“Standing Ovation” - Metro Hotel on Pitt

I spent 4 days in the Metro Hotel to lodge my mother who came to visit after several years of not seeing me during our short stop at Sydney. I wanted to impress her but the budget was limited so after careful consideration of several hotels, I chose Metro thinking it average-to-good, but fairly priced and a bit wary after reading a few very negative reviews. I was VERY surprised when I found out the spacious room, super-comfortable beds, pleasant decor and top-notch cleaniness. 

Moreover, I managed to catch a free WIFI offer and I couldn't believe how reliable and fast it was (not to mention unlimited,) I don't even get such a good Internet at home paying premium for it! As others have said, it's also conveniently located in the middle of the CBD with the Opera House on walking distance.

The only complaint was a rather ugly but not too big faded stain in the carpet which I guess is what people who post negative reviews get hung on?

If you are paying over $300 in a 5-star hotel that might be a valid concern, but when you are getting such a great value for your buck (4-star quality for under $120 a night!) you shouldn't mind secondary details like that. Old lifts were ugly and slow but I got there right when they were replacing them, now they are state-of-the-art which shows that even being on top of their game they strive to improve even further. I just hope that won't affect their prices because I'm planning to keep lodging there for all my future travels to Sydney!

Room Tip: If Internet is important to you, watch out for the free WiFi offers, or pay the extra cost if necessary. As opposed to most other hotels' free Internet, it's super fast and reliable, all in the comfort of your own room.

Stayed: April 2012, traveled with family 

Value 5 out of 5
Location 5 out of 5
Sleep Quality 5 out of 5
Rooms 5 out of 5
Cleanliness 4 out of 5
Service 4 out of 5

Total Rating: 5 out of 5 Edgar L (Melbourne)

View Metro Hotel on Pitt on Trip Advisor

“Great Value, Great Location” - Apsire Hotel Sydney

Darling Harbour is a great place to stay. This hotel is in a quiet residential street within 5 - 7 minutes of the tram and monorail stop, 5 minutes to the Powerhouse Museum and Paddy's Market. The rooms are large and well appointed, beds comfortable, good clean bathroom with plenty of hot water, and a hair dryer - nice ! Air conditioned, but also a lovely balcony door with an insect screen so I could have fresh air which was wonderful. 

I'm not sure what people are expecting for a budget hotel price but it was certainly well within what I wanted. No bells and whistles - I don't care about digital TV and DVD players, I'm not going to be sitting in my room ! It doesn't matter if the decor isn't the latest, as long as it fulfills the function, and you don't need to have food on site.There is a very nice all day breakfast cafe 2 minutes away with a wonderful menu, and several other cafes in the area. I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone on a budget and it will be my hotel of choice the next time I come to Sydney. 

Stayed February 2012, traveled with family

• Value 4/5
• Location 4/5
• Sleep Quality 4/5
•   Rooms 4/5
• Cleanliness 4/5
• Service 4/5

View Review on trip advisor

TripAdvisor Can’t Claim to be Trusted February 6, 2012

TripAdvisor will not longer be allowed to tell British users that its holiday reviews can be trusted. Advertising regulators said that can’t be certain because there’s nothing to stop bogus reviews being posted.

The Advertising Standards Authority made its ruling after receiving complaints about TripAdvisor’s own website. It said the statements had been made in a promotional manner and thus came under its remit. The ASA is an industry-backed body that rules whether advertisements are “legal, decent, honest and truthful.”

Complaints about the site covered claims that users could “read reviews from real travellers” and that the site featured “more than 50 million honest travel reviews and opinions from real travellers around the world”, along with the slogan “Reviews you can trust.”

The ASA noted that reviewers posted on the site were simply asked to declare that they were not personally or commercially linked to the hotel they were reviewing, and that there were no questions asked about whether they were a commercial rival or posting on behalf of the rival.

TripAdvisor said its users had the intelligence and skepticism to detect bogus reviews. It pointed out that because the site was so popular, any review falsely claiming a hotel was particularly good or poor would be drowned out by, and would stand out among, genuine user reviews.

The company also said it had an extensive technical system designed to filter out fake reviewers; it provided details of this system to the ASA on a confidential basis.

The ASA concluded that although TripAdvisor made efforts to make sure reviews were genuine, it simply wasn’t possible to be certain no bogus reviews were being posted on the site. With this in mind it ruled that the site could not truthfully say with absolute confidence that all its reviews were genuine and could be trusted.

TripAdvisor Can’t Claim to be Trusted February 6, 2012

Metro Hotel Sydney Central - Trip Advisor Guest Reviews

Three Recent Trip Advisor Guest Reviews of Metro Hotel Sydney Central:

“Good Central Hotel in Chinatown” - Reviewed 17 January 2012 NEW

This hotel is located in a very good location, right in Chinatown - extremely near to food shops, supermarkets, Chinatown shops - no issues finding nearby amenities. Good location for tourists as it is walking distance to some tourists attractions (e.g. Paddy's markets, Darling Harbour, City Centre), and is near to bus stops to further areas (e.g. Opera House, The Rocks, Harbour Bridge).

Hotel rooms I stayed in was a standard room (either 1 double bed or 2 single beds). Has TV (with limited cable), kettle, cups and glasses, coffee and tea, table with mirror, bathroom, and basic facilities. Comfortable room. Though, I felt that the room lighting is a bit too dim at times (with no overhead lights, only table lamps). Bathroom feels small and I had to bend down to reach the taps (not ideal for people with bad backs). Otherwise, room was clean and tidy. Good value.

I also paid for the morning breakfast, which was decent but wasn't great (it was buffet style with limited variety of food - got sick of eating the same food after a few days).
For business trips, etc. - Internet is not free, you have to pay a certain fee for it.

Pros - good value; extremely good central location; clean, basic rooms; basic room facilities present; helpful staff
Cons - small bathroom; need to pay for Internet access; very limited choice for breakfast

• Stayed November 2011, travelled with family
  • Value 4/5
    
  • Location 5/5
    
  • Sleep Quality 4/5
    
  • Rooms 3/5
    
  • Cleanliness 4/5
    
  • Service 4/5

“Steps from Chinatown, CBD, transport and markets!” Reviewed 9 January 2012

This hotel has a great location, one block up is a shopping centre with a supermarket, food clothes etc..

Paddy's market and chinatown is in walking distance, as is the Capitol Theatre and entertainment centre. Transport is all around as well as cheap restaurants and pubs.

We stayed here for NYE celebrations had no views of fireworks but we were in walking distance to Circular Quay where we had tickets for an event, the walk was about 15 minutes but this was fine, was pratically a straight line down George Street

The room was clean, bed comfy and tv worked, staff were good they refreshed coffee etc straight away when we asked

I would stay here again

• Stayed January 2012, travelled with friends
  • Value 4/5
    
  • Location 5/5
    
  • Sleep Quality 5/5
    
  • Rooms 5/5
    
  • Cleanliness 5/5
    
  • Service 5/5
    

See these reviews and more on Trip Advisor

What Would You Most Like to Get for Free at a Hotel?

The following results were taken from a Linkedin survey asking "What Would You Most Like to Get for Free at a Hotel?"

Linkedin Members: Comments:

Peter

Peter Jeffries • It seems to me that the bush is leading the charge in the area of free wifi! I also think the industry could learn from their country counterparts in the art of friendliness.

24 days ago Voted for Late check-out

Jan

Jan Dickens • Free WiFi should be available but I don't think Australia has the capacity to provide this. Hotel bookings should be for at least 22 hrs - this would enable the hotel to have 2 hours cleaning time and still keep their occupancy rates.

27 days ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Lee

Lee Oliveira • Australia is way behind when it comes to free wifi in hotels. Every hotel should at least have free wifi in the lobby. They would need to upgrade their system if a hotel was going to offer free wifi. Some hotels I've stayed at that offer free wifi are extremely slow because of the amount of people using it.

about 1 month ago

Phillip

Phillip Fitzgibbon • wifi should be free in Hotels, if you ask nicely you can usually get late check out free anyway

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Makoto "Mak"

Makoto "Mak" Arai • Free WiFi for sure - Just imagine when you have to sign in and even agree to pay for such basic infrastructure, first thing at hotel after hours of tiresome flight(s)...

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

James

James Rennie • Absolutely free WiFi. You have already paid a premimum to stay there so why not offer something that is free in other parts of the world

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Mathew

Mathew Thompson • I have recently returned from a Western USA road trip. I found it interesting that of the five hotels I stayed in, it was the "mum and dad" operators to provide free WiiFi and it was the major national chains who failed to deliver. Unless corporate's refuse to book group travel with hotels failing to step into the 21st century, they won't change their ways, vote with your feet people!

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Carmel

Carmel Hutt • I would like Free WiFI and late a Late Check Out

Ella

Ella Conway • honestly, I think Wifi and Late check outs should be at no extra charge at all.

View the Survey

Metro Inn Miranda: Superior Rooms on level 4 at Metro Inn Miranda

We have been staying at the Metro Inn Miranda at different times of the year since 2005 and it has become our second home whenever we visit Sydney.

On Friday 23 December, 2011 we sent an e-mail to enquire about booking accommodation from Tuesday 27 December, 2011 till Wednesday 4 January, 2012. We expected to get a reply back saying "Sorry no room at the Inn", like Joseph and Mary with the baby Jesus. Can you imagine our elation when the reply came back saying that their was room at the Inn and that we had a choice of either a Balcony Queen Room or a Superior Room on Level 4. Needless to say we replied straight away saying that we wanted the Superior Room.

On arrival we were handed the keys to Room 413 and we believe that we were the first guests to stay in that room. We had been over in April and stayed a short time as we had to attend a family funeral in Orange. Whilst we were there Dale Harlick told us about the plans for Level 4. When the lift doors opened at level 4 we were absolutely blown away with what we saw with the lovely colour scheme and the pictures mounted on the walls depicting the earlier history of the Sutherland Shire. We could not fault the accommodation at all, the decor was outstanding and very tastefully done. We took the liberty of looking through some of the other roomes on level 4 whilst we were there. We were most impressed with Room 407 which was obviously specifically designed for paraplegics and also has the adjoing room access to Room 408 if need be. We will certainly be highly recommending this to any paraplegic people whom we come into contact with and that are travelling to Sydney.

We commend you for the outstanding job that has been done on Level 4 at the Metro Inn Miranda. We can assure you that we will be highly recommending the Superior Rooms on Level 4 to all of our family, friends and work colleagues. In fact we would like you to know that we became the self-appointed honorary ambassadors for the Metro Inn Miranda after our first stay there in 2005. It has always been an absolute pleasure dealing with Dale and the Metro Inn Miranda Team. We have always been impressed with Dale's outstanding management and people skills. As we mentioned earlier we have been regular guests at the Metro Inn Miranda since 2005 and we are still dealing with the same staff members today. If all of your other Property Managers are of the same calibre as Dale Harlick then you must have an extremely happy and profitable operation.

We feel that you have made a very wise business decision and made a sound investment by spending the money on Level 4 at the Metro Inn Miranda, which will reap handsome profitable dividends for you.

In closing we would like to wish you, together with all your management and staff at all Metro Inns, a very Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous 2012.

Yours most sincerely,

Bill & Robyn Lambert.

Superior Rooms on level 4 at Metro Inn Miranda

“Great Rates, Excellent Location” - Guest Review of Aspire Hotel Sydney

This hotel it in a great location, it is on a quiet street, is 5 mins walk if that to the Power House Museum and about 10 minutes walk to Monorail and Darling Harbour. The rooms were big, there were four of us in the room, the staff were excellent.

You have tea and coffee making facilities, there is a fridge in the room but no mini bar (this did not worry us), but those who do like a mini bar they did have a vending machine type bar in reception. The beds were so comfortable, proabably one of the best beds we have slept on in a hotel in a long time.

The only negative thing I would have to stay is that the bathroom needed abit of a make over (this isn't a big issue), and that there isn't a resturarant that you can use at night at the hotel, they do have breakfast available in the mornings at $15 per head all you can eat (bacon, eggs, baked beans, sausages, ceral, toast, fruit just to name a few). Even with no restuarant onsite for dinner, the staff were eagar to assist and inform us where to go, we ended up walking 5 mins up the road to an amazing Pizza Place, the best Pizza I have eaten.

I will certainly recommend staying here and if we head back to Sydney we would look at booking here again.

• Stayed December 2011, traveled with family
  • Value 5 out of 5
    
  • Location 5 out of 5
  • Sleep Quality 5 out of 5
  • Rooms 5 out of 5
  • Cleanliness 5 out of 5
  • Service 5 out of 5

View Review on Trip Advisor