line cook

housekeeper

sous chef

room attendant

food service worker

Crowne Plaza Hotel

During the interview, I was asked a lot about my barista experience, (70% of my interview questions are barista related), I accepted this job because I thought I was gonna work as a barista for most of the time. 

I worked 4 days a week, and 2 out of my 4 shifts were barista shifts, I was totally fine with it. I had about 18 months of barista experience and customers usually love the coffees I made. However, after less than 2 months, the manager removed all my barista shifts. Losing my barista shifts = losing my passion. 

My overall experience at Crowne: Most staffs are nice. Some team leaders however, are unhelpful and arrogant. Some of them don't do much work and ask us to do all the jobs. A good leader should work with his team members instead of telling the members what they must do. 

I love some managers here, they are really nice. But I also got set up after submitting my resignation letter. On Monday, I asked for a day off for Friday. I found a colleague who can cover my shift. I told the manager if I could get a day off on Friday. He agreed. However on Thursday night, he contacted the person who was gonna cover my shift and told her she doesn't need to cover my shift anymore. 

And on Friday morning, the manager emailed me and said: "As you unable to attend your shift today 15 November due to personal reasons, I will not require you to attend your rostered shifts on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November."         I feel being set up and really disappointed. 

On my contract, I enrolled as a part time worker. When I first started my job at Crowne Plaza, I asked the Human Resource Coordinator if I was gonna get penalty rates for working on weekends. She replied: "IHG uses something called an EA which is an enterprise agreement. What this means is that we pay above what the current award rate is (HIGA), but we do not pay penalty rates. However to ensure that you are still better off you will not be working every weekend otherwise the extra that we pay you would not be in your favour."           But in reality, I worked every weekend! So I guess in fact, I was underpaid.

I also lost my uniform twice when I put it in the wash, I reported it but they never followed up with me. 

Good thing about working at Crowne: You get free a meal (mainly salad and toast) every shift, and the IHG employee Program gives you good hotel discounts on all IHG hotels world wide. 


This is just an honest review about my work experience at Crowne Plaza Canberra. I just want to let everyone who intends to work there know what it's like to work there. The intention of this review is not to slander or offend anything or anyone.

I very much enjoyed my time at Crowne Plaza Newcastle and view both this hotel and the hotel company very highly. I feel the hotel is run by genuine and authentic managers, the staff, whom i worked with were kind, honest and empowering and i have fond memories of both getting my job and my shifts. I made many friends and feel genuinely Crowne Plaza really set me up with many skills for life and work. 

There were very busy times however i feel this workplace tries very hard to work as a team, to bring the best service to guests and supports each other to get the job done efficiently with out cutting corners or dulling the high level or customer service or causing any risk to staff. 

I had many opportunities to express my personal talents with in the job as well as helping management to decorate the lobby! That was such a great memory and very fun to do. In addition i had many opportunities to be involved in other aspects of Food and Beverage; from room service to bar and functions. 

I very much recommend IHG as a great company to work for and Newcastle Crowne Plaza as a great hotel to work and to stay!

Working at the Crowne Plaza Canberra has presented several challenges. The shifts are quite short, typically just 4 hours for either breakfast or dinner, totaling only about 8-12 hours per week. The lack of full-time opportunities makes it difficult to secure a stable income.

The management approach here could use improvement. Often, older and office staff contribute minimally yet frequently issue orders, especially when management is present, which feels highly unfair.

Moreover, if you're not favored, you might find yourself assigned to room service duties, undoubtedly the toughest role here, akin to being in a penalty box. This practice dampens team spirit and creates a strained work environment.

A significant issue is the disparity in how staff meals are handled. Older and office staff enjoy high-quality meals prepared by the chef, while the rest of us receive markedly inferior food. This inequity is deeply disheartening. On a brighter note, except for the head chef, the other chefs are quite friendly.

There are some positive aspects, though. A few supervisors are supportive and help improve the work atmosphere. However, the morning supervisor sometimes contributes to the stress.

In my experience, part-time roles in restaurants often resemble casual positions, where if the restaurant isn't busy, part-time staff are sent home early to reduce costs. While this practice is understandable from a profit standpoint, it would be more efficient to reassign employees to other tasks rather than sending them home. Additionally, there are internal politics, with certain groups—especially friends or close acquaintances of the Food and Beverage Manager—being favored for better shifts. These individuals rarely get assigned to more challenging tasks, like room service, and consistently receive more desirable schedules. Unfortunately, there's also a lack of training and learning opportunities, which makes it difficult for others to grow in the role. Connections within the management seem to be the key to receiving better treatment or career advancement. Moreover, the poor management is further evident as the Operations Manager is rarely seen on the floor, which affects oversight and team coordination.


Not a good place to join! On a positive note, the chefs are incredibly friendly and were a pleasure to work with. Some supervisors are very helpful and supportive, and their presence made a difficult situation more manageable.

However, the overall workplace is not a happy one. The core issue seems to be a significant lack of staff, which puts a lot of stress on everyone. A major contributor to this problem is a poor and inexperienced operational manager, whose decisions cause hardship for the entire team. This has even led to several supervisors and managers resigning.

The management's poor planning is also evident in the scheduling. As a part-time employee, I was not given a reliable schedule and often had shifts that were only 2 or 3 hours long, or was sent home early. The lack of guaranteed hours makes it difficult to justify a part-time rate of pay.

In summary, despite the friendly and helpful nature of many of the staff, the hotel suffers from serious management issues that lead to understaffing, stress, and a generally unhappy work environment.

Working at Crowne Plaza Hotel Canberra as a chef has been one of the most disappointing experiences of my career. The management and the executive chef provide zero support, no matter how busy or stressful the kitchen gets. Instead of teamwork, you’re left to handle unrealistic expectations completely on your own.

The workload is extremely high, with long hours and constant pressure, but the salary does not match the amount of work we’re expected to do. There’s no appreciation, no proper training, and no effort from management to improve the work environment. Communication is poor, and issues are ignored rather than solved.

If you are a chef looking for growth, respect, or even a fair work–life balance, my honest advice is don’t work here. There are much better places in Canberra where your skills and time will actually be valued.

For nearly 11 years of service in my present job, I can say that  I have learned a lot and improved my self-esteem  when it comes to mingling with different culture of workmates.  Team working is the key to achieve a goal at  work and get a good result. Having said that,  it would be great to have  more  challenging  job than what I am doing at the moment for a long time,  in order to enrich myself a bit more. I can say that I am more capable of working in the production environment. I can work without or with minimum supervision,reliable and hardworking person.  Working in the hotel environment is not much  enjoyable as other jobs. Reason being is it doesn't change every now and then except when management had changed, and that is the hardest part of it, as in you will be in the dark  because you will have no idea when the new management will have their own manpower or not though you know yourself very well that you're safe because to me I can confidently say that I will be safe when it comes to work performance and attendance.

The team is generally good, and both the supervisors and chefs are very helpful. However, the restaurant employs over 10 staff members, which often results in very short shifts—typically around 3 to 4 hours. This makes it difficult for anyone to get consistent or sufficient work hours.

It feels like the management is trying to cut costs by running the restaurant with minimal staffing, which can impact both the service and the team morale. The operations manager seems inexperienced and appears to lack a clear understanding of the daily challenges within the restaurant, yet still tries to manage things.

Pay is relatively low compared to similar workplaces, and there’s a noticeable lack of team spirit in some cases—certain staff members tend to give instructions rather than contribute equally to the work.

At Crowne Plaza you get plenty of hours especially in the food and beverage department only over the spring/summer period though.

You cannot go on holidays over the summer period (including Christmas Day) which makes it  very depressing over the new year and christmas period knowing you can't spend time with family and friends. 

A delicious help yourself canteen is available every day which is good for saving money. 

The management isn't so organised at times which makes it hard as casual workers arriving at the beginning of service. 

There are benefits to those who deserve it, as myself received the Quarter Two Award winner which included a free night's ocean view stay with dinner and breakfast included. You also receive the same benefit once you have completed the three month probation.

hi ,my name is Michael and i have currently relocated from Adelaide to Melbourne and am seeking employment. For the past 2 years i have been working at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Adelaide, and am eager to find a similar role at a hotel in Melbourne.
I began working as a kitchen porter, helping with food prep, plating meals, light cooking and dishwashing. After a few short months potential was recognised and i was offered a position working front of house, in the hotel restaurant, as well as in Banquets, catering for formals, weddings and other corporate events. 
I enjoy working as part of a team as well as autonomously and feel i would be a valued addition to any team.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Line cook 2 salaries reported	$25.50 per hour
Housekeeper 1 salary reported	$30.50 per hour
Sous chef 3 salaries reported	$75,833 per year
Room attendant 1 salary reported	$26.50 per hour
Food service worker 1 salary reported	$26.50 per hour

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