Best Western Plus Buckingham International

The Best Western Plus Buckingham International suits divers who want a straightforward base rather than a resort built around ceremony. You have an outdoor pool, a fitness centre, a restaurant and bar, free WiFi throughout the property and private parking on site. In other words, the useful things are close at hand when your legs have had enough for the day.

The hotel works for more than a two-person trip. There are compact rooms for solo travellers, larger rooms for couples and family rooms, as well as apartments and a three-bedroom townhouse for groups who would rather have space to spread out. Contemporary décor, air conditioning, soundproofing and comfortable beds keep the focus where it belongs: getting a decent night’s sleep before the next early start.

You are in Moorabbin, Australia, on the Nepean Highway, with Highett railway station about 0.4 miles away on foot. Southland station is roughly 0.7 miles away, giving you a public transport option for getting around the area without turning every outing into a driving exercise.

Melbourne city centre is about 10 miles away by road, while Brighton Beach is around a five-minute drive. The Bayside beaches are close enough for a sea-air afternoon: Sandringham Beach is about 2.3 miles away, Hampton Beach 2.6 miles and Sandringham Harbour Beach 2.7 miles. Southland Westfield shopping centre is also around five minutes by car, and several golf courses sit within a 15-minute drive.

For a meal away from the hotel, Deux Soeurs is roughly 250 feet away, with Bohemia Cakes and Supreme Thai both within about 0.3 miles. Melbourne Airport is around 22 miles by road, with a drive of roughly 35 minutes; Essendon Fields Airport is about 17 miles away.

The room choice matters here because the accommodation ranges from a single room for one diver to apartments and a three-bedroom townhouse for larger groups. Travelling as a couple, the Standard Queen or Executive Room keeps things simple, with a king-size bed, a private bathroom and the essentials close by. The Executive Triple Room gives a third person a proper single bed rather than asking someone to negotiate with a sofa.

For families or dive groups, the Family Room sleeps up to four, while the two- and three-bedroom apartments offer a more workable arrangement when everyone has bags, clothes and the general debris of an active holiday. The three-bedroom townhouse is the largest option, with room for up to six and two bathrooms. That is the sort of detail that becomes more valuable when several people are trying to get ready at once.

Every room has air conditioning, a small refrigerator, tea and coffee-making facilities, a desk and a 42-inch flat-screen television. Some rooms have a spa bath. Soundproofed rooms and soundproofing help contain the usual hotel noise, while daily housekeeping, a hairdryer, towels and free toiletries remove a few more things from your luggage list. The garden view is a pleasant, concrete detail; the refrigerator is the more important one when you come back needing cold water rather than another view.

Busbys Restaurant and Bar is the in-house answer when you return hungry and do not want to go back out. It serves international cuisine, with dishes using local produce, and there is a bar for the drink that usually appears somewhere between “just one” and “that was a long day”. A snack bar and an on-site coffee house cover the less formal moments.

Breakfast is available as a Full English or Irish buffet. You can also have breakfast in your room, which is useful when an early departure makes a leisurely table look like an elaborate luxury. Lunch and dinner are served at the restaurant, and room service gives you another way to eat without changing out of whatever passed for respectable clothing after the water.

Special-diet menus are available on request, while children’s meals and a child-friendly buffet make the hotel workable for family trips. Happy hour is also available. Beyond the hotel, you have several nearby choices, including a restaurant around 250 feet away and cafés within roughly 0.3 to 0.9 miles.

The outdoor swimming pool is the obvious place to cool down without organising another excursion. Sun loungers, a sun terrace, outdoor furniture, a garden and a picnic area give you several ways to stop moving for a while. No timetable is required for sitting down, which is one of the better features of any afternoon.

If you still have energy to spend, the fitness centre provides an indoor option, while golf courses are within a 15-minute drive. The nearby Bayside beaches are also practical for a change of scenery, with Sandringham Beach and Hampton Beach both about five minutes away by car. Dane Road Reserve is roughly 0.8 miles away on foot for a shorter local outing.

The hotel also has the small comforts that matter when you are not sightseeing: free WiFi, a flat-screen television with cable channels and a streaming service, a garden view in some rooms, and air conditioning for the return from a warm Australian day. With quiet hours from 10pm to 7am, the evening is more suited to a calm drink and an early night than a party.

Reception is open from 6.30am to 11pm. Check-in runs from 2pm to 11pm, and you need photo identification and a credit card at arrival; the hotel also needs to know your expected arrival time. Check-out is from 5am to 10am, so an early departure is possible, provided you are organised enough to function at that hour.

Free private parking is available on site, with a parking garage, and a reservation is needed. An airport shuttle is available, to be arranged with the hotel. Car hire is also available, while Highett railway station is about a six-minute walk away and Southland station around 13 minutes on foot.

Luggage storage, a tour desk, concierge service and private or express check-in and check-out are available. Laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services can help if the kit has been through several days of travel. The hotel provides accessible facilities, including wheelchair access and toilets with grab rails. Children of any age are welcome; cots for children aged up to two can be requested, while extra beds are not available. Guests must be at least 18 to check in, and payment is by card rather than cash.