Sydney

I was off on my first holiday since going to Europe in 2019 (Thanks COVID!). I decided to head to Seoul in South Korea and Taipei in Taiwan, spending a week in each.

It was a big day for me, I was off on my first trip since COVID hit in 2020! I had decided to head off to Seoul in South Korea and Taipei in Taiwan to investigate 2 new destinations. To get to Seoul I would need to fly out of Sydney rather than Melbourne, so … Continue reading Novotel Sydney International Airport, Sydney, Australia

I’d attended a seminar at the Sydney Shangri-La before but never had the opportunity to stay here. It’s in a sort of weird location right at the corner of the Cahill Expressway and the southern approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So close that my room window allowed me to almost look across the bridge … Continue reading Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, Australia

This is a little out of the way gem of a hotel on Sydney Harbour. This hotel is built on one of Sydney’s old piers and uses the rustic form of the pier in the design of the building.

In the laneway next to the Sydney Harbour Marriott is Alfredo’s Restaurant.

At 7:30pm on a balmy Wednesday evening Beer Deluxe was heaving. Most of the tables were taken, luckily we were able to grab one of the very few empty tables.

As the name suggest Opera Kitchen is a restaurant at the Sydney Opera House. It’s situated on the west side of the Opera House with an open dining area that looks out to Circular Quay, the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It’s an excellent location.

The Rocks in Sydney is a very touristy area (opal stores and shops selling cheap (in value, not price) souvenirs) and that means that the prices are usually tweaked upwards knowing people spend up when they’re on holidays. So it’s good when you find somewhere that isn’t taking the piss price wise.

In over a hundred trips to Sydney I’d never stayed at the Sydney Harbour Marriott. I’d stayed at the other Marriott up on College Street but wasn’t impressed – it is not longer a Marriott. The Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel was seen as the flagship Marriott in Sydney and it has a location that can’t be … Continue reading Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel, Sydney, Australia

On Loftus Street there is a Japanese restaurant. You have to enter by a dodgy door next to a convenience store, go down a flight of stairs enter the door that doesn’t quite close. The name of the previous tenant, a Chinese restaurant, is still visible if you look.

I’ve been doing a bit of travel to Sydney every couple of weeks – I always stay in the CBD. Customs House Bar is part of the Marriott Hotel. You can enter it by going through the hotel from Pitt Street, or you can enter it directly from Macquarie Place Park at the corner of … Continue reading Customs House Bar, Sydney, Australia

I’ve stayed at a lot of hotels, and I mean ALOT! Somewhere between 150 and 200 hotels over the years all over the world for both business and leisure.

At work we have a list of hotels we’re allowed to stay at. The Holiday Inn Old Sydney must have been on the list for all of 5 minutes and I must have been lucky enough to book it at the right time. But boy did I have troubles expensing the bill after my trip … Continue reading Holiday Inn Old Sydney, Sydney, Australia

I was in Sydney for an evening so decided to try somewhere new for dinner after a couple of refreshing beers. We were imbibing at Circular Quay and decided to head down to the rocks to find somewhere to eat. There are many choices in that part of Sydney: steak, Italian, Thai… but we decided … Continue reading Amo Roma, Sydney, Australia

I was in Sydney again during the last week for a training course, which meant that I had the opportunity to head back to one of the best feeds that I’ve found in Sydney, Wolfie’s Grill on the waterfront at West Circular Quay.

We were in Sydney to attend a training course at our office in West Pennant Hills and the Crowne Plaza in Baulkham Hills was the closest hotel. It is probably 30 to 45 minutes from the Sydney CBD on a good day.

After room service for a couple of nights we’d decided to head out for a feed. We tried to get into the Outback Steakhouse, but the queue was long, and we were famished so we decided to try a local Thai restaurant instead. We headed over the Stanhope Village to a small restaurant called Thai … Continue reading Thai Spice, Stanhope Village, Sydney, Australia

I’ve been to Wolfie’s a couple of times before, maybe even half a dozen, it’s not cheap, but the food is good and the views are to die for. Wolfie’s is on the waterfront at West Circular Quay with views of the Harbour, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. A great place to bring out of … Continue reading Wolfie’s Grill, Sydney, Australia

zaaffran is a superb Indian restaurant at Darling Harbour in Sydney. The views of Darling Harbour and the Sydney CBD are second to none.

And this weeks winner of Gavin’s “another hotel of the week” award is The Sebel in Chatswood in Sydney. Chatswood is just just up the Pacific Highway from North Sydney and St Leonards, where one of our Sydney offices is, so its pretty handy.

Stayed at the Four Seasons hotel, George Street, Sydney last week as I could not get into my usual hotels.

Not the one down by Circular Quay! Back in Sydney for another week of work, and due to the QE2 and QM2 being in Sydney early on in the week hotel rooms were at a premium and the Sydney Marriott got to host me for a second time.

Arun Thai is, as the name suggests, a Thai restaurant that is located in Macleay Street in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point.

I had the chance to stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Sydney last week. The InterContinental in Sydney is up near the Botanic Gardens on the corner of Bridge and Phillip Street. Just around the corner from Circular Quay. A very nice part of the city.