This hotel is ok value for a cheap night / layover close to City / Airport / Train.
Don't expect luxury or great service, but rooms are adequate and reasonably clean.
For convenience and price (and 1 night only) this works well.
I stayed as I was attending a function close by and was only in town for a night.
Central rooms, whilst a little claustrophobic (no windows) are probably better for street noise.
I found this place very interesting - a mix of the old and new. Its rooms are charming and well appointed - gives you that sense of travel back in time feeling. Depending on which floor you are on, it may be quiet or loud as the hotel has bars, restaurants and is known for brewing its own beer. Live bands play there as well.
Its location was pretty central - walking distance to a lot of Sydney's attractions and CBD and accessible to most of the stuff you want to see and do in Sydney. The only downside is that thi splace has no elevators. If you are travelling with heavy luggage which we wer, it's a challenge taking this up and down your room.
Due to a flight delay, we arrived a day later. We duly informed the hotel by email, the day before, but they said the reception closes at 18.30, and my email arrived 30 minites later...
Actually, the reception is a hole in a wall, and on the other side there was a rude woman that, when you ask for the manager, says: "the manager is me!, You won't talk to anyone else!"
The hole in the wall and the room are at the third floor (at the floow below, a thai restaurant). Elevator not always available. To reach the room, I had to move an ironing board, that was in the middle of the corridor.
Tired after a long flight, I jumped on the bed and crashed in the wall: the bed was on wheels!
No view, just some light from a horrible window. Orrible bath, you wouldn't touch anything. Taps dripping, mouldy shower courtain, basic furniture, that was new when my grandma got married.
My girlfriend and me tried to console ourselves: after a sleep, we said, things will be better. But that night, it was karaoke time at the thai restaurant! (I've been told is not an uncommon event, there). And so, thay and chinese traditional songs had sung till late night.
Would I recommend this place to a friend? I wouldn't be bad enough to recomment it to an enemy!
We booked a deluxe double for 4 days on a recent visit to Sydney. The room was very small and fronted a busy street. The reception clerk upgraded us to a deluxe triple at a lower rate that was very nice and spacious with a fireplace, crown moulding and a tin ceiling. We were in the refurbished area with carpets so did not hear noise made on wooden floors, but the music in the bar did last until about midnight although I did not find it to be a problem. Reception is open until 6pm on weeknights and 9pm on weekends so if there is a problem after this time it can be difficult. We did not find this hotel to be centrally located but it was only a couple of blocks from the Museum station and close to Central station and we took the train to everything in just a matter of minutes with a week long red line rail pass (not the Explorer bus) that allowed us to travel on the train, bus and ferry. If you prefer modern and streamlined this is not the hotel for you. This is a comfortable, bit shabby boutique heritage hotel which we found to be just right for us as we tend to avoid the high rise commercial hotels in favor of much smaller boutique types.
What a dump....even if it is cheap you still expect to be able to not hear every single noise in the next room and in the corridor!! We had a late night and came back to our room at about 2am, had just gone to sleep when the very rude English tourists in the next room decided to party until 3.30am. We tried to call reception, and the after hours number to complain but there was no answer. The room was OK but pretty shabby. It was money NOT well spent. There are plenty of better places to stay in Sydney for about the same price.
I stayed here during a recent trip to Sydney to watch the rugby, had I the ability to predict the outcome of the game I would have stayed in Melbourne.
The staff I encountered were very freindly and helpfull and whilst I did not eat there, I noticed upon my arrival that the restuarant and bar downstairs were full which is a good indication I guess.
The room itself was very small however the bed was very comfortable and my room was not situated on the outer sides of the building. This provided a quiet nights sleep with no street noise however there was absolutely no view to speak, something that I hardly regard as important.
The price was just under $80 a night and due to the fact it was over the weekend and that the hotels location is central and within walking distance to many points of interest, I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is not fussed by basic but clean amenities.
