pjs

We are going on vacation down under in late August and will be spending a week in the Sydney area. I currently have gold status with Marriott and probably will be platinum by August. I have 2 questions:

1) Which property is more desirable in Sydney - the Marriott or Renaissance? We are more interested in convenience to major attractions & transportation and having a decent place to sleep rather than a luxury hotel (so we will pass on the Ritz and stretch our points.)

2) Has anyone out there in FT land ever used the Marriott Rewards option (33k/night) to stay at the Pepper's Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains? I stumbled across this award on the website and the resort looks spectacular. It may be the perfect way to spend the last couple of days of our vacation.

Thanks in advance for any help.