Staying in Sydney

Any Aussies/experts out there who can give me some advice?

I'm staying in Sydney for about 10 days at the start of May - I'm thinking five days in a hotel in The Rocks/Circular Quay and five days in somewhere different, but somewhere funky with good shops and restaurants.

Top of the list is Manly/Bondi Beach. Which is better? Also, as it's into the month of May and, presumably out of season, will it be a bit grim, say like Bridlington in November?

Any tips/recommendations much appreciated!

[Decker]

Try and get hold of an Entertainment discount book then stay at Quay West at the Rocks...

Originally posted by Mr Farenheight
Any Aussies/experts out there who can give me some advice?

I'm staying in Sydney for about 10 days at the start of May - I'm thinking five days in a hotel in The Rocks/Circular Quay and five days in somewhere different, but somewhere funky with good shops and restaurants.

Top of the list is Manly/Bondi Beach. Which is better? Also, as it's into the month of May and, presumably out of season, will it be a bit grim, say like Bridlington in November?

Any tips/recommendations much appreciated!

I know it's not Manly or Bondi, but my favourite hotel in Sydney is the Park Hyatt right there on the Rocks. It's silly money if you're not careful: I tried to get in there a couple of weeks ago and it was AUD800 per night for an Opera House view with a balcony. I am sure you'll get a better rate in advance and out of season. I ended up back at the Four Seasons (the old Regent) on George Street. It is slightly better located that the Park Hyatt having perfect access to the Rocks/Circular Quay and CBD. The FS is OK but not quite up to usual Four Seasons quality, I believe due to the sheer number of rooms. A corner junior suite overlooking both the Bridge and the Opera House was AUD400pn. I am aware they're about to embark on a progressive room refurb there.

The other option at the top end is the Observatory. I've not tried it myself, but acquaintances of mine who like top notch hotels rate it highly.

FWIW I pretty much worked Sydney to the bone regarding eating in the five days I was there. My order of preferrence, best first: Pier, Quay, Flying Fish, Rockpool, Otto's. To get into the infamous Tetsuya you need to call up exactly six weeks earlier for your table.

Cheers, Howard

I love eating at Pilau, which is a great restaurant on Freshwater Beach (next beach from Manly).

Go along to Bondi just for a quick look (as its pretty dire) but then I would recommend the coast walk along to Coogee Beach. A nice way to spend a morning as you go up and down cliff tops and IIRC, there is a bar half way along the route. Coogee is much nicer than Bondi.

Manly of course is a must see as well. So do Coogee and Manly. If your a public transport man, Coogee is pretty easy on the bus from the city centre and cheaper than cab.

Hotel wise. My parents just stayed at the Marriott and said it was 'above average' with a view of the opera house. Was going to recommend Quay West (Part of Mirvac Group) also but I haven't stayed there just in their sister hotel in Auckland. I have always had good experiences in hotels of the Mirvac Group.

Have had dinner in the Four Seasons and inspected a room with a stunning view.

Thanks for the speedy replies! I had kind of settled for the Shangri-La hotel at The Rocks, having stayed in their properties all over Asia & Middle East and I just love their vibe. The other places sound good though! I'm tempted to spend the whole time in the centre of Sydney, but Mrs Farenheight is keen to spread the trip out a bit into a different location. At Christmas, we did a few nights in L.A.(staying at Chateau Marmont), a couple of nights in Santa Monica and a few nights in S.F. which seemed to work well.

If you want a complete change hire a car and spend a couple of nights in the Hunter Valley visiting the wineries - plenty of great restaurants and hotels too - but good shops are thin on the ground.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Intercontinental. We stayed there last December. It's in a smashing location just off Circular Quay, 2 minutes from the Botanical Gardens and 5 from the Rocks.

We went for a room with Club Lounge access which is an absolute must. The lounge is on the roof of the hotel with a balcony overlooking the harbour. The views are stunning...

[HighFlyer]

I stayed at the Shangri-la when i visited Sydney in 2005. It was fine, but not noteworthy. Good views from the Harbour view rooms with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in full view but otherwise a bit souless and functional. Ideal if you dont want to spend a lot of cash on the hotel and will be out and about exploring most days but if you enjoy your luxury hotels you could do better. The only real negative with the Shangri-la for me is that they runied several of the garments i sent to the laundry and refused to compensate me, stating 'these things happen'. I was not amused.

Thanks,
Sarah

Intercon seconded - was there for New Year. Fab hotel.

I agree with HF, I have heard that the Sydney Shangri La is the weak leak in this otherwise exceptional hotel brand. Certainly reports I have seen online also suggest this.

[honey lamb]

I hated the Shangri-La and couldn't wait to leave. I thought the service was poor and we frequently had to go after staff to take our order. Although we had complimentary breakfast we ditched them and ate out.

I wrote a negative review and later got a standard boiler-plate response from them. Pity, as the Shangri-La in singapore had been outstanding