which properties do people prefer; starwood, hilton, hyatt, or non-chain? i have stayed at the westin in mel before, as well as the both hiltons and the sheraton in syd. i enjoyed the westin and the sheraton very much. hiltons in sydney need work. i am gold with starwood and hilton, and diamond with hyatt. where will i get the best return for status? i am going to be in mel the 12th through the 18th of january for the open, and then in syd from the night of the 18th to the 22nd.

thanks for your help.

The Inter-continental in Sydney is very nice.

The Park Hyatt in Sydney is my favorite. Very nice room and an awesome location under the bridge.
The Observatory is also quite nice, although my opinion may be coloured by the fact that they upgraded me to an enormous suite last time I stayed there. Apparently there is another Bob Pratt who is a very regular guest :-)

Bob

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pointsgirl:
The Inter-continental in Sydney is very nice.</font>

Mine too would have to be the Sydney IC, Australia. It was built out of the old treasury building, thus having a great interior. The property is also near the Quay/ferries, overlooks the harbor, executive lounge breakfast spread was great, next to botanical gardens, if you pay for executive level room you get comp limo service to and from airport.

My most pleasant SYD stays have been at the Inter-Con and Observatory. When I'm on a budget, I book the Avillion, an excellent four-star.

I've heard good things about the new Radisson.

For a Sydneysider who's had to visit rooms in 4 and 5 star hotels, I think that the Ramada Renaissance is pretty good, excellent location near the Quay and near the financial areas, esp. the Stock Exchange. Rooms are well-appointed.

The Regent was refurbished in 2000, now very, very good.

Park Hyatt, as mentioned, quite stunning, esp. if you get a harbour/Opera House view room, but expensive!

Avillion is nice, good option if location is not that important.

Hilton's...need a lot of work, yes, outside is ugly.

Sheraton is good, nice park view. Rooms are quite big.

The Westin is on top of the GPO and is one of the newer 5 star properties, it's very stylish, prob. the best in Sydney.

(edited to incl. last paragraph).

[This message has been edited by Clement Lowe (edited 01-07-2002).]

I enjoyed my stay at the Park Hyatt Melbourne. Rooms were large, with great furnishings and very good service.