RafKa

Seeing as no one else is pitching in, I'll offer my anecdotal 2 cents:

Haven't stayed at the Moxy, but I've done my fair share of airport stays in Mascot. The Moxy is next to McDonald's, and while it's a reasonably easy trek to the domestic terminal, staying there for anything other than an overnight is a pain. The immediate area is still undergoing important upgrades so it's not walking (or roller-bag) friendly. It's an annoyingly long walk to Mascot station (15-20 mins with long waits at traffic lights) and the area has zero interesting F&B options (unless you're into fast food or airport hotel fare).

You haven't explained what you're doing after you're meeting your "someone" at 6:30am (staying in Sydney CBD, catching a flight the same morning?), if this is your first time in town, etc. So I can't offer more tailored advice. If your objective is just killing two days near the airport on the cheap, I'd say go for it, but if you could be instead exploring Sydney I would rather ditch the pricey international chains and get a budget friendly option nearer the CBD.

dkerr

I have stayed at Moxy's in other countries, but not in Australia. They are... different! They are definitely going after the young hip crowd on a budget. Rooms are small, bathrooms tiny, no closet to hang clothes in (and instead a wall hanging contraption where the coat hangers are parallel to the wall). No regular check-in desk, but checkin at the bar. And the most recent I stayed at, the breakfast was poor (but not the worst I have experiences at other Marriott-family properties). The only reason I stayed at the Moxy was because they were short walking distance to where I needed to be, but I'll definitely think twice before selecting this brand again -- I'm not their target demographic for sure.

Radiation Station

The beds are awful too, tiny and uncomfortable. Maybe survivable if sleeping alone and under the age of 20 😂

FightOnFlyer

Appreciate the feedback on Mascot and the Moxy.

I'm quite familiar with Sydney and Australia having previously lived there and coming back annually on holiday and to visit friends. My main objective is to have a clean, safe, and relatively inexpensive place to stay near the airport (thanks Black Fridays sales!) and it sounds like this place checks the boxes. My friend and I are both the target demographic for the Moxy so no worries on the beds or the "unique" set up of the rooms and hotels. We've previously stayed at a couple Moxys in NYC so I would assume there won't be any surprises. The one issue that gives me pause would be the construction and lack of appropriate infrastructure to/from the hotel. Maybe it might be worth taking the hotel shuttle to/from the airport? Once my friend arrives two days after me, we'll be relocating to the CBD on a 5 night points stay to do all the touristy things that Sydney entails. In the meantime since I'll be in Australia for a month, the time and distance from the CBD and Eastern Suburbs aren't a concern as I plan to take it slow and spend some time at Bondi Junction and Pitt Street looking for some Boxing Day sales. And it'll be nice to be in relatively close proximity to The Grounds of Alexandria to get some Instagram content early in the morning before the crowds arrive.