I stayed at the Renaissance from June 19-23. Room 2005 was equipped with two smallish double beds, but had a very nice view of the Opera House. Service was very good, and one breakfast in the 2nd floor restaurant was tasty. Weird elevator positioning in the hotel. Interesting looking health club. Lousy electronic key cards for the doors. Lousy cable TV. Reminded me of other 15 year old Marriott properties -- nice, but not 5 star.

Circular Quay is only about 1.5 blocks away, and The Rocks only a block beyond that. The AMP tower is about 8 blocks away (massive shopping area), and Chinatown 3-4 blocks beyond that. Darling Harbor (museums, convention center, and aquarium) is a $7AUD cab ride away.

Transportation to the airport is $28AUD via taxi or $10AUD on the train.

I highly recommend the Blue Bondi Express bus that leaves every 30 minutes from Circular Quay. Stay on the bus until you get to Watson's Bay. The walking paths in the national park there were the best part of my trip. Spectacular views. Stay on the bus again until Bondi Beach stop. There's a few good lunch spots along there. $25AUD.

The Captain Cook 'Coffee Cruise' that leaves from Circular Quay is also excellent for sightseeing.

Wolfie's restaurant at the Rocks was very good. Excellent service & food for the money. Don't miss dessert. Doyle's in the Overseas Passenger Terminal (Rocks) wasn't what I expeced, but it was still very tasty. They have 5-6 kinds of fish, served fried or grilled, with fries or other potatoes and 3-4 other entrees involving lobsters, etc. The best fish & chips I ever ate, but the cost was $30AUD per person with fries and Diet Coke.

Paddy's Market (Near Chinatown) has lots of knock-off clothing items, electronics, and produce. The top floor has an excellent Asian food court. The Vietnamese place at the entrance was tasty and dirt cheap.

King's Cross is the red light district. Don't let the touts convince you! All of the strip clubs are terrible. The no-tipping policy should explain everything. Great place for dirt cheap late night snacking.

The shark tank at the Aquarium is absolutely amazing. 8' sharks of several varieties and a Ray that looks like a Full sized black velour blanket. Huge!

The ship & submarine at the Maritime Museum were decommissioned fairly recently, and are very interesting.

The trip to the top of the AMP tower was cool at night. The virtual relaity show they include in the package is a little boring at first, but the end is excellent.

The Powerhouse Museum (Science & Industry) is interesting if you have time. It's across the park from Darling Harbor.

I think the Renaissance is placed perfectly. The only other hotels I noticed that were in great locations were the Hilton on Pitt Street near the AMP tower, The Novotel at Darling Harbor (I don't know what it's like inside) and the Park Hyatt., which is directly on the harbor in the shadow of the Harbor Bridge (awesome).

There's a great convenience store 50 yards out the front of the hotel, with cheap snacks and $2.50AUD fast internet access for 15 minutes.

I only saw the Marriott from a moving bus. It looked nice, but not in a good location for exploring the city on foot.

Feel free to e-mail me -- if anyone has any questions. [email protected]