Sydney Hotels
 

If anyone is familiar with the following Sydney hotels I would love some advice on which one you would recommend:

- Hotel Ibis Darling Harbour
- Victoria Court Hotel (Potts Point)
- Kirketon Hotel (Darlinghurst)
- Hotel Altamont (Darlinghurst)

They are all in the same general price range. I am looking for a basic hotel in a convenient location. Thanks.

Have you checked on the Holiday Inn in the Rocks? We stayed there last year and the location is so convenient! I know we got a discounted rate, but don't remember how ... Entertainment book, AAA, maybe?

That's a great suggestion. Which Holiday Inn is that? Is it the Old Sydney one on George Street?

We stayed at The Langham, newly refurbished, wonderful location/atmosphere/room/restaurants/service.

I checked my photo album, and it is the Old Sydney location. There's a nice pool on the roof with a view of the Opera House. Across the street is a good visitor's center. Check there for coupons. If you walk out the back door, you come upon the office for the Rocks Walking Tour.

Thanks for the ideas. I checked but unfortunately those two are $100 more per night than the 4 I mentioned above. Anyone familiar with those?

How much do you want to spend per night (in Australian Dollars)?

How long are you planning to stay?

what are you planning to do while in sydney - eg, do you need to be close to the city, in the city, close to transport.

Also, how far in advance do you need to book? if you can hold out, you'd probably get something cheap on one of the last minute sites, depending on what time of year you want to go as well.

The Ibis at DH is ok - nothing fancy. Location is ok, but you'll either have to walk into the city, or get the light rail or mono rail (adds a little bit as neither are overly cheap)

We stayed at Regents Court in Potts Point, has a roof garden with great view of Sydney. Walkable to the Opera House and close to metro. Loved it.

Convenient location? Do you mean convenient to other places you might want to go, or convenient to public transport? Darlinghurst is probably better for the latter. The Ibis is the other side of DH and no buses close by, though maybe there is the light rail?
How much do you want to spend and what do you count as the must haves for a "basic hotel".

Have you considered the Alishan in Glebe?
http://www.check-in.com.au/Sydney/Al...Guesthouse.htm

Never stayed there myself only spent time on the gorgeous balcony with friends who were. Rooms/bathrooms small but well kept. Perhaps it might appeal.
Glebe is a cool area (lots of cheap eateries) just 20 mins (max) from Circular Quay.

Thank you for the tips. The Alishan and Regents Court look great. We were hoping to spend less than 175 AUD per night. We'll be there 4 total nights. I'd like to tour the Opera House, go to the zoo, climb the Harbour Bridge, visit a petting farm (for koalas and kangaroos) and then head to the beaches.

It would be nice to be either walkable to places or close to public transport, and to have dinner options nearby -- so the 2 hotels mentioned above sound ideal.

The rooms don't have to be big or fancy, just clean and have a private bath.

My partner and I are staying at Novotel Darling Harbour this weekend 14/15th.

It's not really a holiday because we only live 10k's away but it's for our first anniversary so we thought we'd live it up for two nights.

And it's not all that expensive because they're running specials during April. From April 1 to April 30.

We booked through Accor Hotels phone
1300 656565 and ask for " Darling Harbour Holiday Specials".

Here's a list of the specials which appeared in a newspaper advertisment;

Grand Mercure Appartments One Darling Harbour from $308 a night. 02 9563 6666.

Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour from $180 a night. 02 8217 4000.

Novotel Darling Harbour $214 a night 02 9934 0000.

Mercure Hotel Ultimo Sydney from $139 a night. 02 9211 1499.

Hotel Ibis Darling Harbour overnight accomodation from $145 a night. 02 9563 0888.

We upgraded to a harbour view at Novotel DH for no extra charge.

All include free breakfast for either one or two except for Hotel Ibis. Most have free parking.

Nevets

Hello again - when are you going to be here? Have just checked wotif.com.au and there are plenty of options under $175 between now and 8 May - many in places much smarter than the Alishan!

If price is supremely important then the Ali is still worth considering. But if you are happy to spend $30-40 more then you can doubtless get better value for money.

Bear in mind that Sydney has loads and loads of hotels and that moving into May, and our winter, unless there is some mega event on, then there is likely to be spare capacity and good deals to be had.

My choice would be North Sydney Harbour View. Have seen various rates from $145 to $166. Basic room, good location, GREAT view.

I read on your other thread that you are travelling Dec/Jan. In that case the hotel I suggested will run at $1,250 per night over New Years Eve but in the early days of January they have the rooms listed at $166.00 per night at www.hotelclub.com.au.

We stayed at Victoria Court the first time we went. Two old three flates combined. Not a B&B with hosting- more of a small hotel with an okay cereal breakfast, but lovely street. very close to king's cross and its station, but not right there, so quiet. 2nd time, we tried the Chelsea. nearby, but a little farther from king's cross. a bit chicer. still no real hosting. residential, but very close to the great victoria street with all its restaurants, and to paddington.

None of the hotels you have mentioned is a poor choice, but, equally, none is in a very good area, either, which is why people are trying to direct you to other choices, such as the Old Sydney Holiday Inn (which is a great location, but, as you say, a long way "up-market" from the others (I have heard of people scoring rooms there for around $AUD170, but you'd have to be very lucky, I think).

If the choice HAD to be from the four you've mentioned, I would probably take the Ibis, but I have to say that I don't like those Darling Harbour hotels much at all, as they are well away from everything you want to see, and you're up for a light-rail or monorail fare just about every time you step outside your door. Still, it's certainly better than staying up in Victoria Street, which is just near King's Cross, the inner-city drug-and-sex centre of Sydney; and Darlinghurst is not much of an area, either (choosing between the Kirketon and the Altamont, I would say that whichever is closest to the city is the one to pick).

But surely there are a few hotels in your price range that are actually IN the city... these are probably the great-value-for-money places that DON'T have internet booking agents, so you won't know about them until you actually get here. They are generally a much better deal than the ones on the internet booking sites, as they can stand on their own feet and they don't need these agents to draw a clientele.

The best internet booking site for these "special" hotels would be www.wotif.com... but some of them don't even get onto this site. Occasionally, you will see a fantastic bargain there. If you're really lucky, you might even score a cheap room at the Russell (corner of George and Globe St, the Rocks), absolutely the best-located hotel in Sydney and probably in the southern hemisphere. It's a 160-year-old building which is elegant and lovely, but it doesn't have such niceties as an elevator or air-conditioning, so it is often shunned by the tourists who think this is more important than a location and ambience to die for. It may be above your range, but do, at least, have a look.

Others to look at might include the Australian Heritage, at the back of the Rocks (a B&B with shared baths, but it's absolutely the closest hotel to the Harbour Bridge, and within easy wlaking distance of some of the hidden treasure walking areas of Sydney), and the Harbour Rocks Hotel (which used to be an old hospital, and your bags are still taken upstairs via the dumb waiter which used to take trays of food). This last one has some rooms with views of Sydney Harbour.

If you can stand the thought of sharing a bath, the Grand Hotel in Hunter Street would probably come in at much less than any of your choices, and it has a location -- six minutes walk from the Rocks, a block from the GPO and Martin Plaza, and right near a subway entrance) which the Ibis could only dream about. It's a classy-looking building which has singles, doubles, triples, and family rooms, and a "pub" area downstairs.

More "regular", but another great location, is the Travelodge in Phillip Street.... only a block from David Jones (the nicest shop in Sydney), Hyde Park, and historic Macquarie Street, and surprisingly quiet (Phillip Street doesn't get a lot of through traffic, so when movies like "The Matrix" are shot in Sydney, they always use Phillip Street because it can be blocked off without disrupting any traffic flow). There's another Travelodge down near Wynyard Station, which is also quite well-located (not as good as the Phillip Street one, however) and might represent good value for money.

Yet another worth thinking about might be the Park Regis, near the Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building. Almost opposite this is yet another, called (I think) the Central Park Hotel, because Hyde Park is just a block away. One of my favourite budget choices, the Criterion, is in the same block, but I won't talk about it, as it is obviously well below the budget of someone considering the Ibis at Darling Harbour (I think the Criterion charges $AUD55 a double).

In general, stay away from anything that calls itself "Potts Point", as that probably means that it's in King's Cross, and remember that Darling Harbour, while quite modern and well-maintained, is NOT Sydney Harbour, and a view onto it is a case of looking at concrete freeways, an Imax complex, and convention centres, with a small (200 metres) strip of grey water separating them. A golden rule for visitors who see a hotel advertising "harbour view" is to ask "which harbour". When the hotel 'fesses up and admits that it looks at Darling Harbour, you know you're being "had" (in the case of the Ibis, however, on no account take a room facing west, as in that case you are looking straight into the afternoon sun, and your view will be the ugly industrial area of western Sydney.... an east-facing room will at least let you look at the city proper).

Sorry about the Holiday Inn. I had completely erased the price we paid from my mind because it is more than we usually spend! (I know we got a discounted rate, but room rates seem to be going up everywhere!) I think we justified the rate because we were able to fit our 2 kids in the same room with us which can be a problem in Sydney.

Here are a few recommendations to make it up to you:

For the petting farm, I recommend Featherdale. http://www.featherdale.com.au/
You can get a coupon at the visitor's center in the Rocks.

http://www.sydneyvisitorcentre.com/

We have never been to the Taronga Zoo because friends told us it wasn't substantially different than any other zoo. You might want to check out their website first.

We loved the Opera House Tour. We bought tickets to a symphony last time we were there. We sat in the seats behind the musicians (which were the cheapest and only ones left), but thought they were great! You are very close to the musicians and can watch what they're doing.

Take the jetcat to Manly. There is a terrific little pizza place called Wood and Stone across the street to the left of where you come out of the ferry station. They have interesting pizza and salads. My 11 year old son ordered kangaroo pizza last year!

Have a great time!

Thanks everyone -- these tips are so helpful!!

I probably should have mentioned I'll be there the week between Christmas and New Years. So hotels that are usually very reasonable are significantly more expensive and availability is already limited.

You have all given me some great suggestions and now I need to go check on Ali, wotif.com, hotelclub.com, Harbour Rocks Hotel, Park Regis, Central Park Hotel, Criterion, etc. Enough to keep me busy!

I'll make a note of Featherdale and Wood and Stone.

Thanks again!

cactus lady whoever told you Taronga Zoo is like any other zoo, must have walked around with their eyes closed. Taronga Zoo is set on millions of dollars of real estate with the greatest views of Sydney on the harbour. The zoo itself is wonderful and very well maintained and as you meander your way around and look up and see the harbour bridge or Opera house framed by foiliage, it takes your breath away. You will be gazing on the most fabulous harbour in the universe.

I would still go for Regents Court. It is a bit lively outside in the street but surely that is part of the fun of travel. Inside is a beautiful oasis and we have stayed there three times . We first stayed as several people told us about it and we have not been disappointed.. Mind you I could not stay in a stock standard hotel in a chain, however cheap the offer.