Yahoo Lifestyle 
Ovolo Woolloomooloo: You can drive a luxury car for free during your stay at this Sydney hotel
Ovolo Hotels have made the city much more accessible by teaming up with PEUGEOT to offer guests a luxury EV to drive during their stay.
When staying in a city like Sydney, it can be hard to get around without a car, especially given how big the Harbour City is. However, Ovolo Hotels have made the city much more accessible by teaming up with PEUGEOT to offer guests a luxury EV to drive during their stay.
I was lucky enough to enjoy such a stay, with access to the beautiful PEUGEOT 408 Plug-in Hybrid Fastback, which allows you to use both the all-electric mode, as well as having the advantage of a combustion engine for longer journeys.
The stay
I checked in to the Ovolo Woolloomooloo on a gorgeous autumn day with my mum for a staycation to celebrate her birthday. On arrival, I was greeted by the lovely Jade, who let us know that we had access to the stunning car for the whole day!
After checking in, we were seriously impressed to discover that our room was so spacious and offered an impressive city view – I don't know about you, but I've stayed in quite a few cramped city hotels, and this was the complete opposite.
The rooms felt modern and bright. We loved the colourful accents and printed bedhead. Some of my favourite parts of the room included the free minibar (this never happens!), the bath, and the rain shower.
My absolute favourite part of the stay, however, was the bed. Which is arguably the most important part, right? The mattress was so comfortable and the pillows were so soft, it really feels like you're sleeping on a cloud.
The minibar is stocked with everything you'd ever want but have never actually enjoyed at a hotel for fear of bankrupting your entire family, so this was a huge plus. If you're keen on a pre-dinner wine, you can also enjoy a free drink during social hour at Alibi Bar on the second floor!
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Guests can also enjoy salon-quality hair care thanks to a partnership the hotel has with TRESemmé until June 10, where you can have hair products sent straight to your room to keep.
The hotel also has a huge pool and spa and a gym in case you want to break a sweat during your stay.
The hotel's restaurant, Alibi Bar & Dining, is a truly beautiful space with an extensive bar menu and delicious food. The menu is also very vegan and vegetarian-friendly, which is a huge bonus!
The menu has been designed with sharing in mind, we loved the cotoletta parmigiana – the chicken was so tender – and the spanakopita was our favourite starter. The pumpkin risotto was a great accompaniment to the chicken, as was the patatas bravas. Make sure to leave space for dessert, though, because the quince doughnuts were outstanding!
The drive
Given we were staying for a special occasion, we decided a visit to Bert's in Newport would be a great way to test out the car and have a lovely afternoon to boot.
After a quick briefing on how to change driving modes, we were off in our PEUGEOT 408 Plug-in Hybrid Fastback for the 45-minute drive to Bert's.
For those who understand a lot about cars, here are the details you might like to know about it:
Delivers 360Nm of torque and 165kW of power from a 132kW PureTech engine combined with an 81kW electric motor.
It is coupled with an e-EAT 8-speed automatic gearbox.
Offers a WLTP test range of up to 60km1 of electric-only driving.
For those of us who don't know that much, from my experience, the car was incredibly smooth to drive. Having never driven an EV before, I loved trying out the different modes (Hybrid, Electric, and Sport) and testing out the regenerative braking system. The latter took a little getting used to, but I loved the idea of the car getting some energy back while it was braking.
We were able to connect my phone wirelessly through Apple CarPlay, which meant we could use Google Maps and listen to Spotify – crucial for a long drive!
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The one downside we found was that there was a decent amount of traffic, so we didn't really get to enjoy the Sport mode, but let's be real—that's not the car's fault. Otherwise, we really loved the car – to the point that my mum looked into buying one for herself!
Lunch at Bert's was also fabulous. I'd never eaten there before, but we enjoyed incredible service and really great food.
The restaurant itself was gorgeous, especially on the beautiful, sunny day we had. We enjoyed some delicious steak, swordfish, Brussels sprouts, and more. If you ever visit Bert's, please remember to order the banana soufflé. It was so light and delicious and unlike anything I'd ever eaten before.
How can you enjoy the same experience?
If you'd like to enjoy the same experience I did, all you need to do is book your stay directly with the Ovolo Woolloomooloo, who can help organise the experience for you! Guests will enjoy complimentary access to the PEUGEOT 408 Plug-In Hybrid for a 4-hour drive to check out all that Sydney has to offer – the perfect amount of time for a long lunch in the Northern Beaches!
Yahoo Lifestyle was a guest of Ovolo Hotels and PEUGEOT.
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