As I headed home from a 4.30 am start at work the only thing on my mind was our relaxing weekend at Ramada Resort at Phillip Island. The family was ready when I walked in the door and before we knew it we were on the road. The trip to Phillip Island took about 2.5 hours from our home and is an easy drive.
As we pulled into the reception parking area I was so pleased with the property. We were surrounded by trees, you could hear birds over the car and I was so ready to get checked into and go explore.
As I headed into the reception area I was greeted with a board of ‘things to do in Phillip Island’ and I thought I would have to study it much further on my way out.
I made my way to the front desk and I was greeted by Joanne. She gathered all of my details and we were off to find our Villa. We wound our way through the amazing bushland with little villas spotted throughout.
I was totally in love with the setting and I was well on my way to that desired level of relaxed mum!
As we pulled into Melaleuca Drive our little villa was around halfway up the street. We parked the car in our driveway and made our way out to the front of the villa through a little bush path.
As we got to the front of the villa we were all blown away by the view we had, it was magnificent! The villa faced a huge open paddock and with the villa having huge sliding glass door leading out to the deck it was the only view you got. We unpacked and moved in!
Read what people are saying on TRIP ADVISOR about Ramada ResortOur Ramada Resort Phillip Island villa
2 Bedrooms – I Queen bed and the other room had 2 singles. Perfect!
Lounge room with TV and 2 comfy couches
Fully equipped kitchen with seating for 6
Bathroom with separate toilet
Washing machine and dryer tucked away in the hallway closet
Storage outside for Fishing Rods, Bikes and more.
Heating and cooling
Outdoor seating on the deck for 6
Other things to do on Phillip Island
3 Park Phillip Island Pass
Get entry to your choice of 3 out of 4 of the following attractions on or near Phillip Island: Amaze N Things, Maru Koala and Animal Park, Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate and Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm. Amaze N Things is 500 meters down the road from Ramada Phillip Island
For latest prices and bookings click HERE!
Phillip Island: 4 Parks Pass Including Penguin Parade
Experience the top attractions of Phillip Island with a flexible 4-park pass. Watch the famous Penguin Parade at sunset, visit the Koala Conservation Centre, go on an interactive Antarctic Journey and more. You will find all these attractions within 15 minutes of the Ramada Resort.
For booking options and latest pricing on this amazing experience here!
Phillip Island Penguin Parade Experience from Melbourne
Spend your time exploring Melbourne, discovering the wonders of the city. Benefit from the tour’s later leaving time and head straight to Phillip Island’s Penguin Parade.
Find the prices now and book today from this link
As we settled into our villa the girls were out the front of the villa straight away looking for animals that they could see. They made friends with a magpie straight away and there were other birds roaming around freely.
Over in the paddock, some cows came over to see what the fuss was all about and where all the noise was coming from (Marley Wyld!) I think she was actually the only thing other than the birds and the cows that made a noise for the whole time we were in the resort. It was so quiet and peaceful there.
After we packed we decided to go into Cowes and have a look for a supermarket and get some dinner. Cowes is the main town on Phillip Island. It’s located just 2 kilometres from the Ramada Resort. On the way out I went back to the reception to ask for some directions and I spoke to Matt about a few things.
He was so helpful and answered all of my questions and gave me brilliant directions. I also took this time to make a reservation for the Numbers restaurant at the Ramada resort for the next night for dinner. (We were going to the penguin parade that night and we were unsure if we would make it back in time for the restaurant opening hours)
By the time we got back it was dark and there was no exploring until the next day. The weather had also turned a little nasty so there were no animals out that night.
In the morning we all woke to the sounds of the birds and the cows…nothing else. There were no rowdy people or speeding cars around us. It was amazing to just lay there and listen to the wildlife that calls the resort home.
Marley and Willow went to the park to have a play on the equipment while we cleaned up the villa and got ready for the day. Driving through the resort is at walking pace so the girls felt like they could go to the park by themselves and I didn’t have to worry about them.
The Numbers restaurant is right near the play area so they knew if they got into trouble they could go in there and get help. They both returned happy and ready for the day’s adventures.
Having the washer and dryer ended up coming in handy for us and we had to do some washing while we were there.
The girls made a few trips to the resort during the day to go and play in the park or to go and see if they could find some more animals. They really liked the Cape Barren Geese and their little babies that were wandering around. They did keep their distance though as we were not sure how the parents would handle having people so close to the babies.
The cows even came over a few times for a chat, they saw a rabbit hopping about and at night we watched a possum wander out the front of our villa. It was hard for them to keep quiet as they were watching the possum as I must admit it was pretty cute!
Numbers Restaurant at the Ramada Resort Phillip Island
As we travel all the time with the girls it can be hard to sit and relax while you are having dinner. I love wine with dinner and Mark enjoys a beer but we are not able to have a drink together as most of the time one of us had to drive.
The Numbers restaurant is on the resort grounds so we took the opportunity to walk through the resort and go to the restaurant for dinner.
We booked the first night to check it out and we loved the food and the service so much we went back the next night as well. Lesley and Cassie looked after us with drinks and Ben cooked our amazing meals.
Ramada Phillip Island is close to all the major attractions Click To TweetThe menu was a basic one (it may have been because it was winter) but there was something on there for everyone to enjoy. Both the girls picked a meal before heading off to play and then come back to use the Wifi for a little bit. It was great to just be able to sit and relax while having dinner with the whole family happy! Thank you to the team at the Numbers Restaurant!
First night at the Numbers Restaurant Ramada
Mark and I both had the Fried Barramundi with chips and a garden salad
Willow had Spaghetti Bolognaise
Marley had the Chicken tenders with chips and a garden salad
Willow and Marley got a bowl of ice-cream with their meals
Mark and I shared a Churros
I also had an amazing Black Forrest Cocktail while we were there. It was so delicious.
Second evening at the Numbers Restaurant:
Mark had the Beef and Vegetable pot pie
Bec had the Chicken Parm with chips and as garden salad
Willow had Spaghetti Bolognaise (She loved it so much!)
Marley had the fish and chips
We all had a little bowl of ice cream on this night. It was not a problem for the guys to do this for us!
The meals were a really good size and we were all nice and full when we left. There is a great selection of beer, wine and spirits in the bar and the girls were really happy with their choices of drinks too.
Happy hour is in the restaurant from 5-6 and you can sit inside or outside. It was a little cold when we were there so we opted to sit inside for dinner. It would be a perfect spot in summer to have dinner and watch the kids play on the equipment.
There are also bbq areas around this area if you would like to have a quick dinner or a snag on the bbq while the kids play. There were a group of people braving the cold and using the bbq’s while we were there. I love communal areas like this as you are able to meet new people and chat while you are cooking dinner. It really allows you to get a community feel in places like this.
There is also an outdoor pool and gym that you are able to use while you are staying at the Ramada Resort Phillip Island. You can hire bikes and go for a ride.
We love it so much here we decided to stay another night which made the girls really happy. We asked for a later check out which was not a problem at all. We took plenty of time to wander the resort and take it all in.
The villas are all a good space apart and you really do feel like you are the only ones there. My favourite was the wildlife and the beautiful Aussie bush that separate them.
While there is so much to do on Phillip Island staying at the Ramada Resort can also be one of them too. There is so much to do within the resort grounds that you don’t have to leave to find things to do.
The kids can play safely on the equipment or wander looking for animals while the parents can relax. We loved our time at the Ramada Resort and we hope we can return in some warmer weather to take advantage of so many more of the amazing facilities that they offer there.
The Ramada Phillip Island is located centrally to all Phillip Island Attractions. The table below shows you how close the Ramada Resort is to all the things to do in Phillip Island, Australia
| Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | 5 Mins |
| Phillip Island Chocolate Factory | 10 Mins |
| Enchanted Adventure Garden | 1 hour 35 minutes |
| Phillip Island Penguin Tours | 13 minutes |
| Great Ocean Road Day Tour | 1 hour 46 minutes |
| Phillip Island Nature Park | 14 minutes |
| Amaze N Things | 6 minutes |
| Phillip Island Vineyard & Winery | 9 minutes |
| Phillip Island Helicopters | 12 minutes |
| Rhyll Trout & Bush Tucker Farm | 9 minutes |
How to get to Phillip Island:
To get to the Ramada Resort Phillip Island by car, travel along the Monash Freeway from Melbourne and take the exit to Phillip Island (near Cranbourne) along the South Gippsland Highway (M420). Continue to follow the signs for Phillip Island onto the Bass Highway (A420). Continue onto the Phillip Island Tourist Road (B420), travelling over the bridge at San Remo onto the island
There are plenty of ways of getting to Phillip Island. By Car is the most popular way of getting to Phillip Island and can provide handy transport when travelling around the Island. Access by car lets you explore the Phillip Island Beaches. The Phillip Island beaches are very popular during the summer months.
There are also options for public transport such as buses and a passenger ferry. You see there are plenty of options of how to get to Phillip Island. Hire a car if you are a visitor to Melbourne!. Phillip Island day trips are very popular.
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About the Author
Mark Wyld is a father, husband and traveller. Having been to over 30 countries worldwide I think I know a thing or 2 about travelling with kids. I have been writing about travel on our website for the last 4 years and have featured on numerous other websites. When I am not talking, dreaming and planning travel I can be found working in disability support .
We didn’t have a great experience at Ramada Los Angeles so we tend to avoid the Ramada group alltogether. I’m glad to see that some are truly beautiful, like this one!
We have never stayed Ramada before, but our experience sounds totally different than yours. Hope Ramada can redeem itself for you in the future.
Sounds like the perfect family Vacation and would make a nice Couples Get A Way or a Girls Night Out. Just a little far for us to visit though as we are in Texas. Maybe someday though they will have something like it here for us to visit.
This looks like a really nice Ramada property. I usually think of Ramada as perfunctory business option but this property looks like it served you well as a home base for exploring Phillip Island. I love how the wildlife comes right up to you.
The wildlife was amazing for the kids. There was an actual wildlife park across the road
My Australia list keeps growing. This looks like a wonderful resort, very peaceful, and I’d love to see penguins and visit Anny’s Amazing World of Chocolate.
Lara Australia is a big country, so many things to do in Oz but yes the Penguins are an iconic Australian attraction.
I had no idea Ramada did this kind of resort accommodation, I have only known them as middle-of-the-road hotels, so this is interesting. And how lovely that the villas are spread around, and each one is a standalone home with all the facilities you need.
Maybe it’s an Australian thing for Ramada, I also thought they only did hotels aswell.
Love the property. Has a homely feeling to it. The food looks really delicious.
The food was amazing
Loving the looks of the resort here and has a feel good factor about it. Looks like a great place if you want Wildlife to come up to you. Will put this on my every growing list of things to do in Oz.
Too bad we didn’t find out about this sooner. We stayed somewhere else on Philip Island last month. But I must recommend the #1 breakfast place, Tripadvisor recommended, Mad Cowes!
Mad Cowes sounds interesting
The resort looks magnificent with a great view of the paddock. The convenient location is a big appeal to travel to places easily!
I’ve stayed in Ramada Inn’s before but nothing that could touch this location. The slick, modern building looks right at home in this setting. I’m moving to NZ in October and will be spending some time in Oz in December. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to check out Phillip Island.
I love apartment hotels 🙂 As soon as I read the fully equipped kitchen, washing machine – the works, I was sold! I love slow travel so places like these make me feel close to home. Ramada properties are pretty good, I love the pictures from your stay 🙂
It looks like a cool place to relax for a couple of days without noise, cars or the everyday stress. I would spend most of my day in that swimming pool, with a couple of breaks to try the food in the restaurants that you suggest. So finally you could drink wine & drink at the same time, that’s great!
The food was amazing
What a great location! I love Phillip Island. The food and view look amazing. Bookmarking.
This place is gorgeous! I hope to go one day myself. I love that the location seems so central. Also, the food looks amazing!
Phillip Island is an amazing location
The Ramada Resort sounds like a great place to getaway with family. The fact that the kids can move around on their own and there are large open spaces is great. Also if it is near the major attractions, then that is definitely an advantage. Having stayed at some Ramada properties, I can say that this place lives up to the Ramada Brand Promise.
So glad to read this blog. We are staying there in November 2018 and are really looking forward to a peaceful relaxing stay after having spent a week in the hustle and bustle of Melbourne city.
Thanks for the review if the restaurant and things yo do as well.
Could you swim in the pool in November I wonder.
We’re the cabins cooled?
Thank again
Julie
Yes depending on the weather you could certainly swim in the pool.
The cabins had aircon and heating.
Hope this helps
Mark
There seems to be some bad reviews regarding the cleanliness of the rooms. My daughter suffers quite badly with allergies so that is always a big concern of mine – were your rooms and bedding up to good standard?
I can’t comment as far as people with allergies go, I thought the rooms and facilities were certainly clean neat and tidy
There seems to be some bad reviews regarding the cleanliness of the rooms. My daughter suffers quite badly with allergies so that is always a big concern of mine – were your rooms and bedding up to good standard?
We had no issues with the cleanliness of the place, though it was certainly up to a standard we expected.
Mark
It all comes down to what cleaners do the job they are meant to and which ones don’t really care, the villa I stayed in was putrid and a little on the tired and run down side and for what I paid was extremely disappointed. Beautiful place and surroundings friendly possums, pizzeria wasn’t functioning don’t know why but they do awesome wood fired pizzas numbers café was ok wouldn’t brag about it This is our third stay and it has gone from a positive experience to a not so positive. Great place for kids and families pools outside are good when its very hot otherwise quite cold, has a lap pool inside but very narrow and deep and not a lot of room for sitting
I will admit that it is slightly dated and could do with make over. We did not find it dirty though we were there in the off season though. We did find the numbers restaurant to be great though and really enjoyed the food so much so we ate there 2 out of our 3 nights
Mark
Hi. On reading your glowing review of Ramada, I note you’ve not mentioned the indoor lap pool & the childrens wading pool which is promoted on Ramada site. I’m wondering about these what can you tell me please?
Lou
We went in Winter so did not have a chance to use the outside pools. The indoor lap pool was only small from what we viewed
Cheers Mark