Geelong Hotel Accommodation

Exploring Geelong

Victoria’s port city of Geelong lies on Corio Bay, in the heart of the wine country, just 43 seventy kilometres to the southwest of Melbourne. Spurred on in the 19th century by the Victorian gold rush and the wool industry, the present-day city is home over 30 heritage buildings, the National Wool Museum, and well-known events such as the Australian International Airshow and the Royal Geelong Show. The city’s Performing Arts Centre and Costa Hall auditorium host numerous music festivals, concerts, and other performances, including the National Celtic Festival.

There is a range of options for all travelers. The most popular hotel in Geelong is the Cogens Place, which has been booked 5 times from our Hotels.com verified guests. Our guests also highly recommended Anchor Geelong in Geelong as it has been reserved 5 times.

One of the city’s best-known landmarks is its waterfront, a mix of traditional and modern development, and now a recreational hub as well as a working harbour. Many visitors to Geelong head for one of the world’s must stunning scenic drives, the Great Ocean Road, as famous for its exciting motoring challenges as it is for its spectacular cliff-top and ocean scenery. Geelong’s beaches, particularly those to the east of downtown along the Bellarine Peninsula, offer swimming, snorkelling, and surfing, and its Market Square is great for people-watching and retail therapy.

Sights nearby

Geelong’s highlights cover everything from historic colonial buildings, a gaol, superb natural beauty, nearby lakes and wetlands, museums, wineries, and the stunning sunsets of the Bass Strait seen from magnificent beaches.

- Old Geelong Gaol

The huge, four-storey Geelong Gaol was built in 1847 and is one of the most complete remnants of Australia’s early days as a convict colony. Closed for good in the 1990s, it has a violent history of murder and executions. This background has reinforced its reputation for haunting and ghost sightings, with night-time ghost-hunting tours popular.

- Maritime Museum

Located in the stable block of Victorian Osborne House, once the home of the Australian Naval College, this museum tells the story of Corio Bay and its port through displays, sea charts, and maps, as well as through a collection of maritime memorabilia dating from the time of Admiral Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar.

- National Wool Museum

Set in a spectacular Victorian wool store close by the waterfront, this is Australia’s most comprehensive museum covering the development of its wool trade from the mid-19th century to the present day. The displays cover everything from breeding and shearing to spinning, dyeing, and weaving, and the 1910 Axminster Jaquard loom on which carpets were woven is the museum’s pride and joy. Skilled weavers give daily demonstrations of how it’s done.

- Geelong Adventure Park

Victoria State’s biggest water park gives a magic day out for families with its River Torrent, Lazy River, exciting rapids, thrilling Aqua Racer Speed Ride, Wild West canyon, and Gold Rush Rapids. Kids and adults alike will adore a day here, and even the very young can have safe fun in the Tiny Tots Splashzone.

- The Waterfront

Geelong’s waterfront is one of the most spectacular in the country, offering landscaped gardens, restaurants, cafés and bars, a much-loved antique carousel, public art, entertainments, pools, sea baths, and much more, all set against the backdrop of lovely Corio Bay. Hotels here include the Sheraton Four Points and the Mercure Hotel.

Eating and drinking and shopping nearby

The centre of Geelong comes alive every night and offers a great selection of venues for eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. If watching sports in a typical Australian pub is more your thing, you won’t be disappointed either. Local food, fusion food, seafood, Italian food, and more is found in the city centre and in the Waterfront development, and its fine dining equivalents can be had in the four-star hotels. Don’t forget to try the old-fashioned fish and chip eateries around town. Shopping is as varied as eating, from the Market Square boutiques through Bay City Plaza’s specialist stores, to the city’s huge malls.

Public transport

Public transport in Geelong is provided by the Geelong Transit System’s bus network, which covers the entire city from downtown to the far suburbs. Interurban buses are also available between Geelong and nearby attractions, such as the Great Ocean Road’s famous Twelve Apostles offshore rock formations.