Breakfree On Clarence

“Just What I Needed”

The location is very good for transit and exploring the city. It is new (or at least newly renovated), clean, and the staff were lovely. There is a small gym but it has decent equipment (although they need some larger mats as they are too small for yoga or stretching). I stayed in a SINGLE room (… more

The location is very good for transit and exploring the city. It is new (or at least newly renovated), clean, and the staff were lovely. There is a small gym but it has decent equipment (although they need some larger mats as they are too small for yoga or stretching). I stayed in a SINGLE room (twin bed), as I was travelling alone and it was a much better value than anything else I came across in the CBD. The room is absolutely tiny - maybe 8’x8’ plus the bathroom - but it packed a lot into that space. There’s a mini fridge, coffee maker, and some cups and spoons. The electric outlet by the bed has the a USB port which eliminated the need for a plug converter. An iron and board is cleverly hidden behind a full length mirror, but two hangers on pegs is the extent of the clothes storage. There is also a small luggage stand. I’m not sure what someone would do with large luggage, but it was fine for what I had. The single rooms are next to the elevator on each floor … and when I say next to, I mean that you could push the elevator button without leaving the room! However, I only heard other guests a couple times and it didn’t disturb my sleep. One other minor annoyance was that the light from the hall poured under the door, which is right in eye line when in bed (I just put things in front of the door). By yourself in Sydney? Unless you’re severely claustrophobic, I’d recommend the single room.

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“Mixed Experience”

We had a very mixed experience with this hotel. The hotel is located well in the city, very clean, comfortable beds and looks to have been recently renovated or in the process of renovation. But there are some things that are lacking. Rooms are very small to the extent of being uncomfortable, tiny … more

We had a very mixed experience with this hotel. The hotel is located well in the city, very clean, comfortable beds and looks to have been recently renovated or in the process of renovation. But there are some things that are lacking. Rooms are very small to the extent of being uncomfortable, tiny bathroom, quirky decor (especially the feature rope light which is very bright). uncomfortable seating, odd reception area (just a desk in a corridor) and no food service offering. Hotel mentioned parking across the road at the York Club, avoid this the carpark is very steep and tight, would avoid parking here, plenty of other options elsewhere.

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“Stressful experience”

In a city with so many hotel options, I’d recommend looking elsewhere if you are looking for a stress free stay. The stress level with this hotel started before we even checked in when I called about a month before the arrival date to inquire about moving up my check-out day by one night as our pla… more

In a city with so many hotel options, I’d recommend looking elsewhere if you are looking for a stress free stay. The stress level with this hotel started before we even checked in when I called about a month before the arrival date to inquire about moving up my check-out day by one night as our plan changed when I booked the refundable room rate with Accor points. I then received an email that because I booked it with points, they couldn’t change my reservation. Finding this to be hard to believe, I proceeded to cancel my reservation and rebooked it for just 3 nights (instead of 4) and got the points returned. Additionally, because the room rate dropped since I booked this hotel 4 months ago, I got more points returned to my account where I was able to use them to book my future stays in Cairns and Brisbane. Upon arrival, I was told that the “Welcome Drinks” is simply grabbing two items from the mini bar. I confirmed this again as I was checking out, only to find my credit card being charged for 5 items (2 drinks that I took and random 3 items that were tagged on). This was not the chore that I needed to be dealing with while on vacation. After multiple emails, the manager agreed to a full refund - “Upon further review, there appears to have been a discrepancy identified by Housekeeping regarding the minibar consumption recorded for the room.” Sure, it all worked out at the end, but why do I need this stress while on vacation? The hotel lobby was very strange as all the empty space didn’t have a single chair. There was just a stand with one person manning the desk. With that in mind, there was always a line to speak to someone. On the day that we needed to borrow an umbrella, we were reminded that there will be a charge if we didn’t return the umbrella…there is gotta be a less intrusive way to remind your guests knowing they aren’t the type that will steal a huge umbrella without the handle. There was definitely a lack of customer service training overall at this hotel. Lastly, the room itself was extremely small (almost as if you were in Tokyo)…but it was well designed. Though cleanness was lacking where the bedroom trash wasn’t emptied after housekeeping and the bed storage area was very dusty. The hotel didn’t provide any parking, and the parking lot across the street was very expensive. I guess, avoid staying inside CBD altogether when visiting Sydney.

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“Rooms too small!”

Conveniently located within a 7 minute walk of Wynyard railway station the Clarence hotel is in a good place for tourists staying in Sydney - a few blocks down the road is a laundry and close by there are several restaurants and cafes. Circular Quay is about a 15 minute walk away as are many other … more

Conveniently located within a 7 minute walk of Wynyard railway station the Clarence hotel is in a good place for tourists staying in Sydney - a few blocks down the road is a laundry and close by there are several restaurants and cafes. Circular Quay is about a 15 minute walk away as are many other useful amenities. The hotel has recently been modernised, and although it is an old building the rooms inside are fresh and new. However they are very small! Our room (604 ) was no more than 9 feet wide with a small window partly obscured by the end of the double bed. The bathroom was also tiny - indeed so tiny that it was impossible to sit straight on the toilet! The room was well fitted out with a 5-foot comfortable double bed, good lighting, a flat screen TV, a small fridge, an ironing board and iron, plenty of plug sockets, tea and coffee facilities, a small table and seating area, but only a few hooks to hang your clothes on and no wardrobe. There was a bit of space under the bed – but nowhere to put your suitcases at all. The free Wi-Fi was good and relatively quick, and the bathroom shower was efficient and actually quite spacious. We paid over £100 a night for our room which did not include breakfast (the hotel has no restaurant). I could not really recommend the Clarence hotel because we spent four nights here and felt that our bedroom was almost like a prison cell without a window. There is 24-hour reception and we were always warmly greeted in a friendly way but the rooms are simply too small.

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