The Amora was a beautiful hotel - tastefully decorated, comfortable, with views of the city. They had lovely amenities - like a complimentary bottle of champagne on arrival (which I didn't know about) and a lovely breakfast and food/drink credit for the hotel restaurants - also, a nice gym/pool. The only drawback was some of the service in the restaurant was a little slow or confused, but I credit this with the Christmas week, skeleton staff. I thought the location and the value for money were outstanding!

Perfect Location.... only 5-10 mins from Opera House and the Bridge - only 15 mins walk from Darling Harbour! Got given free upgrade - very friendly staff - would definitely stay there again!

1) Great Location: This is a great place to stay if you want to be right where all the action and transportation is! About 2 blocks from the train station, you can hop on and ride to many locations around town(and to and from the airport! Much cheaper than a taxi). Or just walk to Circular Quay and hop on a trolley to go to the zoo and other attractions across the Harbour. So convenient and we didn't have to rent a car.
2) Friendly & Professional Employees: First of all, they let us check into our room at 10:30 AM. Plus we got upgraded for free to a King size room with a great view. They are always willing to help with any questions or info you need- I wanted to use the internet for 15 minutes only and they didn't have cards for that short of time, so instead of making me pay extra for time I didn't need, he gave me a code for complimentary internet time. The concierge is right in the lobby and can book you to practically any tour in Sydney!
3) Decent room: Not exactly a US standard 5 star but.. Room was decent sized with big windows, no balcony. Bed was comfy and the bathroom had a great glass shower with plenty of hot water. There was also a deep old-fashioned tub that we didn't use. TV is old and in a strange location- behind doors next to the bed- but who needs TV when you're in SYDNEY! Also had mini-fridge and coffee/tea.
4)Pool- didn't use so can't comment on that

* One other tip- I would recommend avoiding GrayLine Tours. First they charged me 3 times for the tour because their website sucks- it took 3 emails and a phone call to get it taken care of. Plus they are very impersonal and the tour guides don't give much information- they're more like drivers. It was a vast contrast to our next tour with Activity Tours to the Blue Mtns. The tour guide was super friendly, gave us a TON of information (and jokes) we even learned some Aussie phrases. Check them out at activitytours.com.au

The facilities, if they were OPEN, would have been good I'm sure! The Reception desk and welcome was basic, pleasant but definitely basic. Front door staff/valet parking staff were fine although Valet parking cost of $45 a rip-off. There are 2 bars in the hotel, the ground floor bar is only open Wed-Fri (ridiculous). There was a wedding reception in the hotel the night we stayed, which didn't allow anyone else but the wedding guests to patron the only other bar in the hotel (this is perhaps not the Hotel's fault, but alas perhaps if the ground floor bar was opened!!). Rooms very basic, but clean and tidy at least. We didn't enter the pool/spa area as it not only looked dirty and unclean, There seemed to be no air circulation or seating suitable for a short visit upon opening the Pool door for a very, very quick peek. Not good. Generally very poor facilities for a supposed 5 star hotel.