During my recent visit to Sydney, I stayed at the Marque Hotel - Sydney. I went to Sydney for a skills workshop which was 3 days (each at least 12 hours) of grilling, so I thought a 3 star hotel was adequate.

The location
If you are traveling to Sydney, and do not plan to hire a car (remember, parking is expensive!)- then you really need to be near a train station. Location wise, The Marque Hotel is in a pristine spot. A stone’s throw away from Sydney Central Station, it took me about 2-4 minutes (depending on the mood of the traffic lights) to get to my platform, which was 25 (at the other end of the station). The hotel also has easy access to fast food joints, and also some restaurants nearby. Of course, sitting on the corner is George Street - means you have access to Sydney’s bustling downtown district.

The service
The front reception staff are always smiling, and welcoming. They did stuff up my booking by giving me a room with 3 single beds, but it was corrected (but not before my bags went up to the wrong room). I did not use much room service, as I never really had time but on the last day I spent a few hours just lazing around in the lobby. Sorry, but that is as much I can comment on service, I really never was in the hotel during business hours.

Their website is quite flashy, and very useful. Their email turn around was pretty good too (24 hours). They have an online booking facility as well through ihotelier.com service.

The hotel
I have never really stayed in a 3 star hotel before, so didn’t know what to expect. Looking from outside, it is very average. Their lobby, however, is immaculate, and very posh. But, that is where the extravagance ends if you stay in a regular room. The rooms are ordinary (but the view was great), and immediate thing I noticed was the curtains being pretty dirty. The TV reception was average too. I wouldn’t rate the rooms very high, but then again it was a 3 star hotel so you can’t expect too much I guess. The hotel also comprises of a roof top pool, sauna, undercover parking, conference facilities, air conditioning, a restaurant and bar. Details of their facilities can be found here. I never had time to explore all of these facilities, but I trust them.

The hotel itself seems to be undergoing some renovation, and according to their website - the more expensive rooms have more state of the art facilities - read more here.

The cost
I booked the rooms through Blue Holidays. The whole trip cost me about $400 (including airfares, accommodation), which I thought was not bad for 3 days. Parking would cost you about $25 per day at the hotel. Trust me, it’s not worth it - as Sydney transport is relatively cheap from point to point. They also have a airport drop off service, which is about $12 per person, quite competitive when compared to the Airport Link service (more about this later).

Rating - 7/10 (for the cost, it was a good)
For the money I paid, I think I got a pretty good deal. I will stay there again, because of its pristine location.