Sydney Hotels & Hostels (260)

A tucked-away treasure, this shipshape port-in-a-storm won’t be the flashest place you’ll stay in Sydney (the vibe is kinda 1994), but it offers that rare combination of location, p…

Vulcan was a watering hole well into the ’90s before the lousy pub rooms were converted into boutique budget accommodation. Discreet international staff direct you to minimalist grey and w…

This tastefully reworked post office (derelict for 40 years) features smart, neutrally shaded rooms with air-con, TV, fridge and good security. Mark Rothko prints and a wooden staircase warm the …

Sitting pretty among the generically good-looking on the ‘Double Pay’ coffee strip, the Savoy’s rooms offer unexpected amounts of individual character and seemingly stagnant …

Victoria is a sweetly run guest house filling a pair of three-storey 1881 brick terrace houses with 22 en suite rooms, all with TVs and plenty of over-the-top Victoriana (floral quilts, four-post…

Tucked away off busy Castlereagh St, this delightful 1920s building has a sandstone facade and a plush interior that recalls a swankier time. Rooms are very comfortable and lovingly maintained, p…

Aaron doesn’t actually exist – he was invented to secure top-of-the-page ‘Aa’ listing in the Yellow Pages. The cunning plan seems to have worked – Aaron’…

Popular with gay travellers, this well-managed­ 64-room motel in ‘Paddinghurst’ has tidy rooms which, aside from slick bathrooms, feel surprisingly unhip. Still, the location&#…

This once-was Victorian office building has been reinvented as a series of hip, modern pads you’ll wish you lived in: cool kitchenettes, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, on-site laundry, teak…

The service at this central hotel is extremely helpful, and really shines if you're the kind of guest who brings a list of tricky needs - and if you're a regular, you can expect a complimentary b…

The Medina crew have got the vibe right with these smart and funky midrange hotels. Expect clean, sparkling rooms, bright colours and not a shred of stuffiness.

A quirky Italianate guest house just a lofted hook shot from the SCG, Oxford St and Centennial Park. The 33 en suite rooms here feature antique bric-a-brac flourishes, and some have balconies – p…

Dappled with Vibe’s trademark lime and aubergine colour scheme, this slick hotel sports 165 very stylish contemporary rooms and 36 suites. The best rooms offer a choice of Lavender Bay or …

Now this place is cool! You might feel like you’re in a David Lynch movie as you wander the darkened, mirror-lined corridors to your room, one of 40 spread over two levels. Even the standard room…

You don’t stay in these could-be-anywhere airport hotels for kicks, but you do if you have an early flight or you missed it altogether! This joint fits the bill perfectly: clean, comfortab…

The elegant neutral tones may not quite make a home away from home (unless you live in a catalogue), but these spacious apartments sure are comfortable. Those on longer trips will fully appreciat…

Heaven is a swish, spacious apartment where people clean up after you. That’s exactly what happens at this new (ish) low-rise development just off King St Wharf. All apartments have kitche…

The Swiss Grand is the giant wedding cake at the centre of the Bondi strip; an eyesore or the ultimate in Bondi kitsch depending on your point of view. The rooms are all very pleasant (some have …

Spreading half of its tentacles into the grand General Post Office building and the others into a contemporary tower, this is one luxurious address. Choose between high-ceilinged heritage rooms a…

Being as one of the main pastimes in Surry Hills is eating out, you may find the well-stocked kitchenette of your slick, modern apartment doesn't get a lot of use – the Medina building alo…

Traditionally decorated rooms (Laura Ashley, you have a lot to answer for), lounge areas with fireplaces, a library, and a rooftop garden just minutes from Circular Quay, make the Russell a solid…

When the owner’s other properties include the Orient Express, you expect opulence. That said, the Observatory is remarkably restrained, eschewing excessive glitz in favour of an elegant an…

Try to contain your glee as you waltz into the de luxe Hilton. Cooler-than-cool rooms feature black timber bedheads, flatscreen TVs, DVD players and internet telephony. Superchef Luke Mangan hand…

Facing off with the Opera House but losing rather badly in the race for architectural grace, the curvaceous, low-slung Park Hyatt is superluxurious and superlocated. Rooms boast marble baths, the…

The vague nutters at Asylum offer accommodation ranging from poky dorms to a private harbour-view pad with a kitchenette. There’s funky graffiti everywhere, free wi-fi and breakfast, and a…

Friendly and funky, this 1892-built hostel has an awesome roof terrace that floats you up into the city lights. It’s a huge place (250 beds), but the ceilings are high and rooms airy …

Sprawled over neighbouring Victorian houses (capacity 150), Glebe Village resembles nothing more than a collection of slightly grungy student flats. Frank-the-Tank types, less hung up on comfort …

This is a straight-up-and-down bargain deal. Don't expect any fripperies or flounces - you're getting a good square room (that sleeps up to four) with fridge, TV, air-con and bathroom and about a…

This affable, alcohol-free hostel upholds the old-school value: ‘respect and be respected’. There’s an ’80s-style kitchen, four-bed dorms and basic private rooms (all …

Yep, it’s a pink house…the kind of place where you get three smiles before you reach reception. The relentless colour attack continues inside through spritely communal areas, across…

This enduring motel-hostel offers a broader experience than most backpacker joints, with travellers, touring rock bands and urbanites of all persuasions lobbing up on the doorstep. Rooms come wit…

A party-centric budget option, this converted ambulance station is a complex upstairs-downstairs affair with lots of beds, boozy nocturnal activities, international staff and enormous kitchens. T…

This long-running hostel meanders through two historic mansions, offering 176 beds, two kitchens and great (if a little noisy) outdoor spaces. Rooms have high ceilings, fridges, fans and shared b…

Another old-style hostel on the main backpacker strip; the prices don't come lower than this for your basic bunk bed in a clean four-person dorm. Bathrooms are shared except for in the pricier do…

When this place was built 90 years ago, it was Sydney’s tallest building. Now it’s dwarfed by glass towers, but retains some aesthetic charm with its romantically defunct ‘We…

The ever-excellent YHA outdoes itself with a fabulous rooftop terrace that comes complete with spa. The staff are great, there’s free snorkelling and surfboards, and you’re only a hop, skip and s…

Eva’s is a perennial backpacker favourite, probably because it’s far enough from the Kings Cross fray to maintain some composure and dignity. Free breakfast and wi-fi, plus an ace r…

Well run and less uptight than some YHAs, this chilled-out, brightly painted hostel has decent facilities, plenty of organised activities and simple, clean rooms with sinks. The main lure for par…

If it weren’t for the bunks, the backpacks and the snoring strangers, you might forget you’re in a hostel. Taking a formerly derelict building seriously upmarket, Mr Big has snazzy …

A little bit of character oozes through this small guest house on the Pacific Hwy. The cheaper rooms don’t have en suites, but there’s a communal kitchen and a grassy lawn. Traffic noise is intru…