I had expected the worse - but instead got better then what I had bargained for. I went there with 2 other of my girlfriends and enjoyed the room straight away.

Check-in and out was fast and simple. The room was great. No problems. Bed comfortable - all essentials readily available. And privacy was ensured.

A bonus was that all major locations were only a short walk away.

I highly recommend the place.

Accommodation is spacious - we had two-bedroom apartment with two bathrooms for four adults - and it is very well situated. We walked everywhere. However, we shared our floor (16th) with the site office for the re-fit work. Work started early , about 7 a.m. but didn't really distrurb us. It felt like a buliding site as soon as we went out on to the landing from our room. The accommodation had a dog-eared feel, especially furniture. The main problem was the fact that we were cold - air-con controls were unresponsive - we had to put on a hot-plate in the kitchen area to warm ourselves up first thing in morning and last thing in the evening. On our last morning, we discovered that the lifts weren't working and had to manhandle all our luggage down 16 storeys of concrete service stairs to ensure we didn't miss the airport shuttle. Whole thing was a bit hit and miss.

I stayed at this hotel in June 2006. I paid £49 a night, which is less than you would pay for Premier Lodge or Travel Lodge in the UK.

For this you get a I bedroom apartment. The rooms had basic amount of furniture which would appear to be the original items form when the building opened ie about 8 years old.

The hotel is currently undergoing a refurb, and I did have a look at the completed rooms. I have to say they looked a bit better than ours as it was all new, but it really was a paint job and up to date chrome microwave and kitchen stuff rather than white but thats all.

The hotel is located in a excellent position to get around. Easy for CBD, Chinatown and the Central Station and Gay district if thats your thing.

The staff were helpful, thought to be honest we didnt really need their help to get round Sydney as it is easy to navigate.

We didn't have a problem with road noise as our room was 8 floors up and our bedoom didn't face on to the roads (room 839 or 836 i can't remember) . I would guess that if you had a front facing room it might be noiser, but you are in a city centre so that has to be expected.

The gym was not open at the time, as it was on a floor that was being refitted, thought i did sneek a peek, and found it consisted of a cross trainer ,cycle and running mill and shower. I don't think you would want to share the gym as it was so small. The picture on the web site I think relate to the old gym, which is now the contracter's work office on floor 13.

The only gripe we had was the fact the TV was broken, and took two days to repair. Apparently, as part of the refurb digital TV is being installed and they are having teething problems with it.

I would not say the place was 4 star but more like 3 star but for less than £50 a night for a room thats good value.

Other than that we found the room spacious, clean and suitable for most people. I would have no problem recommending this place to stay in. I would warm any guest staying that the premises is being refited and the builder 's tend to start work at 8.30am, but this didn't intrude in our stay. If ,however, you like you like to sleep in late, this may not be suitable for you.

I hope you find this review useful and enjoy any stay you may have here and in Sydney.

The good:

Great location, just around the corner from Hyde Park. Can walk to Oxford Street if the bar scene is your thing. Convenient store right next door, shopping areas and Chinatown within walking distance.

Nice Spacious rooms, even has a decently equippied kitchen with tools, pot pans, utensils and china. The kitchen is probably the best thing about the room, it's more like being in a one bedroom apartment, so if you are here for a long time then it's more homely than a normal hotel room. Having a living room is great for having guests over. Bathroom is a good size, nice and clean looking and got all the things you need and more.

The Bad:

The bed is the most uncomfortable I have slept on in god-knows-how-long. Just couldn't get a good night sleep at all. Super flat pillows and paper thin comforter didn't help. Temperature in room was impossible to control, actually don't even know if the Thermostat really worked, it didn't seem to make a difference what I turned it to. TV worked ok at the beginning but one day just didn't work anymore, asked the reception and they said it would take 2 days before I get it back.

Had 2 fire alarms during the one week I was there, around 5-6 pm both times. The staff seemed to think it was quite normal I wonder if this is a frequent occurrence here.

No internet, not even if you want to pay extra charges. The rooms here just aren't equipped with cable or DSL. Had to walk 2 blocks to a decent internet cafe. Tried stealing people's bandwidths on wi-fi but no success in this building.

Overall:

Not bad.... don't know if I would come back the very next time. Might have to try out 1 or 2 other places first to see if there are better places out there for the same price. Don't think it would be impossible if you look hard enough. But otherwise it is not a completely bad place to settle for if you think the price is good because at least the location is very ideal, and the space is good for long stay.