General Information about Canberra

For general information about Canberra, visit www.canberratourism.com.au. Most likely you will fly into Australia at Sydney (or perhaps Melbourne) with an international carrier, and then fly to Canberra with a local airline (Sydney-Canberra is about 30 minutes, and Melbourne-Canberra about 1 hour), followed by a 10 minute taxi ride to your hotel. Taxis are metered and the cost should be around $15-20. It can get quite cold: in May, the Canberra average temperature range is 3 -15 degrees Celsius.

Hotel Accommodation

We recommend that participants stay at one of the two hotels listed below, the Brassey of Canberra or Rydges Capital Hill - Canberra. Both hotels are located in the heart of Canberra's Parliamentary triangle, are close to the fashionable restaurants of Manuka and Kingston, and are about 10 minutes by taxi from Canberra airport. The hotels are five minutes walk from each other, and 10-15 minutes walk from ABARE.

At this point, each hotel has set aside an allotment of 20 rooms for arrival Sunday 26 May, departure Friday 31 May. (Unallocated rooms will be released as these dates approach, but after rooms have been released they will still be available at the agreed rate subject to availability.)

Participants are responsible for making their own reservations, and will need to supply credit card details or method of payment details at the time of making their reservation. Participants are also responsible for canceling/amending their reservation. (Both hotels have indicated that "No Shows" will be charged.)

In order to obtain the discounted room rates listed below, be sure to indicate that you are seeking accommodation in order to attend the ETSAP Workshop being hosted by ABARE. The prices quoted below are in Australian dollars. To get the approximate US dollar equivalent, divide by two (so room rates start at about US$55).

If you encounter any problems, please email Ken Noble of ABARE on knoble@abare.gov.au.

The Brassey of Canberra(www.brassey.net.au)
Belmore Gardens and Macquarie Street,
Barton, ACT,
2600 Australia
Telephone:+61 2 6273 3766 (from within Australia: 02 6273 3766)
Fax:+61 2 6273 2791 (from within Australia: 02 6273 2791)

The Brassey is a small boutique hotel (total of 81 rooms and suites) with facilities including a fully licensed restaurant. Room rates including full buffet breakfast are:
Standard (3 ½ star) room: single $110, double/twin $124
Heritage (4 star) room: single $135, double/twin $149

The Standard rooms are smallish (similar in size to European hotels) while the Heritage rooms are very comfortable spacious rooms and well worth the extra $25 (that's about US$12.50) per night.

The Brassey also offers the convenience of being the venue for the regular ETSAP Workshop on Wednesday-Thursday 29-30 May. But as stated above, Rydges Capital Hill is only five minutes walk away.

Rydges Capital Hill - Canberra
(www.rydges.com.au and then from 'Find a Hotel:' choose Rydges Capital Hill - Canberra)
Cnr Canberra Avenue and National Circuit,
Forest, ACT,
2603 Australia
Telephone: +61 2 6295 3144 (from within Australia: 02 6295 3144)
Fax: +61 2 6295 3325 (from within Australia: 02 6273 3325)

Rydges Capital Hill is a large contemporary style 4 ½ star hotel (181 rooms and suites) with facilities including a fully licensed restaurant, indoor heated swimming pool and gymnasium. Room rates including full buffet breakfast are:
Deluxe room: $145 single/twin
Suites with king bed and spa: from $214

The Deluxe rooms are very comfortable spacious rooms. The suites are for those who really wish to indulge.

Rydges Capital Hill offers the convenience of being a few minutes closer to the fashionable restaurants of Manuka, and of course the indoor heated swimming pool and gymnasium may be of interest.