scubadu

Well, of course for many/some people a view is quite meaningful indeed.

Regards

Travel K

Sydney: if you will be there for New Years Eve, the best views are Shangri-La and possibly the Intercontinental. Shangri-La is the current tallest hotel in the CBD. If not over NYE, I like the service in the Langham and Park Hyatt the best.

For Queenstown, depending on budget, I like Eichardt's, Spire, and Azur, but there are more options that are lovely. If you want only one room, Azur will not work, I am pretty sure.

The Northern Territory will be dreadfully hot, so if you don't want the reef, then I would recommend Tasmania.

You are not planning too far in advance - for both countries, Christmas and NYE are insanely busy and if you want good options, right now is a great time to be looking.

RichardInSF

I cannot understand putting the Sydney FS and PH in the same sentence. The FS there is very possibly the worst hotel in the chain. It is not even close to being s luxury hotel, in fact it is just barely upscale.

The PH has service flaws and a superiority complex but it at least tries to compete at the luxury level. Haven't tried the Langham so can't comment on that, but the PH has a lovely hard product and reasonably good soft one.

Annalisa12

I'm not a fan of the location of the Langham, especially with kids. I would look at staying right near Circular Quay so the kids don't have to walk or go far to be right in the thick of things.

I think the Park Hyatt's attraction is also the location.

My favourite Sydney hotel is the Stellar Suites at The Darling. It won't suit you though with 2 kid as it's at the casino although I see lots of kids there.

For me, any of the 5 star hotels are all the same.

Nizar

Do these sit above or below the Adored Suites ?

MacMyDay

I would agree with that. I stayed at the PH and Langham in August and even though the PH is the only property I've ever made a complaint to the GM about service (for which they compensated me fairly), I'd still go back there over The Langham. I preferred The Langham's spa and pool, but the rooms, location, view and food cannot compete with the PH. For service, flip a coin.

Annalisa12

​​​​​​​Above.

Baghoarder

In Sydney the Langham is a good choice with middle Harbour views from some rooms. Good interconnecting room options that would suit a family (I've used these with my boys who are a similar age to the OP's children). But note it is tucked out of the way in the Rocks. I like it but it might not be a location that suits a first time visitor. Prepare to Uber a lot and be stuck in traffic going through the CBD.

I'm not a fan of the location but agree with others that the Shangri-La might also be worth considering for a first time visit - if only for the views (similar to the Four Seasons - which you should avoid). But I don't think this location would give the best NYE fireworks view.

If you will be in Sydney over New Year's Eve, the Intercon with Club access would give a ring-side seat for the fireworks (but I imagine packages would need to be booked for this well in advance).

For the second Australian week, depending on what your priorities are as a family, I'd consider the following options. The limited family-friendly luxury accommodation options in Australia may well mean trading off luxury for destination.

On a first time visit with children I'd personally prioritise destination but YMMV.
1. for the "easy" option - lazy resort kid-focused fun - I'd be tempted to just go with Hayman - the new pool is where the action is there and you can wear stinger suits for snorkelling off nearby beaches. The GBR has suffered less coral bleaching in the south. But it will be hot!
2. For something with a bit more activity in a beautiful warm location, Lord Howe Island - I think Capella Lodge has a 10 year age minimum though, so this destination might not deliver the luxury requirement
3. If you love hiking then consider Saffire in Tasmania - stunning natural surrounds, lots of activities, beautiful resort and a couple of inter-connecting pairs of rooms
4. If you want that "iconic" Australian experience I tend to agree that Uluru is the place for that, but the "luxury" options are not as good as they might be, as has been discussed extensively elsewhere on this forum

EfficientTraveller

In New Zealand, there are loads of luxury options and plenty to do - if you are planning on spending a week or so there, I would be tempted to do something along the following lines:

- Fly into Queenstown and head straight to Te Anua - Fjordland Lodge is a great NZ lodge with fantastic food. The rooms are not super luxury but it is a great location and would enable you to do a good day trip to Milford Sound with plenty of time to explore the various hikes etc on the drive there and back. If the children are adventurous, you might want to consider kayaking on Milford Sound. I would then spend a couple of days in Queenstown - one of the jet boat experiences would definitely excite all of you and there is loads of other adventurous stuff to do. Matakauri lodge is absolutely fabulous but slightly out of town. The only downside of the bottom of the South Island around Queenstown is that it can be very wet so I would be tempted to limit your stay there to 4 - 5 nights and potentially tack on another area of NZ - Air NZ flights are great and very easy to get around. I would be tempted to head to the Rotorua / Taupo area (loads of luxury places including the famous Huka Lodge but also Treetops lodge and others) which with its geothermal activity is really spectacular. If the children are Lord of the Ring fans, you could also plan to do Hobbiton or, if they like hiking and the weather is great, the Tongariro Crossing past Mount Doom.

If you wanted to spend a bit more time in NZ, you could add in a trip to the Hawke's bay wine area - it is only a couple of hours drive from Rotorua and the wineries are great. Cape Kidnappers is a luxury option here with lots for the kids to do.

In terms of Australia, if you are looking for the quintessential experience and are not intending to come back in the short term, a trip to Uluru might be essential but it is likely to be very hot indeed so you probably only want to spend a couple of nights there - fly in, see the Red Centre, Uluru and Kata Tjuta and leave.

THEPUMA

Thanks.

I'm tempted to go to Capella Lodge or Southern Ocean Lodge and just tell them my son is 10 (he will be 9).

Are they realistically going to check my son's passport and kick us out?

sleepro

Like OP, I am also planning a family trip to Sydney with 2 adults and 2 children. When I started looking for hotels, it seemed to me the occupancy policies were strictly enforced there. I was told by PH we would have to book two rooms due to the fire code (3 guests/room max). Most other top hotels seems to have the same 3 guests/room policy even for most suite categories. Do families visiting Sydney really book two rooms in those hotels?

Update: I did find out FS will accommodate 2A+2C, but most reviews at this forum had some very harsh words against FS. Is FS Sydney really that bad? In my case, I might not have a lot of choices...

Kagehitokiri

what is best time of year to visit following properties?
- southern ocean lodge - southwest kangaroo island
- otahuna - south of christchurch NZ
- bay of islands NZ

it is amazing how much it varies. sometimes management makes exceptions.

for example at FS hualalai, 3rd most expensive ("Ho'onanea Villa") is 242m2 but still publishes occupancy of "2 adults, or 2 adults and 1 child"

edit >
staff are not always accurate regarding firecodes
high occupancy hotels can require/charge a lot

sleepro

It's not about the size of the rooms, it's the fire code they have to abide by. We had the same issue with Hualalai before. They were very strict with the 3-guests rules in entry level room categories, unless the 4th was a baby. So you would have to book two rooms in those categories. They did allow 2A+2C in suites (even though they were all listed as 2A+1C on their web page), but those suites were priced as equivalent to two single rooms. So it was a toss.

I didn't inquire the villas, so I am not sure. Definitely check with the resort directly to confirm their occupancy rules to avoid a nasty surprise when check-in.

busy

I'm looking to return to Oz and NZ...

Thinking I may skip Sydney altogether and head to Tasmania and try Sapphire. Then move to Melbourne for a few nights at the Crowne Towers before heading to the Whitsundays. I've stayed at Hayman and may likely go back.

As for New Zealand, I know Helena Bay just opened in the Bay of Islands, but may focus more on the South Island (we've done Rotarua before). If so may do Blanket Bay and one other location TBD.

HKTraveler

We have travelled to Australia 3 times around Xmas time with our kids the last few years and have been at many of the hotels/resorts you mentioned. Let me see if I can sum it up for you. We used Sydney as a jumping off point and have been to Tasmania, Lord Howe Island and Wolgan Valley.

Sydney: We have stayed at Meriton World Towers, Intercon and Shangri-La. For a family with kids, Shangri-La is the easy choice. OK rooms and good service. Very convenient location to the Quay, Opera House and tons of restaurants around the Rocks area. We have harbor view rooms at both Intercon and Shang and prefer the view at the Shang. Forgot what floor we were at Intercon but there is a building right in front blocking a good part of the view. If you are a foodie, Quay and Aria are both within walking distance to the Shang. If you happen to be there before Xmas, check out the Xmas carols sing-along concerts at the Opera House. One doesn't get many chances to sing inside the Sydney Opera House!

Tasmania: We basically did a short loop around the island but luxurious hotels, by Australia standard, only exists in Hobart and there is also the Saffire Freycinet. Pumphouse Point wan't there when we went and that would be one place I would like to check out. The highlights of the trip for us were Saffire, berries picking around Launceston, seeing fairy penguins at Low Head, hiking and seeing Tasmanian devils near Cradle Mountain, food festival in Hobart and Louisa's Walk in Hobart. These are not arranged in our order of preference but just a list of things we enjoyed and will remember for a long time.

Wolgan Valley: We were there before it was rebranded as a One & Only under the previous GM. It was an OK experience but we would not be back. While the setting is pretty, there really weren't much to do other than a few hikes. There were also quite a number of flies during that season which makes having picnic outside impossible.

Lord Howe Island: LHI is fantastic and a place that we won't mind going back every other year! On hikes, you will see woodhen and we also find a spot where the birds will keep flying up and down to put on a show! Feeding fishes is also fun as there are so large even at the beach. I worry more about stepping on them than not seeing any fishes. We also went snorkeling and did BBQ around the island.

We stayed at the Capella Lodge before they put in the under 10 requirement but don't recall seeing other children around. The whole family stayed in the Catalina Suite and while the room is OK, it was a bit tight and I would book two rooms if we stayed there again. The room and hardware of the hotel are not luxurious by the standard of this forum but given its location and view, I would be happy to be back! We are actually booked to be back and will be spending a week at another hotel on the other side of the island

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions