Sandeep1

For a short 3 or 4 night stay in Sydney, would Darling Harbour be a decent place to stay? They've got a few nice hotels at reasonable prices.

Mwenenzi

Would be OK. A very touristy area. A lot of restaurants on the water front
https://darlingharbour.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darling_Harbour

xychromosome

If the price is right then def a good option. It's not difficult to get to other parts of the city from there. There is even ferry service to circular quay which would be a nice way to see the city from the harbour and get to the central CBD.

CPMaverick

Darling Harbour is central to many tourist locations & restaurants. There is regular ferry service there. The downside is that it is very touristy, and besides the ferry it is not that well connected to public transport (long walk to the train station).

If you have somewhere specific to see nearby or via ferry accessible from there it could be a good choice. Or if you want a chain hotel you can book with points. Personally I don't like it, it's just tourist traps, hard to get to from the airport, and ferry service doesn't cover many options.

I'd rather stay in a nice suburb with good train access if I want a low cost option, or somewhere near Circular Quay where there are many more ferries and excellent train options.

alyopsis

It's a decent if not spectacular place to stay. Sort of a poor man's Circular Quay. Have you looked at Potts Point?

IMOA

It’s fair to say that most people that live in Sydney aren’t particularly excited about darling harbour But I might add some caveats. The North East end of Darling harbour (aka Barangaroo) has a good selection of decent but generally mid to higher priced restaurants and has good access to trains via Wynyard station. The east side of darling harbour can be ok because its really the western edge of the cbd that part of the cbd is small bar central and close to retail and trains. The extreme southern end of darling harbour has been improved significantly in the last 6 months and with its location very close to Chinatown now has extensive, quality budget food options. Not the best for transport though as you either have to walk ~15 mins to a train or take the light rail. The western side of darling harbour is a horrible tourist trap which should be avoided under any circumstances

stevenshev

To nit pick, the only one of the above that is actually Darling Harbour is the last one.

That said, many hotels in all of the above areas append Darling Harbour to their names.

IMOA

Yep, I agree, which is why most people in Sydney shudder when they hear the phrase 'Darling Harbour' But as you also mention many hotels, and certainly many visitors, don't see the difference between darling harbour, darling square, king street wharf, barangaroo etc (though king street wharf is about as good as western darling harbour these days)

bensyd

It's a bit of a Western Suburbs Wonderland. A broad brush stereotype, but the only people from Sydney I ever hear of going there* are from out west and they've come in for a big night on the town. There's a Jimmy Buffett's Maragaritaville in DH, that sort of sums the place up, imo**.

It's not a place I'd recommend to tourists. It doesn't have much character, it's purely set up for tourists, the dining and nightlife is pretty poor value, and it's not that well connected to public transport considering its location. Like CPMaverick, I think I'd rather stay in an inner suburb that's a bit more real, or if the budget stretches then down in Circular Quay.


*The exception is people kicking on once everything closes thanks to the Libs lockout laws and the only place you can get a drink is the casino.

**I actually like both Jimmy and his themed restaurant in the right context – ie somewhere in Florida, but what relevance they have to Sydney is anyone's guess.

mpw81

One of the highlights of our trip this past April was an early morning tour of the Sydney Fish Market, which is pretty quick walk from Darling Harbour. While it was a tour, it didn't feel very touristy, more behind the scenes than anything. Hard to feel too touristy when you have to dodge guys with handcarts full of seafood and can't take pictures of anything.

Happy hour drinks at the bar atop The Palisade hotel (on the edge of Darling Harbour/The Rocks) also provides for great views of the entire harbour/bridge.

Quick note that the northern edge of Darling Harbour along the water currently has a massive construction project (based on the look of the brand new buildings I'd guess this has been a theme for a decade??), which limits some of the roads/walkways.

IMOA

Yep, both those spots are good but neither in darling harbour (fish makets in Pyrmont/Blackwattle baty and Henry Deane/Hotel Pallisade is north of barangaroo in the rocks), I'd also add the Powerhouse museum and the Maritime museum and decent tourist attractions in the area. The northern edge you're referring to is Barangaroo, it's only really been running for about 3 years and while there are still some elements to complete (like the casino) it's pretty much done now and easy to get around. This is a great example of an area which isn't actually darling harbour which most tourists would think is darling harbour so can cause some confusion when people from sydney ask about staying in darling harbour.

CPMaverick

Barangaroo is quite a good location; close to Observatory Hill, The Lord Nelson, and the Rocks, places I like to show visitors that are new to Sydney. Circular Quay isn't too bad a walk either.

However there are no budget hotels in Barangaroo that I am aware of. And of course it isn't Darling Harbour.