Blog Post
Hi All,
I live at Elizabeth Bay (behind Kings Cross) so know Sydney and its accommodation places pretty well.
My top recommendation for anyone coming into Sydney is the most undiscovered gem (outside of the locals) the Hughenden Hotel at Woollahra. This place is incredibly special I was accommodated there for two weeks whilst I recovered from bilateral knee surgery about 18 months ago and it was absolutely fantastic and most unusually for any hotel in Sydney I never heard one complaint fromy any guest and only people raving about it.
It is incredibly special as it is a small Italiante mansion owned by two sisters one of whom writes children's books and the other whom illustrates so all the rooms have the most gorgeous (and most of them are originals) children's illustrations on the walls. One of the sisters is also a breast cancer survivor and stages a huge event in Woollahra annually to raise money for various Pink charities.
If you have a chance you should check out their Library room it is wall to wall with the original illustrations many of which I am sure you will recall seeing in books when you were growing up or have since read to your kids. I have not taken anyone into that room who has not just burst into smiles of delightful happy memories.
it is more like staying in a very warm private home but with all the servies as they have a great restaurant on the ground floor but are only a stones throw from Oxford street with all its restaurants, cafes and shops.
At night they tend to light the place with candels and a couple of nights a week they have a pianist and occassionally a singer who plays for all the guests enjoyment.
The place is full of chesterfield lounges, log fire places and some very warm staff. Entertainment at any time of the day is guaranteed as it is one of the few dog friendly hotels in Sydney so if they are not keeping you amused with their antics, then you can always sit out on the veranda and watching the passing parade which is always good value in the area.
Being in Woollahra you also never know who you might run into in the lounge. They also have the papers their free of charge and it is in beautiful peaceful location with parking avaialbe, and it is across the road from Centennial Park. As it is privately owned their rates for the area etc are absolutely fantastic and whilst I know people get reluctant to look at it as an option due to the fact that it looks like it is so far from the City it is in actual fact quite central in that it is a 2 minute walk to the bus stop that takes you into city centre.
I think they do have a rate as low as $99 per night at the moment which if you think normally the cheapest in the city centre is around $250 and they are not half as personal or as warm as the Hughenden and $70 that you are saving covers a lot of other expenses.
There website is:
http://www.thehughenden.com.au/specials/
By the way No I don't work for the Hughenden and I am not getting anything from this except hoping to help some of you find a nice, cheap, comfortable place to stay and if you like you can bring your dog :)
By the way if you have any concerns about where you are staying or want to know anything about Sydney do let me know happy to help you have an enjoyable time. My email is firstgypsrose@yahoo.com.au and my phone: 0414 732 698
Cheers
Rose