Part 2.

1. If you want a self contained place, check out stayz.com, or bluegum.com.
VRBO is not vip in Australia.
2.Go to Randwick for Horse racing.
A beautiful track, and you can ask any dude about Sydney,
And they will give you an opinion.
3. forget about fishing out of Sydney Harbour,
Unless you want to pay 4 or 5 hundred bucks.
4.Forget about seeing anything at the Sydney Opera House,
Unless you want to spend $100 , for second rate crap.
5. Don't stay in the Rocks, unless you want to pay $300 @ night.
And want to be waken by Japanese tourists,
Anxious to get up to the Bridge,
And pay big $$$ bucks to walk on the top of a bridge

If you want to stay in Sydney for more than a week,
1. check out Stayz
2. Check out Starcity.com
3. Stay in a Quest Self Contained place.
4. Don't get a taxi to your Hotel

Sydney is The most ridiculously priced place on Earth.
The Tourist Establishment
Figured out that
, that they could charge whatever

Guess what?

The rest of the World
Realized that Sydney was not something special.

Phil, your visits span over 30 years. A lot has happened in that time! China's economy has gone from being stagnant under the old Maoist leaders, to being the world's fastest growing. Chinese appetite for commodities has benefited Australia's economy, since Oz exports many commodities. The commodities boom may well have been what fueled recent price increases, as any inflation due to the Olympics (now 12 years ago) would otherwise have long since cooled. But for whatever reason, while it is understandable that we tourists hate price increases, we still shouldn't take price increases personally!

It sounds like you had a disappointing experience at the Opera. I agree that $100 is a lot for entertainment per se, but it's not out of line for opera, which is expensive to produce. It's likely that like all entertainment producers, the Sydney opera house produces misses as well as hits. There's also one's own personal preferences. Not everyone will enjoy opera or ballet, even a hit.

We too thought the bridge climb seemed rather expensive, but plenty of people (of all nationalities) do it, and report being very glad to have done so. Again, value is in the eye of the beholder. Us, we were content just to walk up to the bridge deck.

No doubt after so many visits, anyone would become a bit jaded. But an open mind is still beneficial to enjoying one's trip. Happy travels.

I agree with Sue although my experience was in reverse in that I didn't particularly like Sydney and avoided it like the plague. In October last I visited my sister who is living there, and was enthralled by the city. (Short report to come in the next two weeks). True, I didn't have to pay for accommodation or evening meals but I found it to be a reasonably priced city for the cuppas and light meals I had during my 5 days exploring. Amazing how far "shanks's pony" and a Sydney / Bondi Explorer pass will take you! (I did have to get a train in from Wolli Creek every day but still found that to be reasonably priced.)
I am planning a return visit in July, this time with my DH in tow, and we will be staying in an hotel for some of the time.