I will be spending three nights in Sydney after finishing up a three week safari in Southern Africa and I am looking for the very best hotel (best location, best accomodations, best ambience, etc.) for a three night stay.

Although it adds 3.5 hours to my travel time in each direction, I am purposely flying Johannesburg - Sydney - Los Angeles in order to have these three nights in Sydney.

This will be in late November.

A hotel within walking distance of great restaurants and shopping, with a magnificent view of the harbor, would be perfect. This will be for a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

Also, I would appreciate some feedback on Qantas, as I have never flown this airline before but I have committed myself to flying over 28,000 miles with them on this next trip! I did use www.seatguru.com to get the best seats in economy class, but in all honesty, I would have preferred flying South African Airways between Australia to South Africa, but the Qantas price was to hard to ignore, and their flight times worked out perfect, as well. It was a mere $2250 per person for a round trip flight (LAX - SYD - JNB - SYD - LAX).

Thanks.

I LOVE Qantas! I'm from NYC and have flown Qantas 4 times to Australia in the past 5 years. The service is excellent and the flight attendants are always very nice and eager to help. They never seem to get tired or annoyed, either. Maybe I've been very lucky but I am so glad my miles are with American so I can fly Qantas!

When I go to Sydney I stay at a private residence but I think the Park Hyatt gets excellent reviews.

Enjoy Sydney-it's the best place in the world!

I guess the hotel you're looking for is the Park Hyatt. Not only is it of the standard you'd expect from a Hyatt, but it has a location that can best be described as amazuing. Ask for a view of the Opera House and Fort Denison and you will be looking clear down the best part of Sydney Harbour. Best of all, you are at the same level as the view... the Park Hyatt is NOT a high-rise building, as they were only allowed to build on this wonderful site if they built "in keeping" with the surroundings... and that meant a three-storey building. But there is no better location for a great view of Sydney, and you are so close to the Harbour Bridge that you are practically under the approach.

It's expensive... but you did ask for the best!

Definitely the Park Hyatt:
http://www.hyatt.com
Take an Opera King Room (AUD 750-800)or suite if you're feeling indulgent.

Thank you all very much. It is unanimous. I will definitely opt for the Opera King Room...I am not rich, but life is too short for bad hotels!

This will be a welcome indulgence after three weeks of safari. Also glad to hear that Qantas seems to be a top notch airline...just hoping for a half empty flight and video on demand and these would just be the icing on the cake.

Thanks again.

I am South African and visited NZ with my family recently, also flying Qantas but with a 4 night stopover in Sydney. We were very impressed with Sydney and felt that our stopover was a bit short - is there no way you can stretch your 3 nights a bit?

I think you will like Qantas - they are quite good. One thing is for sure, you will not go hungry! They overdo the catering a bit. Yes, they do have video on demand but their system is plagued with technical glitches! Prepare yourself for a mid movie "system reboot" or two...

Unfortunately, JNB - SYD is an extremely busy route, so do not put your hopes up for a half empty flight. By the way, as a matter of interest, South African Airways codeshares this route with Qantas (as Qantas does with SAA on JNB - PER). Not sure for how much longer, though, since SAA has joined Star Alliance, and Qantas is with One World.

Enjoy your stay in South Africa! You will love it.

Essay,

Unfortunately, 3 nights is the max for this trip in Sydney. However, I am a tour operator who sells luxury safaris to Southern (and Eastern) Africa. Since opening my own tour operation, I have upped my visits to Africa to twice per year, so I will have ample opportunity to spend more time in Australia in the near future if I continue using this routing!

The Four Seasons is also a wonderful hotel. Ask for a harbor view room. Perfect location and great service!

Also look at The Shangri La Hotel . It is in The Rocks close to everything and has had a facelift.Check out the Deluxe Grand Harbour View Rooms and the Horizon Club.