Hotel in Coogee
 

I need some advice on hotel choice in Coogee. We are visiting my husband's mother in April. I will arrive Easter Sunday and we'll be there for 3 nights, then we'll be back at the end of April for 2 nights. My mother-in-law lives in Maroubra - looks like there isn't much in the way of hotels there, so we're going to stay in Coogee. Normally I make all our arrangements myself, but because my travel agent was quoting a good rate for the Medina Coogee, I asked her to book it. Now that she's actually booking it, she can't get us in for the first 3 nights and she's recommending the Crowne Plaza Coogee. Of course, both that and the Medina are higher than what she originally quoted, so I'm not too happy.

She's quoting $165 CAD (that's about $160 AUD) - seems like a lot and it's definitely more than I wanted to pay. But I'm worried - are we likely to get a better rate if we wait? I don't want to find that we can't get a hotel room or end up paying even more $ - or even worse, we end up sleeping on the sofa bed in my mother-in-law's tiny apartment. Any advice? I've checked some of the discount sites and I don't see much in the way of cheap rates.

You are right when you say there are no hotels in Maroubra, and anyway Coogee is so much nicer. The Crowne Plaza is probably the best hotel in Coogee and $160 per night is pretty reasonable by Australian standards for a hotel. I just checked on the Crowne Paza web site and you won't get a better rate. In fact, during Easter, you will probably pay more the closer it gets, as many people come to Sydney for Easter holidays. If I were you , I would take the offer. The hotel is directly across the road from the beautiful beach and right in the middle of a strip of restaurants. I live close by so can vouch for the area. Trust me, you don't want to stay around Maroubra- nothing to see there.

Thanks Irenen. I agree that we don't want to stay in Maroubra, but we do need to be close to that area. A few years ago, we visited my mother-in-law and stayed in her apartment there for almost 2 weeks. She was in the hospital, but between hospital visits, we managed to see a lot of the city. We won't really be doing any sightseeing in Sydney on this trip - just need to check on her.

I realize that $165 is not outrageous for a hotel - although it is more than I usually pay. Mind you, we tend to travel in countries where our dollar goes further. I guess there's not a lot I can do about it at this point.

Thanks.

Susan, there used to be a Holiday Inn in Coogee, though it may well be one of the ones you have already mentioned, with a name-change (which seems to happen every other month in Sydney!) Before you proceed with the booking, however, do check it out; it was in a fine location right at the beach, and Holiday Inns are often not among the highest-priced of the chains.

The Holiday Inn changed its name to Crowne Plaza so it's the same hotel.

Thanks for the replies. We've ended up booking it. As my husband reminded me, the alternative could be staying with his mother in her tiny apartment! After flying for 24 hours or so, that's the last thing I'd want.

The reason for the increase is that the CAD has fared rather poorly against the AUD. The exchange rate has gone from .91 in the early fall to 1.04 now. Not so good for us, but at least with it being almost a 1 to 1 exchange, it'll make it easy understand what we're paying!