Holiday Inn Darling Harbour, Sydney

What actually ticks me off was we were told by 2 different front desks officers on 2 separate days that the package we bought entitles us to a A$50.00 food & beverage voucher each day in either of their 2 restaurants or room service. So we thought that was pretty cool... but who knows when we are checking out on our last day, the bills reads to our horror...the front desk insisted that we could only use the voucher at one venue and at one time and insisted that we pay for the additional orders we've consumed...Miscommunication? I don't know but the attitude was really bad.

The actual room was surprisingly 2 levels. There were only 3 short stairs, but I've never seen that before. Even though the monorail was literally right outside our window you don't hear it at night because the monorail doesn't run all night. I think it stops at 10 pm. The TV actaully had more than 4 channels, it has 12. The bellhops were nice. The desk clerks were nice enough to tell you not to convert your travelers checks there, but to go down the street b.c it is less expensive. MAKE SURE YOU ASK THE CONCIERGE TO BOOK YOUR EXCURSIONS!!! To call ANYWHERE from the hotel room is $1 a call, even if you DON'T get through! The major downside is the location. IT IS IN CHINATOWN!!! The local market is ALL Chinese food! Thank goodness there was a McDonald's across the street! The 2 restaurants connected to the hotel are INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE!!! For breakfast, for $11.50 you get either coffee or tea, juice, and "pastries" which consisted of bread & 1 type of pastery. A hot breakfast buffet costed something like $23 for 1 person!!! That is INSANE! There are NO places to have a good breakfast (believe me, we walked around trying to find one). So try and hold off for a "brunch" somewhere. Or just head over to good ol' McDonalds...again. We had to walk home from Circular Quay (where the Sydney Opera House is & the harbour where the ferry from the Taronga Zoo ports) and it was a good 40-60 minutes walk. Even trying to take the monorail, you have to walk 1/2 way back & then its I think $4.50 per person. The bus system is pretty confusing, but the conceirge can try to help you out. The ONLY good thing about the location is that it IS within good walking distance (about 5-10 minute walk) of Darling Harbour.

This was our second stay here and as we now knew how the hotel ran we found it better than the first. We made use of the gym as well as both the bistro and the restaurant and found the meals to be large and tasty. The bar prices were also very acceptable. We like it here as it is in one of the quieter parts of the city yet is central to everything with the light rail and monorail providing easy access to all parts. We will definately use this hotel again