MilesBuzz! - Sydney, Melbourne, Perth Hotels Any Recommdations?

I am going to be in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth the first week of November. Any recommendations for Hotels?

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I note you are a Starwood and Hyatt member. Sydney has a marvelous new Westin that's centrally located. Both Sydney and Melbourne have great Hyatts. I am most familiar with Sydney and really enjoy the Inter-Con (best breakfast buffet in the World!) and the Ritz-Carlton. The side-by-side Inter-Con and Ritz are across the boulevard from the wonderful jogging trails in the botanical gardens and a very short walk to the business district, the opera house, the ferry terminal and rail station at Circular Quay, and The Rocks historical area. If you are on a budget, the best buy in town is the Avillion, a new full-service hotel at four-star prices in a gentrifying area about three blocks from Sydney's main shopping -- Queen Victoria Building and David Jones.

The Hilton-on-the-Park in Melbourne is quite
nice. Also, Rockmans Regency is very nice.
I had an apartment in the towers there for
3 months last year. Have fun!

I understand that the Ritz in Sydney is no longer a Ritz--

Techman, If you are into a little surfing and or some nice beaches that are only about 25 minutes from Sydney CBD - try the Holiday Inn at Coogee Beach, Sydney. About $200 Australian per night will get you full breakfast, King with Patio and Ocean view. (they do have cheaper rates as well). I enjoy this hotel because of the fantastic sunrises, excellent public transport to the city (bus stop across road), and some nifty food joints as well.

Will be staying at the new Westin for 10 nights during the Olympics. Will send you a recommendation upon my return.

Can anyone give me recommendations on Sidney hotels?

Thanks.

Actually all three have at least one Hyatt.

Sydney Park Hyatt at the Rocks is great, but quite expensive. Great service. Good location with views of the bridge and opera house.

Melbourne Grand Hyatt was very nice and the new Park Hyatt which was not quite open when we were there last.

Perth Hyatt Regency is really a point bargain (cat. 1). Nice view from the RC and, in some of the rooms, of the river. The hotel is a bit off the visitors circuit and a car might be in order. They will shuttle you to a couple locations, but that service is a bit iffy. Again, we had a good stay there in March and will be going back in a year or two for another go at it. We found that 7 days was not enought to do what we like to do in and about Perth. Great area, but distances are great and the area vast.

The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle (Perth) is great. Fremantle is lovely. It's the original port area at Perth and is great to walk around.

I depart for Sydney today, am staying at the Sydney Renaissance. I'll drop a note on how it was when I get back on Monday.

I always like the Sheraton on the Park. In Central Sydney - big rooms, big bathrooms, nice fluffy beds.

I have stayed in the Westin Sydney and it is very nice. The Westin has excellent tan marble and frosted glass bathrooms with a window into the bedroom, and a separate bath and shower. I was in their smallest room and it was still ok in size. The rooms have a very nice modern design with lots of light woods and frosted glass. Comfortable beds too. On the down side other tall buildings mostly surround the Westin so there are no really crash hot harbor views, but this is minor. UA 50% off or SPG 50% off certificates bring the price down.

The Sheraton on the Park also has nice rooms, but not as nice IMHO as the Westin. It does however have fantastic large black marble and granite bathrooms with separate shower and bath. The Sheraton also has a wonderful rooftop swimming pool.

I have not stayed at the Park Hyatt, as it is frighteningly expensive. I have been in the property and it is very nice, but I think the view of the hotel is better than the view from the hotel (still a nice view).

My first choice in Sydney, the Observatory. Spring for the car service from the airport, a BMW 750iL, it is worth the hassle of getting around the traffic. The Observatory is in the "Rocks" area. Close to the bridge and the Opera House. Very nice spa and indoor pool. This hotel is managed by the group that runs the Orient Express. Try the Windsor in Melbourne. Nice "old" world hotel. The only place I have stayed in Perth was the Sheraton. Global business hotel with standard Sheraton features.

Techman .. there will be discounts like you will not BELIEVE in November!!
There are still 7000 rooms unsold for the Olympics here, despite all the dire warnings of 110% capacity! And TWO MILLION Olympic event tickets are unsold still.

Even now in newspapers there are offers for mid October on. Far too much capicity came on line this year, and they will be killing themselves to fill it from mid October.

Look at www.travel.com.au (http://www.travel.com.au) and sign up for their free newsletter .. it often has terrific Hotel deals in there - for all states. Enjoy the visit! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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~ Glen ~



[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 08-30-2000).]

I stayed at the Renaissance a few weeks ago. It's OK, my room didn't have an exceptional bathroom but it was pretty cheap with my corporate discount (AU$ 192) and it did have good service. And it was pretty centrally located - about one block from Circular Quay ferry terminal. It was hard to get a modem connection, the lines are definately old, but once I did get connected, no per-minute charges, so I just left my line up 24/7 with just one $.85 charge http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

The Adelphi in Melbourne is not part of a chain that I know of but if you like the "W" style of lean chic it is very neat.

The Grand Hyatt in Melbourne is one of my
favorite hotels in the world. The larger rooms have incredible views from the floor-to ceiling windows, the staff is courteous to a fault, and the location is superb. I even asked the concierge for directions to the Philip island, where the penguins come in, and got not only a couple of blankets and directions for the drive, but a picnic lunch to boot, since there's "no good restaurants on the island". It was wonderful.

Likewise, the Intercontinental in Sydney is my favorite there; wonderful rooms, a good gourmet deli on the first floor by the lobby bar, etc. The Renaissance Sydney was a disappointment for me; the room was nice, but the hotel itself is showing signs of age, and I had to fight to get the mileage bonus they had advertised. It just seems too pricey for the digs. The I-C has roughly the same convenient location.

Have a good trip!

Back from AU; pretty much agree with USoftie about the Renaissance -- nice, but nothing special, and at AU$210/night, it seemed pretty reasonable given the location.

The problem in Australia is all the top hotels are so good, it's hard to pick from among them. I did the InterConti and W in SYD last month. Agree with what was said about the InterConti: great central location from which you can walk almost anywhere worth going to within the city centre, and fine views from most rooms. The breakfast buffet is one of the better ones with smoked fishes and the usual other range of cheeses and cold cuts, fruits and bakery goods, plus the hot buffet section and omlets made to order. (And a Japanese mini-buffet for miso soup and other tasty offerings.) Great value if you take it as one of your business options.

The W is a bit more minimalist and austere. It definitely has attitude, but a friendly one was my impression. The district is a bit out of the way, and the huge space of the main atrium hallway (this was a dock/wharehouse before its conversion]is a bit of challenge for creating intimacy. You may prefer the more centrally located Westin or Sheraton as your Starwood alternatives. (Check out the post about a month back from Flyme2 on the Starwood's four properties in SYD, including the recently taken over Four Points. I believe it is in the Trip Report forum.)

As for Melbourne, I've always enjoyed the small Hilton on the park, a bit beyond the main business district, but a short walk from most places, or a tram ride from St. Kildas and other sites. It is older than the Hyatt on Collins (as spectacular as noted above) and the new Westin.

Similarly with the Hilton in Perth: a smaller property, but has the intimacy of a small European hotel in a large city. Even if you don't stay there, you do have to take the train out to Freemantle and elbow up to the bar at the Matilda Bay Brewery!

As someone who likes to walk a lot, I find even the out-of-the-way properties I've mentioned worth the extra 15-minute stroll to local attractions. Such walks give one the opportunity to see parts of cities from the vantage point of a local, and not a tourist.