Crowne Plaza Residences Port Moresby

Rooms and decor

Picture stepping into a serviced-apartment unit where the new-furniture smell still lingers faintly — Crowne Plaza Residences Port Moresby opened only recently, a brand-new building in the heart of the Downtown CBD of Papua New Guinea's capital, with just 54 units ranging from one to three bedrooms. Open the door and you find an open living area flowing into a dining zone and a fully functional kitchen — stove, oven, microwave, a full-size fridge, plus a washer-dryer tucked into a corner and a complete set of cookware. The main bedroom has a soft king bed with good cotton linen, and floor-to-ceiling glass opens onto a panoramic view of Fairfax Harbour and Ela Beach, with small islands sitting mid-bay and container ships moving in and out of port. The decor runs to neutral warm browns and creams — understated but easy on the eye — with care in the small things like bedside power points, a desk you can actually work at and well-divided storage. Plenty of reviews agree it feels more like coming home than checking into a hotel, especially for people stationed here for weeks or months.

Food and amenities

The heart of a stay here is being able to actually live rather than just sleep. The full kitchen makes self-catering easy, and the team runs a shopping run to the Stop & Shop or RH Trading supermarkets so you can stock up and cook dinner in your unit without leaving the building too often. On a lazy day there is room service and access to the restaurants at the nearby Crowne Plaza in the same group. The thing people remember most is Port Terrace Bar, the rooftop bar on the top floor that has become a popular evening gathering spot for the city's expats, diplomats and senior executives. Up top the air is open to the sea breeze across a 270-degree sweep, looking out over Fairfax Harbour and the city skyline, with sunset the prettiest hour. The drinks list runs to well-made classic cocktails, a decent wine selection, and tapas and snacks with enough punch to keep a glass company — and in a city where good restaurants and bars are limited, having a rooftop like this on your own building is a luxury you rarely find elsewhere. Other amenities include a fitness centre with new equipment, free high-speed Wi-Fi in every unit for people working, and 5-star housekeeping that comes through daily to tidy the room, change linen and reset the kitchen — hotel convenience with the space and kitchen of a home in one package.

Location and getting there

The location is the trump card for anyone working in Port Moresby. The building sits in the heart of the Downtown CBD right by Ela Beach, the district that packs government offices, the main banks and several embassies within walking distance or a few minutes' drive. From the building it is under 10 minutes by car to Harbour City, the city's newer retail-and-office hub. Jacksons International Airport (POM) is about 11 km away, roughly 25-30 minutes by car depending on traffic, and the hotel runs an airport transfer that is far safer than hailing a ride outside the terminal. One thing to understand about this city: Port Moresby is not a place you wander like a typical tourist town, and many embassies advise guests to travel by car and plan routes in advance. Having a base where everything you need sits within a few minutes saves a lot of time and worry. For anyone flying in on a posting, a medium-length set of meetings or a project in the country, this location is the most direct answer.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First is price, which runs meaningfully higher than ordinary hotels in the city, from around $195 a night up to $360 depending on unit size. For a solo traveller on a one-or-two-night stay it may not be worth as much as a plain single room; it pays off most over a week or longer, with a family or a team, when you actually use the kitchen, the living space and the savings from cooking your own meals. Second is getting out of the building — on the advice of many embassies, Port Moresby is not a city for comfortable evening strolls, and whether you are heading to dinner or a meeting, most trips rely on a car or the hotel shuttle, which can feel confining if you like exploring on foot. Third is dining and entertainment in the city, which is fairly limited; after work, most of life circles the building, the hotel bar, or partner hotels in the same district, so anyone expecting a capital's variety of restaurants and nightlife should reset expectations. Finally, because the building is new, public reviews are not as plentiful as at longer-running chains in the city — the 8.7 from Agoda and 8.6 from Booking come mainly from corporate and long-stay guests, which reflects how the place is actually used fairly accurately.

Our take

From the real reviews and the input of regular guests we have pulled together, Crowne Plaza Residences Port Moresby is the most fitting answer for executives, project teams and families posted long term in Port Moresby. If the picture in your head is a brand-new unit with a full kitchen, in-room laundry and Fairfax Harbour filling the window, plus a rooftop bar where you meet the expat network in the evening and the IHG security standard that lets you sleep soundly in a city where you still need to stay alert, this is the best option in town right now. But if you are visiting Port Moresby as a tourist for a night or two, or travelling solo without need for a kitchen and lots of space, the higher-than-average rate may leave you paying for features you never use. Overall we give it 8.7/10 — best suited to long-stay business travellers and families who want home-style convenience set up professionally, in a city where this level of option is far from easy to find.