Rich

Can anyone recommend some reasonably priced apartments in Sydney close to the harbour suitable for 2 adults and 2 children.<BR>We are planning to be in Sydney for the New Year 2003-4 and want to make a booking quite soon.<BR>Last time we were there we stayed at the Sydney Marriot Hotel, which was a great hotel and highly recommended.<BR>We have seen the Goldsborough Apartments has anyone stayed there recently?<BR><BR>Thanks<BR><BR>Rich

Mary

I would not reccomend the Goldsborough apartments. I stayed there last year and found tem very dark,noisy and ordinary. I can reccomend the Medina Grand - (great location) or Wolloomooloo Waters - both are in good locations , well equipped and are close to the harbour for sightseeing and enjoying New Year

Chris

Hi Rich<BR>My family stayed at Star City Apartments at Darling Harbour. It was great, but I don't know what the price will like for NYE (we paid $235 per night for a 2 bedroom apartment). The staff were all friendly and helpful. I would also look at the Grand Mercure (if you are an Accor member can get it cheaper) but there is no restuarant at these apartments.<BR><BR>I agree with previous poster about Goldsborough Apartments.<BR><BR>Good Luck

Serena

My husband and I stayed at the Goldsborough apts in March and while they are not luxurious we found it to be comfortable and very functional. The location is very good and the prices are reasonable for an apt and in that location. The bathroom was big and has a washer/dryer and the kitchen was fine. They have a nice pool and there are restaurants close. Some apartments are on the expressway side and away from that would be good. We didn't find it noisy. If you're able to spend more, the Medina apartments are a step up and generally are well located. I like the ones in Darling Harbor and Double BAy. Double Bay is lovely if you're staying for more than a few nights. It's out of the hassle of the central city and a beautiful 10 minute ferry ride to Circular Quay. Serena

Rich

Many thanks for your replies....I will pursue all your recommendations.<BR>If I should need any further advice, I now know where to come<BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Rich

John in Miami

We stayed in the Medina Grand last August. I would highly recommend it. Here is a link to pictures of our room there - http://www.sd4.com/australia/picbody1.asp?t=Y&amp;m=1&amp;s=8<BR><BR>Medina has a new location just a block or so off Darling Harbour. I think it's called Medina Harbourside or something like that. Just do a google search for Medina and Sydney and it's sure to pop up.<BR><BR>John in Miami<BR><BR>

Alan

Hi, Rich!<BR>You will, indeed, need to be &quot;rich&quot; to stay at one of the apartments mentioned above on New Year's Eve.... when you talk of hotels near the harbour, and you are planning around New Year, then forget the idea of &quot;reasonably priced&quot;... one lady recently on this forum was quoted around $AUD900 for New Year's Eve at the Hyatt!<BR>The waterfront hotels will fill up so fast at this time of year that you may already have left your run too late at the best of them. The Goldsborough Apartments are not at all well-located, and I think you might do better -- and cheaper -- and have more chance of getting a vacancy if you went for something on the north side of the Bridge, in North Sydney or McMahon's Point. This is only a six-minute train ride or twenty-minute walk across the Bridge from the best of Sydney's hotels, and you are still on the harbour foreshores... yet, since they are not &quot;in&quot; the city, hotels around here fill up less quickly and are more affordable. If you contact Harbourside Apartments in McMahon's Point, they might just be able to accommodate you, only you should be prepared for a steep hike on their otherwise-reasonable &quot;rack rate&quot; (quoted on the net) if you want New Year's Eve. <BR>The website to check out the details is http://mcmahonspointnorthsydney.aust.../39299/intl/en. I note that you can't book for New Year's Eve on this site yet (it only books up to 365 days in the future), but you might well consider telephoning the hotel direct and stealing a march the people who are waiting on the net bookings to open.<BR>If you don't have any luck with any of the advice above, and you are willing to change your specifications slightly, another possibility might be to book a family room (no kitchen, alas)at the Grand Hotel in Hunter Street. It's not on the water, but it is very well-located, but not a well-known tourist hotel, so it is unlikely to be booked out as yet. AND, a year ago, they told me that their &quot;price hike&quot; for New Year is only an extra $30... which should make the total accommodation cost per night no more than around $AUD150.<BR>Good luck, and if none of this works out, write again.... we are sure to be able to think of something for you, without you having to pay that $900 fee!

Rich

Hi Alan &amp; John,<BR>Many thanks for your information.<BR>Based on your advice to book soon, I have made a reservation. I chose the Waldorf City apartments on Liverpool st. And I will continue to look for something perhaps a little better if necessary,in fact I am still pursuing the Medina Grand and checking out the Harbourside.Which as you said it won't let me book yet.<BR>But for now I have a booking that's the main thing.The total cost for 7 nights is $1835 which is about &pound;735. I know I can cancel the Waldorf if necessary, but do you guys know anything about the Waldorf?<BR>I have a book here that recomends it.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Rich

Alan

Hi, again, Rich!<BR>I didn't know anything at all about the Waldorf, so I checked it out on the net, and, actually, I think it seems to be a very good deal.... expensive for its &quot;iffy&quot; location in &quot;normal&quot; times, but since you're talking about New Year's Eve, they seem to have kept their price hike to a pretty reasonable level. You are wise, however, to keep an eye on the others, especially the one in North Sydney (I can't see the Medina beating the Waldorf for value at the price you've been quoted, and, anyway, its position is really no better than the Waldorf). <BR> <BR>Liverpool Street is by no means a great area, and my guess is that you will be right down the bottom, near Dixon Street.... so I would say that the Waldorf is smack in Chinatown, which means that it's going to be noisy and crowded (with the predictable effect on street cleaning), but the positive side of all this is that you are surrounded by cheap Asian eateries (including a great cake shop), and the area is so well-populated that you will seldom feel unsafe. The streets around here are very narrow, and it's a bit of a climb to the George Street Cinems strip and the best shops... only seven or eight minutes, however. You are VERY close to the entrance to Darling Harbour, and on New Year's Eve there are a lot of things happening around there. It is, however, a half-hour walk to Circular Quay and the Rocks to the east, and a ten-minute walk to Sydney terminal Station to the west. If I were staying a week, I think I would prefer North Sydney, but I do admit that the Waldorf seems to have a lot going for it. Good luck! And, if you DO choose the Waldorf, will you post again and tell us your impressions after staying there... Fodor's gets quite a few requests for apartments in Sydney, and we really need to have some alternatives to offer than the inevitable vastly-overpriced Medina and Quay West!

Ivan

<BR>Rich, we rented a two-bedroom apartment next to the uber chic W hotel at Fingerwharf for around &pound;20 per person per night last month. It was a dream location for us. Our apartment overlooked the skyline of Central Business District, Botonical garden,the marina and the harbour bridge. There are nice restaurants by the wharf and if you want livier bars, Kings Cross is only 10 minutes walk away. A bus stop is right in front of hotel which takes you to Circular quay and The Rock. Taxi ride to C.B.D or anywhere downtown is around &pound;4, if there is four of you, it works up &pound;1 per head , it is cheaper than a ride in London underground. If you prefer walking, 10 to 15 minutes lovely walk across the Botanical garden to C.B.D. The apartment was well-designed and spacious(we threw a party for twenty there once). I suspect the price for New Year will double or triple. But the location itself worth the extra.

Rich

Hi ..<BR>Just received a price from the Medina Grand and its about 30% more than the Waldorf, I think the Waldorf is in a reasonable area its close to the mono rail and within walking distance of the main sights. We stayed at the Marriot last time and its not so far from there.<BR>So it should be closer to restaurants, and presumably a bit noisier as has been suggested.<BR>But we plan to hire a car and get outside the main city for a few days too.<BR>Blue mountains is the obvious place to go any other suggestions for my planning?<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Rich

Alan

Hi, Rich!<BR>It's me again... I just can't leave this one alone, can I? I am glad you turned your back on the Medina, as that really is an outrageous price. I think you have pretty-well decided on the Waldorf (yes, it isn't far from the Marriott, but the environment is very different; if you can remember the layout of Sydney, leaving the Marriott, you would walk straight down the hill towards the shops (not the cathedral) about as far as you can go... and there's the Waldorf), so this last comment is for anyone else who is following this thread and is discouraged that you might have to spend $1800 for an apartment for a week in Sydney. How does $AUD350 a week sound, in a NICE hotel in a not-so-nice area which, however, has a bus going past the door that will have you in the heart of Sydney in ten minutes? This is the Tudor Hall hotel -- a piece of old England in the middle of Redfern, which is more like a piece of old Harlem -- and there is a website for it on www.tudorhall.com.au. I can't imagine that they would be booked out for NEXT New Year's Eve quite yet, and I would also be surprised that the New Year hike would amount to much. As with most of my &quot;highly-recommended&quot; choices, this one is available only through the hotel itself, and not (as far as I am aware) through the booking brokers.

Rich

Hi Alan,<BR>I guess you must live in Sydney....right??<BR>Anyway I will investigate the www.tudorhall.com.au. website it seems remarkably cheap !!<BR>I will have my kids too, my daughter will be an impressionable 13 yrs old so I need to be sure we are safe and in a reasonable not seedy district, hence the reason for avoiding Kings Cross. However if it was just my wife and I it wouldn't matter at all...anyway I will investigate, thanks for your info and I will let you know what happens.<BR><BR>Cheers <BR><BR>Rich

aussie

Surely it would be much better for Rich and his family to be staying within walking distance of the harbour and all the action on New Years Eve rather than having to rely on public transport??<BR>Also I certainly would not consider Redfern a suitable enviroment for an impressionable 13 year old.

liz

What about the old Park Apartments which have had a name change but are just near Hyde Park, on the eastern side, in Sydney and within walking distance of just about everything. I went past them only last month and thought to myself that I must take note of the name change but have promptly forgotten it. <BR>I stayed there, al beit a few years ago, and was very happy with them and I am sure that they would be in the moderate price range. <BR>I am not sure that Kings Cross would do any harm to a 13 year old unless they were out and about at 1AM. Its not the place it once was. <BR>What about some of the apartment places in and around Elizabeth Bay and Double Bay? <BR>The main reason that I thought I would write in and join this discussion was because of the mention by Rich of &quot;renting a car&quot;. That is the absolute last thing you would want to do in Sydney Rich because 1/ Sydney has such a terrific Public Transport system 2/ has a dreadful parking problem 3/ if you want to get out of the city then find somewhere to stay outside the city i.e. The Blue Mountains would - you would be better just getting out to Paramatta and renting a car there for a couple of days and going up to the mountains from there and staying in the mountains. Far better than trying to get in and out of the city wherever you may be staying. I have spent a lot of time in Sydney and would not dream of having a car there. <BR>I would second Alan's idea of seeing what you could get in North Sydney in the way of accommodation really as there are many wonderful apartment hotels there with fabulous views of the harbour and easy access to everything ( just doesn't have the same address name as the Rocks) then my second choice would be the Park Apts ( whatever their name is now). <BR>

Rich

Hi Liz,<BR>Thanks for the advice, I suppose we could stay in Sydney for a few days over the new year and have a couple of days outside, Parramatta for example.<BR>Ok; it seems worth looking in to.<BR>Any suggestions for apartments in Parrammatta. I suppose what you say about traffic makes a lot of sense. <BR>I hate traffic jams so its an option, I will study the Blue mountains accomodation too.<BR><BR>Thanks Liz<BR><BR>Rich

liz

G'day Rich<BR>Its been a long time since I was in Paramatta and I am grateful for that fact. Paramatta, unless it has changed significantly, would be my choice of getting a rental car from as you can get there from Sydney on the train very easily thereby saving your mental state because of not having to drive from Sydney central to Paramatta. My choice of places to stay would either be up in the mountains or, depending on what you want to do outside of Sydney, on the Hawkesbury River, or in fact the Southern Highland towns of Bowral or Mittagong where you would be close to Canberra or actually in Canberra itself, which is worth a trip. <BR>Alan is the one with the most up-to-date information about those areas and hopefully he will chime in here with some ideas. Also he can tell me if in fact I belittle Paramatta too much and it has become a destination!!!!<BR>

Alan

Hi, yet agin, Rich!<BR>Don't stay in Parramatta, mate... Liz's memory is correct and current... it is certainly NOT a destination! There are some quite-nice hotels there, but many are far enough away from the railway stations to make taxis or rent-a-cars necessary, and, frankly, the area is not a scenic one -- just a dormitory suburb nowadays, and I think the hotels are aimed at conference parties rather than tourists. <BR>King's Cross is not a good choice for accommodation with a 13-year-old daughter, although it's not a &quot;taboo&quot; area for a visit, and it is only late at night that it is better kept away from. Redfern is, as &quot;Aussie&quot; above notes, not a great suburb, but the hotel I suggested to you is not near the tacky part... actually, it's in quite a pleasant area with old houses on one side, a few boutique shops on the other, and a park nearby. I don't think you would find anything there offensive to a child. And, as I said, the bus route 310 goes right past the door... a frequent service, no more than ten minutes to the city. Public transport on New Year's Eve is well-utilised and I am sure every bus will be near-full, but the Transport Authority increases the frequency of the services to accommodate this, and on that night buses and trains continue to run till about three in the morning. Don't hire a car unless you plan to get out of the city area (e.g. to the Blue Mountains) and even then, don't hire one in Sydney, but go to your destination by train and then hire one &quot;on the spot&quot; to get around. There's nowhere to park in Sydney, and on New Year's Eve many of the roads are blocked (they even closed off the Harbour Bridge for the latest celebration) and the streets are packed with pedestrians.<BR>Did you check those Nort Sydney apartments to find out their rates? They still seem to be the best of all options (if not the best value for money), and my bet is that you would start off every morning with a brisk walk across the Harbour Bridge, which would be one of the nicest ways of getting to know Sydney.<BR>

liz

Thanks Al, I knew you would come through. I wouldn't have slept at night if I thought someone went and stayed in Paramatta at my instigation. <BR>You are from Wales aren't you Rich? I think too that I read that you have been to Australia before?????? If that is the case then I would stay in Sydney for the NY celebrations as they are fantastic and be fairly close so that I could walk but to the hotel, then if you give us some idea of what you like doing and what you want to see we could perhaps make some good suggestions from which you could pick what suits you best. <BR>Cheers<BR>L <BR>

WMR

We stayed at the Waldorf week of Xmas 1999-2000, in a 2 BR/2BA apt. - highly recommend it. It is close to Chinatown, but not quite there. Very close to Darling Harbor (1 block), around corner from George Street Cinema. Great access to DH, aquarium, maritime museum; ferry stop at DH. Easy walk to Hyde Park, and we also walked to/from CBD and beyond. It is not luxury, but it is clean, great staff, good location, easy access to public transport when you need it, and 2 blocks from a Woolworth's that has full market in the basement. If you end up there, ask for apt. on high floor on north side of building for a view - nothing like you get closer to Rocks/Bridge, but a view of Sydney nonetheless.