Jacobs Creek Mystery Flight Promo THANKS, Feedback - Q&A

LMMM on 13/02/2013 - 15:49

Got back last week from the Jacobs Creek mystery flight and thought I would thank the original Ozbargain poster Kirt http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/85335 and Jacobs Creek for such a great Promo as it is often said that if it’s too good to be true… Well happy to inform the sceptics that this turned out to be better than expected.

  1. Got confirmation as promised from Jacobs’s Creek 3 days prior to departure with the details of flight and hotel confirmation.
  2. Return Virgin flight to Melbourne includes free food, drink & movies – awesome!!
    3.Hotel in Melbourne was the Accor Citigate hotel – Clean and well located close to south bank and located in the heart of the City.
    4.Taxi fare from the airport to the city was $50 almost the price of the airfares and hotel, but I guess that is to be expected. Cheaper to get the skybus shuttle return at $56 for two people. I chose the Taxi to my regret.

I thought many will have questions and I am happy to try and answer or maybe any others that have also already taken their mystery flight can also. So Thanks again to Kirt you are a legend!! Thanks also goes to Jacobs Creek for such an awesome promotion.

General Discussion

Comments

  • le3lee on 24/04/2013 - 10:30

    Got our itineary. Flying Melbourne to Gold Coast and Staying at the Vibe like everyone else :)

    • Rocket on 24/04/2013 - 10:38

      I think you scored there, Gold Coast is much better than Adelaide (apologies to my Adelaide friends).

      • le3lee on 24/04/2013 - 15:44

        Very lucky :) Free car rental from a friend who has a holiday home there too!!

  • Geewhizz on 24/04/2013 - 16:13

    I can't believe Virgin has us seated 12 rows apart tomorrow. I'm glad it's not a child I'm flying with instead of a partner.

  • kimba88 on 24/04/2013 - 21:01

    Just thought i would give whoever is heading to the gold coast the heads up. I spent last weekend there and had a great time, although we were disappointed with our accommodation at The Vibe hotel. The staff at The Vibe Hotel were helpful and upgraded us from a standard room to a studio room on arrival after asking which was nice. Although the state of the room in which we were accommodated in was quite disgusting. Some of the issues we encountered included: dirty linen (hairs in between towels and sheets, a broken light, white stains on couch, broken pool step fixed with duct tape, air conditioning vent dusty and coming off, ants, and lack of sound proofing in the rooms. These issues were highlighted to the staff at The Vibe Hotel, and were promptly dealt with by giving clean towels and changing light globe at 11.30pm. They also tried making up for it by giving my partner and i a free buffet breakfast each the next morning. Although this was a nice gesture, it did not restore my faith in the hotel. I was tempted to check out the first night, although persisted by using my own beach towel to dry myself and trying not to stay in the hotel room as much as possible.
    I found Surfers sandbar http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g255072-d22691… to be great for a cheap buffet breakfast with a beautiful view (better than Vibe Hotel's selection anyway and 50c cheaper). If anyone is curious, our room number was 709. I also emailed jacobs creek mystery flights to notify them that we had a good time, but accommodation was not 4* worthy.

  • sam-1966 on 26/04/2013 - 17:02

    Currently enjoying "The Menzies" opposite Wynyard station. When I did the check in I put in one bag, but found when we got to the airport that we were 'saver lite' so had to pay $40 to bring it with is.

    I'll make sure I pay in advance for the flight home.

    Thanks again all at OZB!

    • Geewhizz on 26/04/2013 - 19:58

      I thought you weregoingto call them to check? I;m gld you said you were because I;dbefeeling sooguilty now otherwise.

      • Geewhizz on 03/05/2013 - 06:13

        Darn sticky spacebar! lol

  • sam-1966 on 27/04/2013 - 00:30
    +1

    No - all good. When it let me check the luggage in, I just assumed.

    Meant to mention for anyone else who gets "The Menzies" - when we checked in (at 12.30 and allowed to go straight to our room, I should add!), the fellow said "Oh, and dinner's taken care of."

    We were a tad surprised, to say the least. Then he gave us each TWO cards that are "Stay 2 Get 2 - Aussie Dining Experience. Present this voucher to receive your 2 course Auusie Dining Experience on the Sporters Bar".

    You choose from items with the Australian flag. We had crispy skin barramundi and dukkah crusted chicken, followed by pavlova with a lovely coulis, strawberries, passionfruit syrup and wattle seed cream. Value approx $30 each, so $120 value - seemed very appropriate for a bargain through OzBargain!

  • le3lee on 28/04/2013 - 14:58
    +3

    Hi all, thought I'll share my mystery trip to gold coast with u guys and some tips for those who might be travelling to gold coast . Our experience with jacobs creek team has been exceptionally efficient. Recieved our itinerary 72 hours before our departure, however we already knew our destination already. We flew with virgin with no luggage but because im a etihad silver member I got to take 23 kg with me and get priority check in and boarding. We also earned points with our velocity cards. At gold coast we took the 702 bus that stops before the vibe and cost $8.5 one way pp. However we were borrowing a friends car and got off at broad beach to pick it up. Parking at the vibe was $8 a night and could come and go whenever. Upon check in we asked for an upgrade which was offered however our initial room had the best views of the river so we didnt swap. Room was good, but wouldn't think it was 4* but service was great. We spend the first half day at byron bay which we regret and should of went to surfers beach instead however it was great to check out. Second day we did a half day tour kayaking and snorkling which included a very simple breakfast (box cereal, fruit and cookie) - tour was great though! The second half of the day we went to the outlet and then watched a movie had dinner and went to the casino. Last day we went for a walk and had some breakfast then back on the bus to the airport. Overall a great trip. Thanks again to kirt and jacobs creek for an awesome trip and experience :)

  • kaz911 on 02/05/2013 - 14:34

    Did anyone get Coffs harbour? I have Sydney to Coffs and I'm trying to find out which hotel I'll be staying at. Thanks.

  • konazz on 08/05/2013 - 08:58
    +3

    Looking forward to our trip to Melbourne over the June long weekend. Thanks to OZB also got a free double pass to the Good Food and Wine Festival :)

    Now need more deals to experience Melbourne better.

    Also… got a free upgrade to Velocity Gold through work yesterday… so will be trying out the lounges in Canberra and Melbourne.

    • voteoften on 10/05/2013 - 13:07

      That all sounds fantastic. You may wish to buy thigs at the GF&WS. Bring appropriate luggage.

      • YLC on 11/05/2013 - 02:20

        May i know what is GF&WS? Thanks

        • Car-la-la on 11/05/2013 - 02:29

          lol did you read the post voteoften was responding to??

          GF&WS = good food and wine show/festival

  • kirt on 10/05/2013 - 10:55
    +2

    Damn.

    I am actually subscribed to this thread, but haven't received any notifications, but it looks like there have been quite a few updates.

    Great to see all the happy Ozbargainer stories!

    I've had quite a few family and friends go on their trip, and I have mine lined up for 3 weeks tomorrow…can't wait!

    I have left our trip as a complete mystery…will post again when we get back :)

    • MMM on 10/05/2013 - 11:26
      +2

      Kirt our leader, can't thank you enough for posting the original deal. I think many of us would never have been aware off the deal without your post so hence the benefit of OZbargain.

      It has been great hearing all the positive comments from ones who have already gone so have a great time when you go, and look forward to hearing about it.

      • kirt on 10/05/2013 - 11:34
        +1

        No worries MMM…the only thing better than scoring a great deal is to be able to share it :D

        • voteoften on 10/05/2013 - 13:07

          What about sex?

        • heathwithnoteeth on 10/05/2013 - 13:13
          +1

          depends how much you pay for it :)

  • maximum on 18/05/2013 - 14:30
    +2

    At the Gold Coast airport after a great trip from Sydney. We stayed at the grand chancellor right in cavill mall. Maybe not 4 * but very comfortable and friendly staff. We just chilled the whole weekend. Used my coffee club VIP card for bogof coffee, $10 event cinema telstra tickets and caught the bus everywhere or walked. Thanks kirt really enjoyed this trip. We had 23 kgs of baggage both ways but only took carry on.

  • wombledomble on 18/05/2013 - 16:37
    +2

    Went to Melbourne last week. Got the Skybus from the Airport. Stayed at the Crossley in Little Bourke Street. Ate at Chinatown, The little laneway cafes for breakfast. Went to the "G" for the Swans v Hawthorne. Caught the tram to St Kilda and drank $10 bloody mary's, went on the rollercoaster at Luna Park.
    Did the tour of the watch house and old Melbourne jail.
    Best of all Richard Branson shouted free beer on the 4pm plane home to Brissie.
    Had the best time.

    Thanks to Kirt.

  • happychild100 on 20/05/2013 - 12:05
    +1

    Thought i would give some quick feedback for my mum's sake. She flew from Perth to Melbourne on the weekend, virgin moved her flight leaving Perth from 10:30am to 11:30am and left at 5:30pm in Melbourne. She stayed at Travel lodge Southbank, which she said was nice, though she was on level 1 and had a view of nothing but i guess she didn't pay for it anyway and she wasn't that bothered by it.

    She flew with virgin however had an issue. Upon checking in, there was no mention of if she had baggage or not, there was an option to say how many bags she had though so this gave her the assumption that she was allowed baggage. However when she turned up at the airport, she was told she was only on saver lite fare and so had to pay the $40 then. She was told by the staff at the airport that in future, buy baggage online for $15 instead.

    She called up the virgin line to check for her return flight home, they told her that you can't pay for baggage online after you book the flight anymore and so she would have to pay $40 to go back as well. She ended up doing some shopping and so paid it but she was slightly annoyed.

    In all, she was pretty pleased with it all. Thanks again Kirt!

    P.S There was a couple staying at travel lodge too and on the same flight home as my Mum, left on the skybus at 3:30, anyone of you!? :P

  • Lister55 on 27/05/2013 - 19:31

    I just found this post when I was looking to see if anyone knew the hotel options for Gold Coast… I see it's pretty much Vibe or Grand Chancellor (probably Vibe). I'll leave that a mystery. But I took the advice of others and called Virgin to get Reservation number. So confirmed 100% going to Gold Coast from Sydney. While on the phone added our Velocity numbers, and asked about baggage - have been told 23kg each way for each of us!!! AND.. the lady on the phone pre-booked our seats! I'm all ready to fly now. Can come back and report on GC experience after I go.. (8 June - 10 June - Queen's Long Weekend woohoo!)

    P.S. Reservation shows they paid $316.00 for flights.

  • kirt on 29/05/2013 - 09:59
    +1

    Got my notification this morning for our mystery flight…

    After a dozen or so friends and family all went to Melbourne from Perth, we were happily surprised to score Sydney :D

    Saw on the Virgin site that the costs of flights were $676.00, and a couple of nights at the Mercure would be at least $300, so pretty happy with that (some great reviews for the Mercure on Trip Advisor and booking.com too).

    Happy days :)

  • kirt on 05/06/2013 - 10:27
    +5

    Had our trip to Sydney from Perth on the weekend, and had a great time :)

    Me and the missus had both been to Sydney a few times before and had done most of the touristy stuff, so we just did a bit of shopping, ate too much (Chat Thai is incredible!), checked out some of the Vivid lights and sounds in Darling Harbour, and just generally relaxed.

    Virgin flights were good, and the room at the Mercure was really nice.

    Thanks again to Jacobs Creek for a cracker promotion :D

  • flibby on 09/06/2013 - 22:07
    +1

    We had a great couple of days in Melbourne (from Canberra). The confirmation email from Jacob's Creek said carry on bags only but I rang Virgin and confirmed that we did in fact have 23kg baggage allowance, and had no problem getting velocity points for the flights. We stayed at Crossley Hotel, which was pleasant, and a great location in Chinatown. Got a VHA shuttle from and to the airport for $56 return combined, door to door. We were the only people each way on the shuttle, so it was quick and painless.

    Bought a Myki visitor pack each, which as well as the Myki card included a bunch of discount vouchers for touristy things, and caught trams everywhere. Went up to Eureka Skydeck 88, wandered around St Kilda, had icecream at Jock's in Albert Park. Spent up big at Daiso (where everything is $2.80) in the CBD. Ate at Lord of the Fries way too many times. Had awesome coffee everywhere.

    Huge thanks to Kirt and Jacob's Creek, and everyone who posted their hot tips above. :) The 12 bottles of wine were quite nice too.

    • heathwithnoteeth on 10/06/2013 - 11:42

      yep, lord of the fries is THE BOMB! We also stayed at the Crossley.

      when we drive over to melbs, we chase the food trucks… "Beatbox Kitchen" "The Taco Truck" "Gumbo Kitchen"

      glad u had a great time.

  • Giraffe on 10/06/2013 - 12:37
    +1

    About to fly back from the Gold Coast now. Thanks again, Kirt!

    Stayed at Outrigger Surfers Paradise which was very nice. Only had 48 hours, spent a day at Dreamworld/whitewater world. Didn't hire a car, just caught the bus to Dreamworld and airport - otherwise just walked around Surfers.

    Overall great trip except for the wet weather!

  • Shaz D on 10/06/2013 - 19:32

    We went Brisbane Sydney. Hotel Metro on Pitt. It was clean and comfy (apart from noise in roof). Sydney busy with the Vivid Light Festival, so many people about at night. Virgin self check in worked well. Public transport pass in Sydney good value. Weather great (better than at home on the not so Sunny Coast)! Thank you Jacob's Creek. Great promo and the Cool Harvest is a lovely wine.

  • voteoften on 10/06/2013 - 19:33

    VHA shuttle is the way to go in Melbourne.

  • tomorrows_angel on 11/06/2013 - 10:29
    +1

    Thanks Kirt and Jacob's Creek!

    I flew Sydney to the Gold Coast on the weekend. Ended up going alone because my partner couldn't make it last minute - stayed at the Vibe. Hotel was fine, if a little noisy because my room was right on the Gold Coast Highway, though I had a King size bed and a single which was great - ended up catching up with a few friends from Brisbane and one stayed with her kids for a night. Otherwise just had a relaxing weekend. Shame the bf couldn't come, and shame the weather was a bit dodgy, but otherwise it was nice just to get away.

  • tremell on 17/08/2013 - 00:00

    I must be about the last person to still have a Jacobs creek mystery flight coming up. I'm off to Melbourne on 20-22nd September as I chose prelim final weekend in the afl. What are the Melbourne hotels like for anyone has has stayed at them? Anything to know or request depending which hotel you were given when you check in?

    • heathwithnoteeth on 17/08/2013 - 00:49
      +1

      I had the crossley on little bourke. wasnt too bad, quiet. very close to china town. if you like dumplings go to the Shanghai dumpling house… wicked stuff.

      If you like comedy i suggest going to the comedy club 188 collins st.

      • voteoften on 17/08/2013 - 23:36
        +1

        Yes the dumpling house was good. Book to avoid the wait.

  • tremell on 17/08/2013 - 23:51

    Thanks heathsouter and voteoften. I checked out the crossley and it looks clean and comfortable in a good location that I've never stayed in (I usually stay in southbank). I may just have to check out this dumpling place that you both raved about even though I've never done dumplings haha.

    Btw speaking of good food places in Melbourne if anyone ever gets the chance visit Etto on Clarendon street - amazing handmade pasta! Well worth the quick team ride there from the city.

  • ELH05 on 18/08/2013 - 18:33

    Sorry to dig out an old thread - so we are going to Sydney next month - so the general consensus seems that the hotel is either Metro on Pitt or the Mercure ? which Mercure is it ? Any other hotels could it be ?

    • sam-1966 on 19/08/2013 - 07:40

      We were at "The Menzies" opposite Wynyard station - very handy.

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