Typical Sydney hotels

[leck57]

3 hours ago, Auntiemomo said:

Yeah, and try to get them to answer your email.  Their booking website sucks, also.  Should have stayed a Holiday Inn.

 

Personally didn't have any trouble booking it when it changed to Rydges. Once there you essentially wouldn't notice any changes due to the ownership change.

[lyndarra]

You may find more information on The Australia/New Zealand board.

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by lyndarra

[chemmo]

6 hours ago, Auntiemomo said:

I've been looking at hotels in and around Circular Quay for next year, and their rates are through the roof.  I guess I'll keep looking but exploring other areas  with reasonable accommodations.  

 

When we were looking we ended up with a spread sheet as the differences in offerings can be great. For example, some include breakfast, some don’t, some have fridge/microwave or full kitchen others offer nothing. It really is important to identify what is important to you. The offerings in Sydney range from B&B to luxury apartments and villas with masses of hotels in the middle.

 

On our first visit (we thought it ought it would be our only one) we did opt for a room with a concierge lounge mainly for the view but it saved us a fortune on breakfasts and evening drinks! Free beer, wines, spirits and snacks for two between 7and 9pm is quite a saving. We also loved at the end of a busy day to just be able to go up in the lift and sit in comfortable chairs and savour the views. On our second visit we decided we wanted to be able to be partly self catering and chose accordingly.

 

The central harbour area is well connected by ferry and bus so looking a bit further out can be worthwhile both in terms of cost and also experience. For example, we loved the Manley Beach area. 

 

Whilst completing a spread sheet to choose a hotel may sound hard work we have found it so useful planning many city breaks. Sometimes it has made us really identify what we are (and are not) willing to pay extra for. 

 

Whatever accomodation you finally choose have a great time! 

[mahdnc]

13 hours ago, Auntiemomo said:

I've been looking at hotels in and around Circular Quay for next year, and their rates are through the roof.  I guess I'll keep looking but exploring other areas  with reasonable accommodations.  

 

Circular Quay is a very nice location but it can be very expensive as you figured out.   

 

We stayed in Sydney for several pre-cruise days for 2 different Solstice sailings in 2017 (Great Barrier Reef) and 2019 (New Zealand).  Both times were around the Christmas or New Year's holidays so it was a bit tricky to find hotels that didn't bust the wallet.

 

On our first cruise we stayed at what was then the Westin Sydney.  It has since been rebranded as the Fullerton Hotel Sydney.  It is a very nice hotel located in the Central Business District near a lot of shops, restaurants, and theaters. 

 

Here are two maps showing the hotels of where Cruise Critic members on our roll call stayed in Sydney (pre and post cruise): Jan 2 2018 Solstice and Dec 23 2019 Solstice.  It may give you some more ideas for places to look.

 

Last year, we were supposed to take one more cruise on Solstice out of Sydney on Jan 2 (South Pacific itinerary).  Of course it was cancelled so we never went.  For that sailing, we needed a pre-cruise hotel that included New Years Eve which elevated the hotel pricing.  We ended up booking the Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Central Park.  Too bad I can't give you any feedback on that hotel.

 

Good luck with your search.

 

David

Edited March 16, 2021 by mahdnc

[Auntiemomo]

34 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Circular Quay is a very nice location but it can be very expensive as you figured out.   

 

We stayed in Sydney for several pre-cruise days for 2 different Solstice sailings in 2017 (Great Barrier Reef) and 2019 (New Zealand).  Both times were around the Christmas or New Year's holidays so it was a bit tricky to find hotels that didn't bust the wallet.

 

On our first cruise we stayed at what was then the Westin Sydney.  It has since been rebranded as the Fullerton Hotel Sydney.  It is a very nice hotel located in the Central Business District near a lot of shops, restaurants, and theaters. 

 

Here are two maps showing the hotels of where Cruise Critic members on our roll call stayed in Sydney (pre and post cruise): Jan 2 2018 Solstice and Dec 23 2019 Solstice.  It may give you some more ideas for places to look.

 

Last year, we were supposed to take one more cruise on Solstice out of Sydney on Jan 2 (South Pacific itinerary).  Of course it was cancelled so we never went.  For that sailing, we needed a pre-cruise hotel that included New Years Eve which elevated the hotel pricing.  We ended up booking the Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Central Park.  Too bad I can't give you any feedback on that hotel.

 

Good luck with your search.

 

David

Thanks for posting this.  This will be a great help with my search.

[twsalso]

I stayed at the Four Seasons right on Circular Quay.  Great view of the harbor and walking distance to terminal and pier.  With two bags I felt I could have walked to the terminal but bell captain assured me that a taxi driver wouldn’t assault me for the short drive.  Actually all cruisers took taxis.  There is a new Hyatt Regency on the harbor not to be confused with the Park Hyatt on the Sydney Rocks.  The latter will cost $1,000.00 per night U.S.  Hyatt Regency in the $250.00 per night range.

 

One suggestion I have. All flights from the U.S. arrive at 6:30 tp 8:00 a.m. Buy the room for the night before or you will be sitting in a lobby after a 14 hour flight until 3:00 pm Sydney time.  Do not trust that the hotel will have a room for early arrival.  I checked in right away.  A couple on the same flight did not get a room until 4:00 pm and sat in the lobby for most of the time.

[mahdnc]

5 minutes ago, twsalso said:

One suggestion I have. All flights from the U.S. arrive at 6:30 tp 8:00 a.m. Buy the room for the night before or you will be sitting in a lobby after a 14 hour flight until 3:00 pm Sydney time.  Do not trust that the hotel will have a room for early arrival.  I checked in right away.  A couple on the same flight did not get a room until 4:00 pm and sat in the lobby for most of the time.

 

That is a good point. 

 

When we stayed at the Marriott at Circular Quay, they had an Early Arrivals Lounge which we made use of.  It had nice furniture (no bed), snacks, drinks, and a couple of bathrooms with showers which came in handy.  We then went out to sightsee Sydney while the hotel held our luggage until check in time.

 

Not sure how common an Early Arrivals Lounge is in the various Sydney hotels, but it's worth looking into as an alternative.

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

That is a good point. 

 

When we stayed at the Marriott at Circular Quay, they had an Early Arrivals Lounge which we made use of.  It had nice furniture (no bed), snacks, drinks, and a couple of bathrooms with showers which came in handy.  We then went out to sightsee Sydney while the hotel held our luggage until check in time.

 

Not sure how common an Early Arrivals Lounge is in the various Sydney hotels, but it's worth looking into as an alternative.

Yes we did the same at the Marriott.  I think we checked into our actual room around noon after perhaps a 2 hour wait in the lounge which had coffee/tea, water, juices, snacks.  And free internet.

Edited March 17, 2021 by TeeRick

[Manchester is blue]

We have booked an Air B and B. We  are staying in restored Victorian house in the Dawes Point area which we believe to be a short walk from the cruise terminal. 
For us, the advantage of renting our own house Vs staying in a hotel were the space afforded in a house. The use of our own kitchen with full,appliances, washer, dryer etc. 
there are some disadvantages,...no gym, or pool, however on balance the Air B and B looks as though it will work for us pre cruise,......providing of course, the cruise does cruise...😁

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, Manchester is blue said:

We have booked an Air B and B. We  are staying in restored Victorian house in the Dawes Point area which we believe to be a short walk from the cruise terminal. 
For us, the advantage of renting our own house Vs staying in a hotel were the space afforded in a house. The use of our own kitchen with full,appliances, washer, dryer etc. 
there are some disadvantages,...no gym, or pool, however on balance the Air B and B looks as though it will work for us pre cruise,......providing of course, the cruise does cruise...😁

 

Sounds like you have done your homework and found out what will work for you...With a city break pre or post cruise things like washer dryers are useful!

 

We also find on city breaks pre or post cruise we do not necessarily want hotel/fine dining. The option of a self catering breakfast or easy cook dinner can make a great balance with trying the local cuisine...

 

Hope you have a fantastic stay!

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

We have stayed in both the Marriott and Shangri La in Sydney on a land holiday with the Marriott at the start and after touring Brisbane and Cairns, we returned to Sydney and stayed at the Shangri La before flying home. This was the view from our corner room,