Seasalt, Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal

Seasalt, Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal
Friday 28 July, 2006

Sorry for the delay in writing - for 2 nights and 3 days I have been holed up at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal. What a tough place to endure.......it's gorgeous. We were fed extremely well and the old adage 'you won't go hungry' rang true.

Breakfast each morning and lunch every day took place in Seasalt - the hotel's signature restaurant. It's a huge space on Level 1 overlooking Terrigal beach. The staff were courteous and efficient and the kitchen team did an excellent job with the variety of food on offer for so many people. Usually a buffet selection scares me but the Crowne Plaza has done a great job catering for so many people including large groups who show up all at once.

Breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day. So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into Seasalt on the first morning and discovered the juicer and the coffee cart. Love this place! The juicer table had an industrial strength juicer and a dedicated staff member to whip up any concoctions required - apple & ginger please. There were also many pre-prepared jugs of different juice combinations. Next stop....the coffee cart. Having a fresh cup of coffee made is divine and to have a dedicated cart with a dedicated barista to do this first thing in the morning is fabulous. The piece de resistance? They also did a takeaway cup, so I swung past on my way out each morning to get one to take into the conference.

The breakfast spread should also be complimented. There was a chef waiting to cook you an omlette on demand with a variety of inclusions - cheese, red onion, mushroom, capsicum, ham etc; a vast array of hot breakfast items including eggs benedict, sauteed mushrooms, hash browns and crispy bacon; and all the usual suspects...cereal, toast, fruit etc. Where do I start?

By the time lunch came around we had already had morning tea - typically small bite size carrot cakes, brownies, biscuits etc. But, we pushed on and returned to Seasalt for lunch. On arrival each day were three massive soup pots that changed daily - I sampled the beef & lentil and minestrone - very nice. Aside from the soup were hot & cold offerings. On Friday there was a Middle Eastern theme with lamb stew that was cooked with prunes and sultanas - not everyone's cup of tea - but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also on offer was rice, pide bread and spicy chicken legs. To compliment this were the cold options, a variety of salads, cold meats, marinated vegetables and fruit. Surprisingly, they also rolled out the desserts - cheescake, pavlova etc - as I mentioned earlier - we did not go hungry.

I can think of worse places to be holed up for 2 nights and 3 days.....

Seasalt - Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal - (02) 43849111

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/160/en/hd/TERAS?&