My husband and I are traveling to Australia in April and are looking for hotel recommendations. Places that we are considering going to are Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and the Great Barrier Reef.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I've been happy with the Avillion in Sydney, Le Meridien in Melbourne, and Radisson Tree Tops in Port Douglas.

My visit to Australia was Oct-Nov 1998 and, while I did not visit the Great Barrier Reef plus I stayed with friends in Sydney, I can recommend the following:

Melbourne - Saville Park Suites Melbourne (although I believe it was part of the Holiday Inn Suites group at the time) on Exhibition Street in the CBD. My suite was a beautiful, large, one-bedroom apartment, MUCH larger than my own in Chicago, with complete kitchen and dining area plus full-size, private washer and dryer. I liked the quiet and convenient location too.
http://www.savillesuites.com.au/melbourne.html

Adelaide - As above, the all-suite hotel where I stayed was part of the Holiday Inn Suites group of properties but, now, it is the Saville Park Suites Adelaide in the West End on Hindley Street. I had a studio, which was much larger than any studio apartment I've seen for rent, including kitchen and private laundry facilities.
http://www.savillesuites.com.au/adelaide.html#

At the time, the rates for both locations were very competitive and no more expensive than most standard hotels in the area. I booked the accommodations with a travel agent when I was staying with friends in Brisbane; don't know if that made a difference in the rates I was offered. Hope this helps - have a wonderful trip!

Bill

I'm planning to visit some of the same places at the same time you are and so have been doing a little research. The Westin Sydney seems to come up time and time again as one of the best hotels in the Starwood Group. Rates are running about 290 AUD. People seem to like their hotels in Melbourne too - you might do a search on the Starwood forum on the FT Miles board and check out the comments.

You might want to check out this website for the time you plan to spend up north. Some of the whole house rentals look fabulous and for so little money. I think we're going to divide our time between one of these houses in Port Douglas and a sailboat charter in the Whitsundays.
http://www.portdouglasaccom.com.au/

Have fun.

For Sydney, we like the Sydney Inter-Continental. It is made from the old Treasury building. very close to the quay, views of the harbor. the biggest plus is that if you book an executive room (not much more at all than a regular room) you get limo service to/from airport and a great breakfast spread in the executive lounge every morning.
saves much more than the extra you are spending for the upgraded room.

for the great barrier reef, i compared Hayman and Lizard island resorts on this thread.
http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/000006.html

HAVE FUN!! and if you do not scuba dive, get CERTIFIED and dive the great barrier.

As with everything it depends on what you want to spend. With the US$ being so strong lately though it's a great time to try some of the best Aussie hotels at pretty reasonable prices.

Sydney: Park Hyatt is probably the best hotel in Sydney. Great location, wonderful rooms, great service. Located almost under the harbor bridge the views of the city and Opera House are amazing and the rooftop pool is pretty sinful. The Regent is also excellent and one of those over the top asian hotels. Westin is probably the best value for the money in that it is a very nice hotel (yes one of the best in the Starwood group) but is a little more "business and group oriented" and doesn't have the flair of some of the other properties.

Reef: If you want show-stopping resort hotel, there is nothing better than the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas. Another choice is the Silky Oaks Lodge which is located in the rainforest and a real "luxury-adventure" type of place. But it is radically different in that it is not near the beach and doesn't have the same tropical resort feel as the Sheraton.

Melbourne: Like Sydney there are a number of great hotels here. I would vote for the Park Hyatt as a first choice, followed a close second by the Grand Hyatt. Park Hyatt is a little more intimate but the Grand Hyatt is another real show-stopper type of hotel.

to clarify, both properties are not on the reef. In order to be on the reef, one has to be on one of the actual reef islands.

If you are staying in Port Douglas, there is an operation that runs quicksilvers out to Agincourt Reef, but the roundtrip takes 3 hours by boat and you are left not much time to experience the reef.

Do yourself a favor and stay ON the reef to enjoy. Resorts such as Hayman, Lizard Island or Orpheus will be a not to forget experience.

I just returned from Sydney/Melbourne/ Auckland yesterday. I had a wonderful trip and did the circuit of the Hyatt Regency in Auckland, Park Hyatt in Melbourne and the Park Hyatt in Sydney. What can I say but each hotel was wonderful and the views were spectacular. The Park Hyatt in Melbourne reminded me very much of the PH in Tokyo. The Park Hyatt in Sydney is in such a great location...I wish I were walking along the harbour right now. The view from my balcony of the Opera House and the ferries traveling across the harbour is one I will never forget. The staff was perfect and the concierge(s) were so helpful in getting me into the right restaurant for my mood (which seemed to change daily with all that good food!). I can't give you any comparison to other hotels but I can say that I had a great time at each of the Hyatt's. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I did!

It would be a totally different experience than the places that have been mentioned above, but if you are spending any time at all away from the usual tourist locations you might want to consider a pub stay.

Most pubs, especially away from the major metropolitan areas, have two or three hotel rooms attached. (Often they're nothing fancy, but sometimes in places like the gold mining town of Kalgoolie with its century-old, gold-rush era Victorian pubs, they are.)

Some of the most enjoyable times I had on my most recent trip to AUS earlier this year were the evenings we spent having dinner in a pub then shouting VBs and discussing everything under the Southern Cross with the locals before going upstairs to bed and helping ourselves to breakfast in the pub's kitchen the following morning.

[This message has been edited by greggwiggins (edited 12-07-2001).]

If money is no object in Sydney, stay at the Conservatory.

Melbourne:

I've stayed at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne several times. However, on my most recent visit, I tried the new Westin Melbourne. In my opinion, it is much nicer than the Grand Hyatt. The Westin is more modern and contemporary. My room was large, and the bathroom was huge (bigger than some hotel rooms in Europe) with separate bathtub and shower stall. The concierge was extremely helpful. The Westin is one of the newest hotels in Melbourne. The Grand Hyatt is looking a little dated, with Hyatt's trademark orange marble, brass and water fountains.

Sydney: The Intercontinental is nice. I believe it is a landmarked building. It has a British traditional feel. The rooms were on the small side. There is a nice atrium lobby.

I prefer the Sheraton on the Park. The rooms are very comfortable. The bathrooms are great, with separate shower stall and tub. The rooftop pool and health club are excellent. The hotel is very well located, across from the park and subway, and a block away from the monorail to Darling Harbor. There are lots of shops and restaurants nearby. It is my favorite hotel in Sydney.