Sydney people, help!! (not Disney related)

[BigDisneyOE]

Baby brother has sprung upon us he's getting married. He was thinking September but I gently pointed out we were at DCL and on the Disney Wonder in September. I tried to swing him towards coming on the Wonder with us and getting married there but he didn't go for it.

Now he's decided he's going to go for a 'Harbour Wedding' (whatever that is) in Sydney in early August. The kids are very excited to see their uncle again but it's been a decade since I was last in Sydney and I stayed with friends.

Does anyone have any cost effective recommendations for central Sydney that's near this 'Harbour Wedding'? TIA

 

[battymum]

Like any major city - accommodation for a family is not going to be cheap.

We have stayed here

http://www.mirvachotels.com/citigate-central-sydney/family-drive-amp-stay-holidays

It was OK - although its located more towards Chinatown / Darling Harbour, not the prettiest area, but perfectly safe and pretty close to the Powerhouse Museum which the children would enjoy.

Sydney Harbour is pretty big - there are many beautiful wedding locations, but a taxi would be easy enough to get in the afternoon (not so easy in the evening)

 

[BecBennett]

If you're not after anything too fancy there's a Y on the Park, which is on the side of Hyde Park, I stayed there with my family previously. We had our own bathroom so it's not too back packery, and it's in a pretty good location.

We've also stayed at Aaron's Traveller's Rest and the Hyde Park Inn, both really nice, but we haven't stayed at either for a fair few years, so not sure what the prices are doing now

 

[Mum from oz]

I would go to a site like lastminute.com and see what you can get. I've used the, often and go for the secret 4 or 5* hotels. They have always been nice and anywhere is th CBD is a short taxi ride to the harbour.

 

[australiankaren]

yep..secret hotels are the way to go, even priceline.com , hotels.com etc do aussie hotels
unless you have hotel points to use...

just be careful re parking fees, some hotels charge $45 a night for parkinglived that dream before

 

[shushh]

To stay anywhere near the harbour would be $$$!

Don't forget there's a free city shuttle that does a look which is free! It runs on weekends as well. The buses are green and come quite frequently. This will help free you up in the terms of accomodation location and save you some money.

Here is the map of the route
http://www.131500.com.au/tickets/upload/docs/555map.pdf
Info about the service
http://www.sydneybuses.info/free-shuttles/free-shuttle-information

 

[australiankaren]

i also forgot, try looking in north Sydney...you get great deals and its a few train stops away/ ferry.

you can also get some great apartment/ hotel deals in Parramatta....30 min on train, 45 min on rivercat..a great trip....but I'm just biased

And parra also has Church St with fantastic dining, river theatre, harry d wheels, shopping, movies, rosehill racecourse, restaurants along the Parramatta river which they have spent a motsa on doing up..very nice.....great place to stay if looking for something different.

 

[ExcitedSam]

Does harbor mean boat? We went to a reception on a boat on the harbor and stayed at the ibis king street warf, walking distance to the harbor where the boat left from (and many boats leave from) but yes nothing there is going to be cheap at all!

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Ah thanks everyone. Lots of good options to look at here. I know I'll need somewhere for the four of us, which seems to throw a lot of hotels out. I looked on Wotif but the choice is massive as I'm not sure of area. The only places I really know in Sydney are (don't laugh Karen) Auburn and Parrematta (I actually come from Paremata in NZ). I thought that area was too far out based on how many times I was car sick on the way to the Sydney Harbour Bridge last time I was there. I'm going to look at the free transport map now, as that may help me get an idea of what is feasible with a couple of 4.5 year old boys. Talk about throwing the entire family for a loop and our Mother doesn't know yet as she's off annoying the Dutch at the moment.

No idea if harbour means boat. I've asked my brother but he's probably not at his laptop at the moment. I would hope it's a boat as the kids would love the boat and it would keep them occupied rather than telling everyone that their grandma is selfish in loud voices.

 

[australiankaren]

Ah thanks everyone. Lots of good options to look at here. I know I'll need somewhere for the four of us, which seems to throw a lot of hotels out. I looked on Wotif but the choice is massive as I'm not sure of area. The only places I really know in Sydney are (don't laugh Karen) Auburn and Parrematta (I actually come from Paremata in NZ). I thought that area was too far out based on how many times I was car sick on the way to the Sydney Harbour Bridge last time I was there. I'm going to look at the free transport map now, as that may help me get an idea of what is feasible with a couple of 4.5 year old boys. Talk about throwing the entire family for a loop and our Mother doesn't know yet as she's off annoying the Dutch at the moment.

dont rule us out......catch the river cat from parra, the boys would love it and it takes you straight to circular quay.....runs good hours......they'd also love the express trains from parra as well...25 min to central station, 35 min to circular quay

and the Dutch do need annoying, can she also pop into the greeks and give them a kick up the Disney wonder!!

 

[battymum]

thats really gonna throw a spanner in your wallet a month before your trip!

I know that citigate hotel has rooms with two queen beds - so your family will fit there.

Will you hire a car? Are your kids still in carseats, cause while taxis may carry a child seat, I doubt they will carry two.

Taxis can be very difficult to get in the city in the evening, you need to secure your transport home, you dont want to be waiting in a taxi queue with two 4.5year olds at midnight!

 

[BecBennett]

I actually think I'm going to back Karen with the Parramatta option. It's further away, but much more affordable.

 

[australiankaren]

I actually think I'm going to back Karen with the Parramatta option. It's further away, but much more affordable.

see..i do come up with cunning plans every now and again......

 

[BobbyRach]

see..i do come up with cunning plans every now and again......

We stayed in Sydney last weekend with my 5 year old nephew and I would also vote Paramatta. It is very easy to get into the City from there and you can get more of an apartment style for the family.

However we stayed at the big 4 holiday park at Parklea and I would NOT recommend it. Normally I love big 4's but this one is just not up the same standard with a lot of residential houses surrounding it (right near us there were 2 men drinking on their balcony at 7am in the morning!). They also advertised on their website they had a jumping pillow and upon arriveal they informed us that it had been broken down since December last year??? This park definitley does not have the same excellent facilities as other Big 4's...

When we drove through Paramatta we wish we had stayed there - it looked like a lovely area to stay and not the cost of the City!

 

[shushh]

Ok so I couldn't resist looking...
A$200/night. Good price for anything near circular Quay.
http://www.vrbo.com/396416#

Have a look around VRBO as well. Other apartments at other locations available. I just picked one the first one that was reasonably priced.

 

[australiankaren]

We stayed in Sydney last weekend with my 5 year old nephew and I would also vote Paramatta. It is very easy to get into the City from there and you can get more of an apartment style for the family.

However we stayed at the big 4 holiday park at Parklea and I would NOT recommend it. Normally I love big 4's but this one is just not up the same standard with a lot of residential houses surrounding it (right near us there were 2 men drinking on their balcony at 7am in the morning!). They also advertised on their website they had a jumping pillow and upon arriveal they informed us that it had been broken down since December last year??? This park definitley does not have the same excellent facilities as other Big 4's...

When we drove through Paramatta we wish we had stayed there - it looked like a lovely area to stay and not the cost of the City!

oh god not parklea....so glad you survived
parra city is better.....

 

[austraveler]

Try oaks goldsborough. It is across the road from the Novotel at Darling Harbour and is quite reasonable. Our two bedroom appt also had a sofa bed and there were 3 bathrooms.

 

[battymum]

Do they realise early August is only eight to ten weeks away - thats going to be one mad rush to organise a wedding if they dont even have the venue sorted!

 

[Anne_Aus]

You could check out the punthill apartments on the North Shore, its close to chatswood for shopping, near a train line and less than 20 mins to the city

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Argh my eyes hurt from checking out everyone's ideas. DH wants to stay Darling Harbour 'as it's close to everything and we can do Sydney well from there and we don't need a car'. Yikes - major budget blow-out. Maybe we should just head off to the second wedding they are having in China as well... it'd work out the same.