Miranda,I'm eagerly awaiting your trip report. We will be staying at Quay West Suites in early October and then going to Port Douglas, and I see you have just returned from doing the same. My immediate request is any insights you have on requesting a specific floor or location at Quay West. We are reserved for a harborview, one bedroom, on a high floor. How does that sound? Did they have a king bed available, or are they still limited to queens and twins?

We were thrilled with the view from our suite at the Quay West --- I can't recall our exact floor but we were above the 30th floor. Floor 33 maybe. I still recall walking into the room just off the plane from LA and being overwhelmed by the view of the harbor, the bridge, and the opera house. It was one of our trip's high points. We saw several stunning sunrises from our windows (we were up early thanks to the time change!) and truly enjoyed the view at all hours of the day and evening. It was great fun to watch the boats come and go, see the city lights come on the evening, etc. Definitely pay up for the best possible view. It sounds like you are in good shape with your current booking. (I'm assuming harbor view means the main city harbor, I'm pretty sure it does....you don't want to just be looking at the Darling Harbour area.)

We have a large family so were in a three bedroom unit. As I recall, the master bed was a king, but it might have been a queen.

The only flaw, and it was not major, was the carpet in our unit was dirty and was definitely in need of a servicing. And the rather expensive restaurant breakfast buffet was only okay, not anything fabulous. But our eyes were fixated on the view, so the carpet did not loom large. And we had a kitchen so ate most breakfasts in our room. The kitchen, by the way, was quite nice.

Other positives: We enjoyed the indoor swimming pool at the hotel. There was a nice view from it as well. The concierge was helpful in recommending local restaurants and some other matters. We ordered a couple of room service meals, and were pleased with the quality and service.

I do plan to post an official trip report eventually, hopefully fairly soon. In the meantime, please post any questions.

Our last night in Australia before we flew home we stayed at the Park Hyatt in Sydney. It had a more convenient location than the Quay West in that Circular Quay was literally right outside the hotel door. And we could see the water up close. But nice as the hotel was, I sure missed that Quay West view.

We stayed at Quay West Suites in July for a week and agree that the view is absolutely worth it-24/7

Miranda and drb....thanks so much for the encouraging and helpful information. Now I'm confident that we'll be happy at Quay West Suites. Just about three weeks till we leave....my feet are hardly touching the ground!

We stayed at the Grand Quay last month and were told that parts of the Quay West were being renovated. Perhaps if you request one of the renovated rooms it will be nicer.

mjs...thanks for the good information. I'll e-mail Quay West tomorrow about getting a renovated room. I'm so glad you told me.

Quay West was a marvelous place for us to stay. We were on the 25th (??) floor and could see forever, cruise liners coming in, people doing the Bridge walk/climb, and ferries heading all over Sydney. Our breakfast was extremely good, apartment was in excellent condition with a queen bed and two balconies.

For our first visit to Sydney it was truly marvelous to look out at the Opera House AND bridge and watch the world go by while sipping champagne!!