When I went through hotel quarantine in Australia in December, I really lucked out. Not only was I staying in a five star hotel, but my room also had a balcony, which made a world of difference.
Hotel quarantine is a reality in many countries, thanks to the pandemic. In Australia, you need to complete 14 days of quarantine, not including the day you arrive or depart. That means the food you’re given by the establishment where you’re staying is quite important.
My Meals – Day Six, Seven and Eight
A variety of dietary considerations are taken into account, which made for many lines on the menus. In my case, I took the standard offering each day.
Day Nine (Christmas Day!), Ten and Eleven
Spending Christmas in a quarantine hotel wasn’t originally the plan. In the couple of weeks before I was due to fly to Adelaide, they had some local Covid outbreaks in the area. The state government, in their stupid wisdom, cancelled all inbound international flights. That meant my flight was pushed back a couple of times and Christmas in quarantine it ended up being.
Day Twelve, Thirteen and Fourteen
You will notice in some of the images there is a little bag with “pod” written on it. Pod stands for “protein on demand” and are roasted chickpeas in various flavours. I really hated them (but still ate them!) as they were incredibly dry for a snack. Why did I still eat them? Waste not want not. I can’t bear to throw away food when so many people around the world have none.
Overall Thoughts
You might be wondering where the meals are for days one through five. I published an article about them while still in quarantine, so you can find them here.
When it comes to hotel quarantine food around the world, it seems there is the good, the bad and the ugly. In this case, it was good all round, which I certainly appreciated. The Pullman Hotel in Adelaide certainly did their very best at all times, which I really appreciated.
Have you stayed in mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival in Australia or another country? What was it like? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Did you have to pay for your quarantine stay? My wife and her brother were ‘incarcerated’ in a Travelodge in Sydney back in May last year – no menu choice and pretty basic food but they did record allergies on arrival. Thanks to cousins dropping in food parcels (to include wine) they survived but with smallish rooms this was not an easy experience – but it was free – hooray! (That hotel was removed from the scheme later).
A friend of mine had a similar experience in April last year in Sydney, where he said he was put into a “flea-bag hotel in Chippendale” for the duration. My quarantine fee of AU$3,000 was waived as I booked my flights in February 2020. Anyone who booked prior to the fees coming in on 12 July 2020 are exempt from paying. I would have cancelled my flights if I had to pay for the quarantine, as I don’t have that kind of money spare, quite frankly.