t they be better next to the sink?
The room has two private feeding cubicles. Each has a single comfy armchair, floor length curtain and a wall mounted activity centre. It’s pretty comfortable and you can fit a pram in here. Would be handy to have a small side table. Instead just put stuff on the ground or back in the pram. I like that the feeding space is a bit separate from the play area. If you’re there with the one bub, sometimes you just want a quieter space. Being set back from the play area helps to make the feeding space a bit more private and peaceful.
Looking at the feeding cubicles, to your right is the doorway to the loo. It’s one of those pressurised swing doors, so might be easier to keep the pram outside. Inside there’s a big and little loo, each with it’s own set of disposable toilet seat covers (big fan of teaching little ones hygiene in public places). The sanitary bin is between both loos which bugs me like nothing else. There is just the one sink, and it’s regular height so little ones may need help reaching it. Although once I turned on the tap for my lil one, she almost grew centimetres instantly! Water was being splashed everywhere. For drying hands, there’s only an auto hand-dryer. 

Something else useful in the Supa Centa is the indoor kids playground! Fenced on 3sides, with loads of things for kids to play with and climb all over, this a great pit stop for littlies to burn off extra energy. The downside though is it’s right next to a huge kids store called Kidstuff. I totally get why, from a sales/marketing perspective, the playground would be right outside the doorway. It’s just that I find it a huge pain when I know I don’t want to go in the store or take my girl in there. Thankfully on this visit, my princess was distracted enough by having the playground all to herself that anything outside of it was not an issue at all.
Now back to my iron! Yep, I got a new one and it was the first one I saw. The staff at Good Guys were awesome! From the door lady who has a massive bowl of lollies (yummmyyyy) to the staff inside who took me to the irons and showed me what was the simplest to clean, use and do what I want within my budget. Initially the lady helping us had us looking at irons around the $20-$50 mark, until she asked how much I was willing to spend. When I told her around $100, she whipped us ’round to the super dooper irons right behind us. Ahhhh….ironing heaven. What I thought was going to take half an hour took about 5min. Looove that. $100 later I have a new iron that works like a dream. Now I can continue being the good little housewife and get the ironing done. Seriously, I really do enjoy ironing. Don’t know why.