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October 15, 2010 12:05 AM   Subscribe

Going to Sydney for three weeks in November. How do I find decent, affordable accommodations?

My fiancee and I are planning to spend the first three weeks of November in Australia, almost certainly in Sydney. However, because of the somewhat long-term nature of the trip and the fact that we don't have limitless money, we are having a hard time sorting out accommodations. The usual Expedia/Kayak/Travelocity aren't turning up great options, and we haven't had much luck with Airbnb. Where on the web should we be looking to find longer-term hotels/B&Bs/other suitable accommodations?
posted by sinfony to Travel & Transportation around Sydney, Australia (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: You can use www.wotif.com but I have also found expedia to be fine in Sydney (I'm from Melbourne). There is also the discoversydney website. Kayak and Travelocity are less commonly used than Expedia and Wotif, as far as I know.
posted by jojobobo at 12:09 AM on October 15, 2010


My favourite places in Sydney are the two following:

The Billabong Gardens: it's in Newtown, so pretty central, right in the middle of restaurant and cafe streets. It's clean, welcoming, and has free internet. The double rooms are really nice for a low-end place, and have free linen, tea and coffee, etc.

The Meriton Apartments: the only really cheap ones are in Paramatta, but if you don't mind a 20 minute train trip into the city each day, it's such great value. And beautiful beautiful rooms: apartments, actually, with gorgeous views over the city, a gym and swimming pool, and restaurants underneath. Sometimes there are good deals on the more central ones too. We stayed in a 2-bedroom suite at the Paramatta ones for $120 a night total, but you have to book either last-minute, or well in advance to get that rate.
posted by lollusc at 1:18 AM on October 15, 2010


AirBnB is a great resource.
posted by frmrpreztaft at 1:27 AM on October 15, 2010


Best answer: It depends on what you mean by affordable.

I always use wotif.com.au or www.lastminute.com.au when travelling in Australia but both tend to have the same deals. In my experience you can't really get a hotel room from under $120 in the city.

There is a hotel called the Y on the Park (run by YWCA) it is as good as any lower end chain hotel and they have cheaper rooms that have shared bathrooms, they also have traditional hotel rooms. They are in a great location overlooking Hyde Park/Oxford Street in the city.

You probably can get cheaper deals out side of the Sydney central business district, like parramatta. But parramatta is not really showing you the best of sydney (its like the second main business district) or look for a hotel that is located near a train station. Although Sydney trains aren't the best and if you use them daily will add around $10/person/day to you costs.

Or there's backpacker hostels, but i don't know much about them.

Happy to help further and/or provide feedback if you produce a shortlist of options. (i'm sydney based)
posted by MT at 1:37 AM on October 15, 2010


and another good website is http://www.stayz.com.au/

official NSW tourism site http://www.visitnsw.com/
posted by MT at 1:42 AM on October 15, 2010


Lots of hostels in Sydney as well. hostel
World
is a good resource. Usually they have private rooms as well.
posted by backwards guitar at 4:28 AM on October 15, 2010


Last I toured the east coast of Oz, my small group used a lonely planet guide book, lots of hints of where to stay inside.

HTHs!
posted by TrinsicWS at 6:48 AM on October 15, 2010


When I was there, many times I could get a room at the Travelodge Sydney, Wentworth Ave and Goulburn St (middle of downtown!), for less than $100. The tricky part is that this seems to depend on what day and it's not something I could ever make much sense of (except for the obvious holidays or such). I just checked and it seems around middle of november if you get 5 or more days there's still slots for 99$.
posted by Iosephus at 8:16 AM on October 15, 2010


When I was there, many times I could get a room at the Travelodge Sydney, Wentworth Ave and Goulburn St (middle of downtown!), for less than $100.

I stayed there recently for three nights, and was not impressed. The shower is simply a half-enclosed area with a curtain, so water spills out onto the rest of the bathroom floor. Also, the magnetic card key they provided would often refuse to unlock either my room or the elevator, forcing me to go to the desk once or twice a day and complain.

The location is pretty good for the price, though, so if you're willing to put up with its quirks then I'd give it a look.
posted by armage at 8:16 PM on October 15, 2010


Response by poster: Finding lots more options now, thanks!
posted by sinfony at 11:57 PM on October 15, 2010


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