Cheap beachside accommodation, Sydney
 

I've been asked to recommend an inexpensive place to stay near a Sydney beach for a Chinese couple who haven't visited Australia before. As the request has arrived third-hand I can't be any more specific at this stage, but I thought that someone here may know of somewhere cheap-and-cheerful.

I did think of posting to Lonely Planet's forum and may yet do so, but in the interests of Chinese-Australian relations I wouldn't like to dump these poor people into a low-end backpacker fleapit. On the other hand, a double in a decent hostel might fit the bill.

Neil, what's cheap? there's a few reasonable places near Coogee, which is a great location anyway, but there's cheap and there's cheap!

Point taken, guykb, and I've asked for a bit more info in regard to price expectations and a few other things. I suspect that they'd be better off in the city anyway, unless they have reasonable English (not a common accomplishment in North China).

As regards price, if they were holidaying in their own country my guess is they'd expect to pay AU$15-50 per night, depending on standard of hotel and time of year, so for this purpose I'm interpreting "cheap" as less than $100 a night.

Neil, there's a hostel right opposite the ferry wharf at Manly.... if they are hostel-type people, that might fill the bill. It's a rather good compromise, as they're right in the middle of some of the best beach areas in Sydney, but they're not stuck out in the suburbs. Coogee would probably be nice, but my memory is that when we looked up hotels and B&Bs in that area for a previous poster, the prices were, to put it mildly, a bit steep. Especially when you consider that, apart from the beach itself, Coogee hasn't a great deal to offer.... and it's not exactly an exciting bus trip to town!

Alan, do you happen to know the name of that hostel? Thanks!

Just did a google search; this will be it: The Wharf Backpackers, 48 East Esplanade, Manly, 9977 2800.