Starwood Preferred Guest - Wonder 'bout Down Under

Any rants or raves about specific Starwood properties in Australia - particularly in those cities where one has a choice between Westin and Sheraton (Melbourne) or all four brands (Sydney) or the relative merits of Sheraton Noosa vs Gold Coast Mirage?

It's a vacation, not work, so perks matter. Any experience with better platinum ups, amenities, great staff, etc.

My thanx in advance. Any/all rants and raves aprreciated.

You can do searches here, but any hotel in MEL is great. The Sheraton is across the river from downtown, and the Westin is right in the center of it all. The Sheraton is older, but still a great hotel, and it has a very good health club. The Westin is brand new and an excellent hotel. You can't really go wrong with either property.

The Westin in Sydney is great. The Sheraton on the park is very good too, but I like the Westin better.

I enjoyed my stay at the Mirage Gold Coast, but did not like the one in Port Douglas too much.

As mentioned a search will find my earlier comments.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bostom:
the relative merits of Sheraton Noosa vs Gold Coast Mirage?
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The question you asked is difficult to answer because it is very much like what are the relative merits of the Sheraton Boston vs the W New York. Although only a couple of hours apart, Noosa and the Gold Coast are two very different places, so I would be making my travelling decisions based on where i want to go over the hotel in either location.

The Mirage is a very nice hotel, located on the beach, but just a little north of Surfers Paradise (you could walk it, but it would take a while), and is just down the street from Sea World (New added attraction Pallazo Versace - the Versace Hotel is across the street). The Gold coast is an "exciting"/"Touristy" part of the world - where the hotels and buildings are very much part of the landscape, and is a place where if you want to go to clubs, sit on a beach, be glamourous is a great place.

The Sheraton Noosa is also on the beach (Technically it is joined to the beach by footbridge), and is located in very hip Hastings Street at Noosa - go to noosa if you want a more "cafe class" holiday, there are beautiful national parks and beaches around noosa, as well as cafes, bars etc.

So in summation - both hotels are good, the mirage is certainly a deluxe hotel, go for it if you want a action filled holiday - if you want to just be near a beach, lounging about holiday go for Noosa.

PS If you do go to noosa make sure you have transfers arranged as the airport is quite some distance south

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bostom:
... or the relative merits of Sheraton Noosa vs Gold Coast Mirage?
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I haven't been to any of those hotels within Australia, despite (or, more correctly, because of) living here.

However, my immediate reaction is to ask why you want to stay in either of those places. Noosa is a beach area where old people go to retire and die. (If you want that, you've got Florida.)

The Gold Coast is a collection of high-rise buildings on a beach which would have been very nice, were it not for all the high-rise buildings. (Think Honolulu.)

Sure, there are some theme parks on the Gold Coast too, but if you like roller coasters, you are much better off going to Busch Gardens, Magic Mountain, Cedar Point, etc, in the USA.

Noosa and, even worse, the Gold Coast, wouldn't make it anywhere near my top 10 places to go in this country. If you want to go somewhere interesting in that direction, try Cairns and Port Douglas.

I am booked into a club level room at the Westin Sydney. Does anyone have a recommendation whether it is better to stay in the tower or in the historic part of that hotel? Thanks.

Kremmen:

I thank you (and everyone else) for your candid thoughts. Yours mirror those of my friends in Canberra about Surfer's Paradise: "Arkansas with better beaches."

Still, the vagaries of Frequent Flier award tickets require us to enter your vast if sparsely-populated country by way of Melbourne and exit from Brisbane - making a trip to the neighborhood (by Australian standards, anyway) more likely.

I'm guessing Coff's Harbour might be a little more to my New England taste, but there's no Sheraton. Likewise Cairns, Port Douglas, the Whitsundays and the GBR all hold great appeal but I'm not made for the heat and think a week there in December and January might be more sunshine than I'm up for.

We expect to see a lot besides Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice, Canberra and Sydney so want to work some beach in somewhere, if only for 3 or 4 days. But newly-wed (Honolulu) or nearly-dead (Florida) is worth avoiding. Thanks for the warning.

And yeah, the Versace thing sounds truly gruesome...

Bostom

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bostom:
Kremmen:We expect to see a lot besides Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice, Canberra and Sydney so want to work some beach in somewhere, if only for 3 or 4 days. But newly-wed (Honolulu) or nearly-dead (Florida) is worth avoiding. Thanks for the warning.</font>
Actually, im not so sure that Noosa is full of the nearly dead - it tends to be more upscale middle class families than the Gold Coast - the gold coast is far more like florida in this regard - people that dont particularly like the beach go and live beside a canal to die on the gold coast - and enjoy their breakfast at the verry "cl-arse-y" Versace Hotel.

As you can tell, my pick is Noosa - i spent last weekend at the Hyatt at Coolum and had a great time, we went up to noosa for lunch - no nearly deads in site.

Again in summary - the Mirage is a better hotel - Noosa a better spot to relax (one suggestion for noosa - go up into the hinterland to the Eumundi Markets)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
And yeah, the Versace thing sounds truly gruesome...
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It is, everything on display has a price tag - from coffee cups to sheets.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bostom:
Any rants or raves about specific Starwood properties in Australia - particularly in those cities where one has a choice between Westin and Sheraton (Melbourne) or all four brands (Sydney) or the relative merits of Sheraton Noosa vs Gold Coast Mirage?

It's a vacation, not work, so perks matter. Any experience with better platinum ups, amenities, great staff, etc.

My thanx in advance. Any/all rants and raves aprreciated.

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I would recommend the Hyatt Sanctuary Cove over the Sheraton Gold Coast, much nicer garden. pool and rooms.

[This message has been edited by peter42 (edited 08-17-2001).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bostom:
Still, the vagaries of Frequent Flier award tickets require us to enter your vast if sparsely-populated country by way of Melbourne and exit from Brisbane - making a trip to the neighborhood (by Australian standards, anyway) more likely.

I'm guessing Coff's Harbour might be a little more to my New England taste, but there's no Sheraton. Likewise Cairns, Port Douglas, the Whitsundays and the GBR all hold great appeal but I'm not made for the heat and think a week there in December and January might be more sunshine than I'm up for.
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While further north will probably be warmer, and possibly wetter if you leave it late enough, the pleasurable ways to avoid the heat are also better.

I have nothing in particular against Brisbane, but it's just another small city. Staying in Brisbane and not going to the Great Barrier Reef would be like staying in Bozeman and not visiting Yellowstone Park.

Snorkdoc: I would chose the Towers accomodation. I have been in both and although the historic wing has its charm , somehow the "old meets new" has lost something in the translation for me. The bathrooms in the new building are marvelous, and if you're lucky enough to get a corner suite, I know you'll be more than satisfied. You'll enjoy the Executive Lounge...the breakfast and evening drinks and hors d'oeuvres were quite substantial.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Our arrival at 8:00 AM at the Westin Sydney accorded us a very friendly greeting from a young and enthusiastic Yvette. We were told our corner suite with complete Executive Lounge priviliges was ready for us, even at this early hour. Joy! The equally young and energetic bellhop insisted on wheeling our 4 bags up to our lodgings and proceeded to show us all the wonderful features of our enormous accomodations. High speed Internet access with cordless keyboard/wrap around floor to ceiling windows in all the rooms including the marble and glass clad bath/huge walk in closet/Heavenly King bed/2 27" televisions/very comprehensive and well stocked mini bar and hutch drawers/guest powder room/3 2 line telephones, etc, etc. Probably one of the most beautiful suites we've ever stayed in. Light blonde furnishings blended in perfectly with the wood accented and contrasting beige/sand/tan wall coverings. The plump and comfy corduroy couch and armchairs lent a casual sort of high tech ambiance to this very bright and airy apartment. Very stylish...much more a residential feel than rooms with the usual hotel trappings.

The Executive Lounge's 28th floor location afforded us very good vantage points of Sydney's CBD, including glimpses of Darling Harbour. The breakfast service was copious and included a full range of teas, coffees, juices, pastries, breads, muffins, cold cuts, smoked salmon, cheeses, cereals, yogourt and fruits. Lauren, the manager on duty at the Lounge during our stay, would remember guests by name, provide them with their favourite beverages and toasted breads and see to their every needs. She acted as concierge, would check you in or out, make or cancel reservations, offer advice and take care of any problem that might arise. This young woman was so devoted to her guests that she would always be around hours after her shift would officially be over...and she began her workday at 5:30 AM!

The Lounge's cocktail hour would begin at 17:30 and continue on till 19:00. Though the lounge was open all day, it was during these special hours that the hotel served complimentary cocktails, wine, beer and champagne to all the priviliged guests. Needless to say, we were there every night. Of course there was also a hot and cold buffet service during that time, and we partook in some very pleasant offerings. Chicken wings, breaded chicken breast fillets, sushi, dim sum dumplings and crackers and cheese were among the numerous items available.
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I'll go ahead and throw in my two cents worth. I stayed at the Gold Coast last June for 3 nights. My first impression coming through Surfers was 'Oh no!' It did remind me of what Florida must be like. Cheesie, touristy, cheap. But, the hotel, a 20-30 minute walk from Surfers, itself is very nice. I chose the Gold Coast over Cairns for the golf. The beach, which is beautiful, was an added bonus. As a Platinum, I was offered an upgrade to the Royal Suite which I turned down for a smaller (read 70 sq meteres) three room affair. The amenity was a nice bottle of Champagne and a large fruit platter. I'm planning on heading back to Australia in December, this time for a longer visit centering around Sydney. Should I try the W or the Westin. Hmmmmm.

Jenn

I'll add my 2 cents worth for the Westin Sydney - it's 1st class all the way from the staff to the rooms and the exec lounge. In the last two+ years I've gone to Australia 3 times and have stayed there every time, and every time was simply great!

Please see my thread Platinum stay of a lifetime from August the 8th of my trip this month taken @ the Sheraton Luxury collection in Melbourne.Any questions please email.Can give you advice on Hyatts in the city too.Also on good restaraunts.
You can also put Melbourne in the search and that gets you in

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AA & Starwood.Marriott Platinum
Diamond Hyatt, Hilton Diamond
U/A Premier Exec

[This message has been edited by 777 global mile hound (edited 08-19-2001).]

[This message has been edited by 777 global mile hound (edited 08-19-2001).]

Has anybody stayed at the W Sydney? We're going to be in Sydney for 4 nights, we were considering doing 2nights at the Westin, then 2 at the W, under the thinking that we could get 2 different neighborhoods to call home for a few days each.

Based on this thread I'm seriously considering just going for all 4 nights at the Westin. But I'd love to hear W comments or thoughts on the idea of the W neighborhood versus just staying all 4 nights at the Westin.