Q Station Sydney Harbour National Park By Accor

“A Historic Stay”

I needed a hotel for just two nights. I booked this place late a night and probably should have read the details. This hotel is an old quarantine based. So the hotel looks like army barracks. Which has it's own charm. So it's very much meant for peaceful getaway. Once I knew what I was in for I go… more

I needed a hotel for just two nights. I booked this place late a night and probably should have read the details. This hotel is an old quarantine based. So the hotel looks like army barracks. Which has it's own charm. So it's very much meant for peaceful getaway. Once I knew what I was in for I got use to it. The place has three resturants that are all open at different times. So if you are staying for a week, back snacks that can fit in a fridge. Do pay extra for the breakfast as it will save you time. The staff was friendly and changed my rooms after my original rooms phone didn't work. There are a lot of hills so a lot incline. But there is a shuttle to take you around. The views are amazing. My favorite part was the history tour. Tours are extra but worth it. There is a parking lot, if you are driving yourself. However the cars are parked near the reception and not near your room. I would go again, however I would be better prepared.

less

“A Novel Place; Mixed Bag for the Stay”

We spent a night at this unique property. It’s a bit difficult to evaluate due to its historic nature, yet we tried to compare it to places like Fort Yellowstone or the Yellowstone Inn which both must meet (US) historic standards. Overall, it was novel, and a good bit cheaper than lodging in th… more

We spent a night at this unique property. It’s a bit difficult to evaluate due to its historic nature, yet we tried to compare it to places like Fort Yellowstone or the Yellowstone Inn which both must meet (US) historic standards. Overall, it was novel, and a good bit cheaper than lodging in the heart of Manly Beach (at least on a Saturday night). For context, we traveled with two large suitcases for a several week trip Down Under. This shaped our view of room sizes and bathroom counter space. Things we liked: - The property itself is green and very low density—the very opposite of the dense development at Manly Beach. - The staff were very friendly and helpful. - We are walkers. It’s an easy ~1.5km walk to Manly Wharf (downhill in to town, uphill coming back). You have access to a very fun area. - While we could hear the Saturday night party in Manly on the campus, we did not hear it in our room. Best of both worlds as far as we’re concerned. Other notes: - The rooms are modernized from their original state with: indoor plumbing, electricity, TV, internet, private bathrooms, a ceiling fan, and new furniture. Beyond that, they remain rustic. - We stayed during the summer, and the rooms are not air conditioned. Frankly, even after leaving the double doors open for 4 hours in the evening, the room was still uncomfortably hot. In our opinion, this is due to poor design when the rooms were upgraded. There are no operable windows. The transom windows used for natural ventilation are fixed at about 2” opening with screening (half the holes closed with paint). Any of the following design features would have dramatically improved climate control: double the room size by removing the back wall, creating a shotgun configuration with cross breeze; fully operable transom windows with screening; replacing the fixed doors outside the bathroom with an operable, screened window; install a strong exhaust fan in the bedroom to draw out hot air; install a mini-split AC unit. - There is a ~1” gap beneath the doors. Seemed like an invitation for creepy crawlies that could have been fixed with a door sweep. - There is no parking near the rooms. Instead, you park in a central lot and are shuttled to the rooms in a mini-bus. Bus service was fine; about every 15 minutes most of the day, or on demand during overnight hours. Or you can walk the half mile or so to the rooms. - We stayed in a Heritage Harbourside room, which advertises a “stunning view of Sydney Harbour.” We find this a gross overstatement. From our room, there were hints of blue through the brush, hardly what we would call a stunning view. We walked all of the water view buildings and there are maybe 6-8 rooms with a true view of the harbour. Far more along the harbour side are similar to ours—highly obscured views of the harbour. We can tell there was a time when they all had views, yet the brush has grown so high, this is no longer the case. - While it is a historic property with old things, the general upkeep of the lodging buildings has room for improvement. - The room is quite small and there is very little counter space. Overall, it was a novel diversion from the everyday hotel. We liked to location and green space of the campus. While we noted a few things that could be better, the one the property most controls is how the rooms are represented. In our case, we feel we didn’t really get what we paid for with regard to the harbour view. Had that claim been accurate, perhaps we’d look past some of the other issues.

less