We are taking our 3 children to Noosa in January and on our way back to Melbourne have decided to spend 4 days in Sydney seeing the sights and Lion King for eldest daughters birthday.
Our pre requisites are spacious apartment accomodation and an outdoor pool.Most apartments in Sydney seemto have indoor pools which are great most of the year but on a steamy January day probably not the best.Using the Entertainment book we can get a very reasonable rate at the Star city casino hotel in a 3 bedroom apartment and yes it has an outdoor pool.
My question is this-the Darling Harbour area is regularly slammed on this board for being touristy and ugly.Would it be a terrible place to be based for 4 days?Also has anyone stayed at the Star city Hotel and if so any comments?
Thanks!

Hi, shooshy!
Well, shooshy, I am one of the most persistent "slammers" of Darling Harbour accommodation, so I guess it's up to me to start the ball rolling.... but, strangely enough, in your particular case I think you are probably making a wise choice! The point is, surely, that on your holiday you will need to cater to the children's interests as much as your own, with that AND the time of year in mind, Darling Harbour suddenly starts sounding like a good option. I wouldn't say that if you were coming at any other time of the year, but, really, Darling Harbour is quite a haven for kids and families for most of January. There are activities in the open areas nearly every day. As well, you will be very close to the Maritime Museum and the Powerhouse, which your kids will love, and to the Sydney Aquarium, which you will all enjoy. Madame Tussauds is, I think, also nearby. Star City has several budget eating areas, which is another consideration when you're feeding a family. The main thing wrong with Star City is that it's not exactly IN Sydney at all, and to get to the centre of things you will need to take either a bus, Sydney's one remaining tram, the monorail, or a taxi. You sound like you may be too large a family for a taxi, so it's my guess that you will go for the monorail or the tram, both of which appeal to kids. These are more expensive than they ought to be, which offends me, but on the holiday of a lifetime, this probably won't count for much. Remember that when you travel by train, bus, or ferry you pay only for one child, even if you have a dozen of them.... that might help the budget a bit.
So, in short, relax! You've made a very good choice, and I am sure that you and the children will be delighted with your plans. Don't forget the sunscreen!

Thanks Alan for your comments!Our accomodation choices when we travel with our kids are often different than if we are travelling as a couple.Darling Harbour in January sounds really fun and lively.We are looking forward to it!

Only disagreeing slightly with Alan but I work in this area and REGULARLY travel from Pyrmont (Darling Harbour) into the city on foot. It is a very pleasant 10 minute walk across the Pyrmont Bridge and into the main shopping area of town. Of course at night it is probably safer to jump on the monorail but I'm not convinced it is completely unsafe. But it really is not that bad and not that far from anywhere - for example although Circular Quay has the Opera House and Harbour Bridge it is about the same walking distance into the main shopping area of town - and believe me THAT area is really touristy.

Darling Harbour gives you a marvelous array of restaurants both at Cockle Bay and Harbour Side and all around the Pyrmont area. Star City Apartments are quite good and try and get a room with some sort of view - and although it is part of the Casino (groan) there are a number of restaurants located within the complex which is great when you are really tired and don't feel like going far to eat. There is also a ferry that leaves from nearby so it is quite good to get around to say Circular Quay or make a trip to historic Balmain rather than going by land.

Remember, Pyrmont (which is where Star City is) is a suburb and a great number of people live here permanently so although a lot of people come here as tourists a lot of local people live, eat, shop and work here all the time as well the businesses, restuarants and shops are starting to reflect that.

Hi, again!
Danielle is absolutely right about the pleasant ten-minute walk across the Pyrmont Bridge, and I don't think you will need to concern yourself with safety in that area in lively January... it's full of families with kids until around 10 p.m. My one reservation about the bridge wlak is the afternoon storms which spring up around the time of year you are going... it's a very open walk for that ten minutes!
However, notwithstanding this small point, you can see from Danielle's reply that you are making a fine choice. Have a great time, and I bet I pass you by sometime with MY family in tow!

Hi Shooshy,
I agree with the above posts. I have stayed at Star City Apartments on about 3 different occasions with my family (2 kids and hubby). I found the apartments spacious and great. We stayed during January and it was fabulous. Lots to do around Darling Harbour (sydney aquarium a must, also try one of the cruises in the harbour). Star City was good. The service (housekeeping) was good. I'm not sure if your smokers or not, but I strongly suggest, if you are not, to book a non-smoking room. In each occasion we stayed, they put us in smoking rooms (even though we had booked non-smoking) and the smell was unbearable. Mind you, on request they moved us to a non smoking apartment with no drama's. (this probably sounds bizarre thing to mention!!!!!!). The outdoor pool was nice too!

Most of all, enjoy your stay!

Thanks all for your encouraging remarks!I am feeling good about my decision to stay at Star City.Chris,thanks for the tip about requesting a non-smoking apartment.I will certainly follow up on that.We are getting excited about all the fun things to do in Sydney!
Shooshy