We'll be visiting Australia in April, and we're thinking of booking the Russell hotel for our stay in Sydney. There seems to be mixed reviews and opinions. Fodor's hotel rants and raves has many rants, but the conversations on this board seems to be very positive. Could we discuss this hotel one more time? Thanks Kathy

Funny you mention the Russell. Just yesterday I was looking into possibibly staying there, but reading the reviews on Frommer's, Fodor's and Trip Advisor put me off the place.

A close friend of mine stayed there about a year ago and absolutely loved it, but I think I'm going to play it safe and look elsewhere just the same.

I usually take reviews with a grain of salt, but there do seem to be an overwhelming amount of poor reviews for this particular hotel.

Sorry Kathleen, I was mistaken. Trip Advisor only had one bad review (out of five).

I just looked in the archives here on this forum, and the reviews are pretty good. It appears that the biggest complaints are noise, lack of elevator, and no AC. I'm a really light sleeper, so noise would be a problem for me.

Apparently, the location is wonderful though, so that's certainly a consideration.

It'll will be interesting to see the comments you get here. I may have to take another look as well.

Good luck with your travel plans.

Thanks for answering Melnq8. I really want to stay in the rocks area because of the location, and this hotel seems reasonable in price as well. Character can be a good thing, and the reviews all seem to indicate that this hotel is unique in many ways. So unless the posts to follow are very negative, I will probably book this hotel.

We loved our stay there. The location can't be beat and it has lots of charm. The price was really good at the time too.

However, if you're looking for all the amenities of a big corporate chain, you should look elsewhere

Hi, Kathleen!

The noise that is someyimes mentioned when people talk about the Russell is the train line which runs between it and the Four Seasons Hotel... both hotels suffer from it, but, the Four Seasons being closed-up and air-conditioned (as well as going much higher!), you's be less likely to notice it from your room. However, for my money, I would take the Russell any day over the Four Seasons. Or just about anywhere else in Sydney. It's full of character, absolutely beautiful old architecture (built in the 1860s or thereabouts), more like a medium-sized mansion than a hotel, and very uniquely-Australian.... which is NOT true of the Marriott, the Mercure, the Four Seasons, the Holiday Inn, the Hyatt, etc. etc. etc. The location is also absolutely the best, bar none, of any hotel in Sydney. And often there are amazing bargains at this hotel on wotif.com.au; just two days ago you could get a double there for $AUD120, which is laughably cheap. The lack of air-conditioning will not be a problem in April, which is the nicest month of the year in Sydney (actually, I can't imagine it would be much of a problem at most times of the year, as those solid old buildings control temperature with amazing effectiveness). There's a website on the Russell with a photograph to help you decide.

I really think that the negatives you have heard about the Russell are kargely from that particular kind of tourist who wants the hotel he is staying in to be exactly like the one back home -- everything done for you at the touch of a button, everything familiar and unsurprising. Everything vanilla. The Russell isn't right for those people.... but if you want to savour the character of Sydney and be right in the heart of the best things Sydney has to offer, the Russell is, in my opinion, number 1 on a very short list. A few others that you might like to try as alternatives: the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, the Harbour Rocks Hotel, the Australian Hotel. All are in the Rocks, all are traditional old buildings full of character (the Lord Nelson Brewery is even older than the Russell), and all are good value for money because they are shunned by the tourist who looks for the ambience that comes with snappy service from a uniformed concierge and express check-outs. Aussies are nice, laid-back people, but they aren't much for bowing and scraping to your every whim (they will usually do a favour if asked, however).

I hope that's swayed you in favour of the Russell; but if that hasn't done it, here's one final pitch. Get hold of a map of Sydney. The Russell is on the corner of Globe St and George St North. They got that location because they had their choice, 150 years ago. The Mercures and Marriotts and their cousins turned up 140 years later, and took what was left.

Thank you all for your replies. The Russell sounds just right for want we want--which is lots of Australian charm, character, and the great location it offers. I've looked at the Russell's website many times, been to the hotel booking site that Alan mentioned, and can only hope that deal is still there when I go back. If not, I'll book anyhow.
Besides Sydney and the sunshine coast (for a conference) we'll also be heading for Adelaide and the Barossa. More questions to follow on those places, but in another posts. Kathy