Staying at the Ibis Styles Alice Springs Oasis

The Ibis Styles Alice Springs Oasis.

Thomas Bywater checks into the Ibis Styles Alice Springs Oasis.

Getting there: Getting there from Alice Airport is oh-so-simple. A shuttle bus can be ordered from the hotel at $18 each way or around $32 for a 15-minute taxi ride.

Otherwise it's a half-hour walk, fully laden, to the Alice Telegraph Station and the traditional starting point of the Larapinta Trail.

Ibis' remodelled hotel is aimed at travellers heading to the Aussie Outback on a budget. I stayed either side of a six-day hike into the Outback with World Expeditions — this review comes from the perspective of a traveller with tired legs and fresh eyes.

Price: From $129 a night with space for three.

The room: On first inspection the rooms are large but unremarkable. Each unit comes with a double and single bed as standard. So is the air-con, TV, kettle and card-activated lights. There's also an iron and board, should you wish to give your khaki shorts a final press before heading into the desert.

The shower and tiled wet room are also basic but the space and hot water are luxuries after a week spent washing out of a bucket (if at all).

What's good about the place: Guests have access to a choice of two swimming pools. The larger is covered by tarpaulin to keep bathers out of the merciless Northern Territory sun.

These swimming pools might be the only open bodies of water for more than 20km, on the walk to Simpson's Gap.

And the bad: Nothing to report. The hotel is a welcoming return to civilisation, though the parking area is quite busy with desert-going Utes, RVs and the occasional motorcycle gang.

Wi-Fi: Two hours' free, unlimited data. Download all your maps and guides while you can. If you're heading into the data-coverage black hole of the Outback, this may be the last time you get online for a very long time.

Perfect for: Backpackers on the through-road to Uluru, or heading into Australia's Red Centre. Returning visitors to Alice Springs are unlikely to check into the same place twice.