Sydney---where is better??

So, I am hoping to book hotel in Sydney today and I am trying to decide what is better for seeing the city---Darling Harbour area, which is a little cheaper, versus the Rocks/Circle Quay, which is a good bit pricier.

I think there is monorail/train service that looks pretty direct from Darling Harbour to the Rocks/CQ.....

Thoughts??

We are price conscience, but we also have limited amount of time, so want to do the best thing to optimize time in Sydney.

We were considering the same thing when we went. We stayed at the Four Seasons in Circular Quay and just loved the location. We could see the opera house and Diamond Princess from our window. It really is so convenient to be there. We took the on-off bus over to Darling Harbor and walked around; but the location didn't compare to where we were. We took a cab back from Darling Harbor and it was only cost like $5-$6.

I would agree with Mike, but maybe it was because we also stayed in the Circular Quay area (Park Hyatt). The view, location & closeness to the ship were outstanding. We took a ferry to Darling Harbor (I don't think there is a train between the two, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong) plus hop on/off bus all around Sydney. To me, The Rocks/CQ area was the best. Others on our cruise stayed at Darling Harbor and enjoyed it. If it were me (as I'm cost conscious) I would go the Priceline route and hope to get the Marriott, it's in a great location in Circular Quay.

Oops sorry, just read your other post where you said you weren't successful with Priceline. What's the price difference between the two areas when booking conventionally (i.e., not via Priceline)? Did you try http://www.wotif.com/? We walked by the Old Sydney Holiday Inn, and it was in a great location in The Rocks (but not with a view of the harbor). I don't know anything about it qualitywise, but if I were going back I'd check it out.

We are looking to book through wotif (if the best price)--it is our launching point. Circle Quay and the Rocks are a good 100 to 150 higher than Darling Harbour.....I know CQ/R is the best area, but I am not sure I can convince my DH on the extra 300 to 400 dollars we would have to spend.....

Erin---we were actually not considering the Holiday Inn you mentioned...but the Holiday Inn Darling Harbor.

So, I gather from both your posts, the Princess ship docks closer to CQ and R than Darling Harbour.....that would be a factor to consider. Such a decision, it is tough since there are so many choices. It is very overwhelming.

Just as an FYI--the Park Hyatt is $600 a night for the days I am looking to book. There is no way I will convince my sweet hubby on that one.

Last year the Four Seasons was pretty reasonable through Princess. I was surprised because they price through the cruise line is normally significantly higher.

We also stayed in the Circular Quay area as well, just because it was central to everything we wanted to see - that is the important consideration. We were only a 5 minute walk to the ferries (which are the best way to travel! We had a blast just tooling around on the ferries, which took us to Darling Harbor, the Zoo, and Manly Beach).

We stayed at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay, and they were fantastic. Rates were very very reasonable (booked thru priceline, just a regular booking, although I did cancel the first reservation (no penalty) and re-reserve it 3 weeks before we left as the price had dropped by $50 per night so keep checking) and we were close to everything. We could walk thru the gardens, and also walked to the Opera House. We only had 2 nights before our cruise, so it was convenient to see the things we wanted to see. Also, then we were able to walk to the ship, even with our luggage.

... I am trying to decide what is better for seeing the city---Darling Harbour area, which is a little cheaper, versus the Rocks/Circle Quay, which is a good bit pricier.

Of course, you'll have to decide for yourself whether the amount you'd save would justify this. And don't forget to look at the hotel facilities and room descriptions. Waking up to a view of the Opera House, for example, is wonderfully romantic - but pricey.

It is tough to decide where to stay. I live here and find it hard to give you recommendations.

Bear in mind it will still be school holidays here so that may affect prices and availability.

as globiliser said darling harbour is not that far away( a walk) and is almost a destination in itself.

You will probably be out of the room all day and just sleep there,.

For myself i would book the cheaper alternative but then we are in inside cabins on the sapphire!!!!!

keep checking wotif,

karon

Personally I'd stay in Darling Harbour rather than the Rocks for the atmosphere and the restaurants.

Both are an easy ferry ride from each other.

Circular Quay is of course the hub for all things ferry and rail so if you are planning on traveling on one of those modes of transportation you might find the Quay easier to deal with.

You can find the monorail station information here and it goes through Darling Harbour.

You can't really go wrong with either one but if $'s are important you aren't giving up much, if anything, with the Darling Harbour location.

Thanks for all the great input. Hopefully we'll make a decision soon. I think we really can't go wrong since both have pros and cons and everything is pretty close together (relatively speaking).

Just as an FYI--the Park Hyatt is $600 a night for the days I am looking to book. There is no way I will convince my sweet hubby on that one.

That was the same rate during our timeframe in January--There's no way I'd pay that much either for any hotel. For years I've been earning & saving Hyatt points for a special occasion some day. This was it--3 free nights at the Park Hyatt Sydney! Next year I'll find a place for the Hilton points and the year after that the Starwood points. Kind of a different hobby, but all the relatives & friends are quite impressed with my deals.

We ended up booking an aparment hotel on Bond Street. Saville 2....It looked nice enough and the location looked preferrable to Darling Harbour. We'll see.

Would have liked a Harbour view, but we did a balcony on the cruise, so I will just be satisfied with that. Maybe in Cairns we'll get a view.

Thanks for all the input......it helped a ton.

We ended up booking an aparment hotel on Bond Street. Saville 2....It looked nice enough and the location looked preferrable to Darling Harbour.

But I think you'll find it's Saville, 2 Bond Street. ;)

Glad you're all sorted. Hope you have a good time in my favourite city on earth. And look after it well - I'll be there about three weeks after you are.

My vote is for the Rocks area. I stayed in the small Russell Hotel, just across the street from Circular Quay. I loved being able to walk around the Harbor at night, the Opera House and Bridge are spectacular. Used the ferry to head over to the Zoo, Manly, and once down to Darling Harbor. Most days I just walked, at most it was about a 1/2 hour walk.

Check out The Russell Hotel, it was quite inexpensive and a fantastic location. Not as fancy but loads of charm and very friendly. And its is also right across the street from one of the cruise terminals if you're sailing.

My vote is for the Rocks area. I stayed in the small Russell Hotel, just across the street from Circular Quay. I loved being able to walk around the Harbor at night, the Opera House and Bridge are spectacular. Used the ferry to head over to the Zoo, Manly, and once down to Darling Harbor. Most days I just walked, at most it was about a 1/2 hour walk.

 

Check out The Russell Hotel, it was quite inexpensive and a fantastic location. Not as fancy but loads of charm and very friendly. And its is also right across the street from one of the cruise terminals if you're sailing.

May I ask about this hotel being across from ONE of the terminals...Do you know which terminal Celebrity ships dock at?

I am needing help with hotels in Sydney for Jan 18-20th 2008--would like the Marriot Harbour--but quite costly--I do NOT know how to use Priceline & an afraid to buy without knowing what hotel I will be buying. I like the idea of Marriot Harbour having a lounge for arriving early (like we get in at 8am)--guess I have a question on that lounge also--does it matter which prrice/room you book to use it? Not booking a club rate/level--just breakfast level. Would so love to see the ship arrive.

Just for your information The Park Hyatt, Sydney would be one of THE MOST EXPENSIVE hotels in Sydney. It is where all the "Stars" stay with views over to the Opera House.

If you are very limited with time in Sydney I would try to find something near "The Quay", because this part of Sydney has great access to transport and is easy walking to Opera House, etc.

Darling Harbour is fine too and has lots of it's own attractions, but it is further away from the cruise terminal at "the Quay".

Have fun.:)

You may want to consider where you ship is berthing. The OPT is at CQ and handles the larger ships that cannot squeeze under neath the Harbour Bridge. A lot of the smaller ships that can fit under the bridge go to Darling Harbour as the wharfage charges are cheaper.

Here is a link to the Sydney Ports cruise schedule where you can find your ship and where it is booked in for berthing.

http://www.sydneyports.com.au/Cruising/CruiseSchedule.asp

Cheers

Mark

You may want to consider where you ship is berthing. The OPT is at CQ and handles the larger ships that cannot squeeze under neath the Harbour Bridge. A lot of the smaller ships that can fit under the bridge go to Darling Harbour as the wharfage charges are cheaper.

 

Here is a link to the Sydney Ports cruise schedule where you can find your ship and where it is booked in for berthing.

 

http://www.sydneyports.com.au/Cruising/CruiseSchedule.asp

 

Cheers

 

Mark

KOOL--that is just what I was hunting for most of today:eek: it shows our ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal--which says on the Quay--so can you tell me about how far from the Marriot Harbour? Assuming I am able to get a room there. Shouldn't matter as any cab should be able to take us there on boarding day. Also thinking on the Amora Hotel Jamison--with no food--but I think I read food courts around it for less expensive meals? Haven't checked out Four Seasons yet either--I just like having a place to hang out when we first arrive before our room to clean up, that's a LONG flight.

Any ideas or suggestions from any and all will be appreciated :D

KOOL--that is just what I was hunting for most of today:eek: it shows our ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal--which says on the Quay--so can you tell me about how far from the Marriot Harbour? Assuming I am able to get a room there. Shouldn't matter as any cab should be able to take us there on boarding day. Also thinking on the Amora Hotel Jamison--with no food--but I think I read food courts around it for less expensive meals? Haven't checked out Four Seasons yet either--I just like having a place to hang out when we first arrive before our room to clean up, that's a LONG flight.

Any ideas or suggestions from any and all will be appreciated :D

Hi Syl,

If it helps at all, I just got the Marriott Sydney Harbor on Priceline for $150 per night from Feb. 17-20 after our Mercury cruise. (This was already my third day of trying after $140 and $145. Then ArizonaRalphie posted that he had gotten it today at $150 also - don't know his exact dates, and I decided to give it another try instead of waiting.) I am very happy - good luck to you!

here is a map of where the marriot is. It is walking distance if you have wheelie suitcases and want to miss that huge queue for taxis .

you are very central to everything.

i would be also eating out away from circluar quay and the expensive restaurants.

http://www.whats-on-in-sydney.com.au/GettingAround/City_iFrame.htm

Hi Syl,

If it helps at all, I just got the Marriott Sydney Harbor on Priceline for $150 per night from Feb. 17-20 after our Mercury cruise. (This was already my third day of trying after $140 and $145. Then ArizonaRalphie posted that he had gotten it today at $150 also - don't know his exact dates, and I decided to give it another try instead of waiting.) I am very happy - good luck to you!

Gads that is ALOT less than what I'd have to pay--but what happens if you get a hotel you don't want? I just have a hard time thinking of purchasing something I know nothing about & them having my credit card..I have never used priceline--started to but got scared...did you also get the breakfast buffet? I don't quite understand you saying you tried 3 times? Have a note into my son hoping he knows how to use priceline--but don't think he has either. Sure would beat the $238-245 rate per night. Hope you enjoy your cruise with Mercury--we were just on it last Jan--had a great time, looking forward to it again....food was GREAT!

here is a map of where the marriot is. It is walking distance if you have wheelie suitcases and want to miss that huge queue for taxis .

you are very central to everything.

 

i would be also eating out away from circluar quay and the expensive restaurants.

 

 

 

 

http://www.whats-on-in-sydney.com.au/GettingAround/City_iFrame.htm

Oh GREAT--much better map than I found to print off--not too sure about having 3 suitcases to "wheel" down to ship--might be hard on them & easier to do a taxi..ah well lots of time to decide on that part--also can walk down & judge from that before hand. Thanks so much...still thinking on the priceline thing...:eek: still scared..

Oh dear I see Old Sydney Holiday Inn is pretty much just across the street from the terminal...any thoughts on this hotel?

Well only being in Sydney for 2 nights before boarding the Mercury I know am confused as to which hotel to stay at...Old Sydney Holiday Inn or Sydney Harbour Marriott I like the idea of the ship being right out the door almost and the market right outside the door--but am afraid of the OLD part of the hotel. Which room would be the best? We don't NEED really fancy--as long as it is clean and no bugs...we can eat out of the hotel..although Holiday doesn't say it has coffee in room...as the Harbour does...the prices I would suppose are not alot different..also like the idea of a place early morning arrival--although it appears that the Holiday does sometimes have a room early. Any ideas here?

Gads that is ALOT less than what I'd have to pay--but what happens if you get a hotel you don't want? I just have a hard time thinking of purchasing something I know nothing about & them having my credit card..I have never used priceline--started to but got scared...did you also get the breakfast buffet? I don't quite understand you saying you tried 3 times? Have a note into my son hoping he knows how to use priceline--but don't think he has either. Sure would beat the $238-245 rate per night. Hope you enjoy your cruise with Mercury--we were just on it last Jan--had a great time, looking forward to it again....food was GREAT!

The risk is minimized if you do your homework a bit in advance. By checking at betterbidding and biddingfortravel, you find that there have only ever been two 5* hotels reported for Sydney, and the only one in the past 2(?) years has been the Marriott Sydney Harbor. The lowest winning bid I've spotted has been $137. Don't forget that the taxes and fees get added on (and with the Marriott rate direct I think they're already included. For example, our 3 night stay @ $150 per night comes to a little over $510 including everything.

The 4* choices have generally been the other Marriott (Hyde Park) and the Menzies (not for quite some time).

No, breakfast is almost never included with priceline hotels (for that price?)

With priceline, you can now try again every 24 hours (used to be every 72 hours). So, if you don't get an acceptance the first time, you can re-bid at the same price or a bit higher, if you wish, 24 hours later. It can never hurt to start early. I've gotten some winning bids at 11 months in advance.

We have used priceline for about 100 different hotel nights from California to Germany, and haven't really ever been disappointed yet. We've had great stays in London, Hamburg, Zurich, Florida, Virginia, California etc. etc. and saved an enormous amount of money. After our Alaska cruise coming up in September, we're got 8 nights booked in the SF area:D before we fly back to Europe.