This idyllic, beautifully situated hostel, a couple of kilometres south of the Basin, is noted for its considerate management and the surrounding friendly wildlife (birdwatchers will really get a kick out of the experience). Book well ahead and bring food and your own sheets.

One of the friendliest and most down-to-earth hostels we've ever visited, and run by two gregarious brothers who know 'the Shire' inside-out. Facilities are simple and well maintained, with a cheery vibe from staff and travellers alike.

This long-running hostel meanders through two wonderful historic mansions, offering 176 beds, friendly staff, two kitchens and great outdoor spaces. It's a mazelike place where rooms have high ceilings, fridges and shared bathrooms, although there is one double with an en...

In a big old 19th-century house in the centre of Glebe, the Alishan is clean, quiet and well run, with OK communal areas and a room that can accommodate disabled travellers. The house itself is the grandest thing about the whole operation - the rooms themselves are fairly...

The Beachhouse has tidy, bright (though often small) rooms and a reputation for offering a good standard of budget accommodation. It has a more secure reputation than some other backpackers' dens in this neck of the woods.

Eva's is a class act. This cheerful, brightly painted corner block on a quiet backstreet is kept perfectly spick and span. There's a big sociable kitchen/dining area downstairs and a great rooftop garden. Breakfast and internet access (broadband or wi-fi) are free, as are...

Backpackers flock to this large, modern and almost arty hostel right near Central Station (and on top of what might well be Sydney's busiest intersection), where still-spiffy spaces (after a few years of wear and tear) await them (the seven floors each have a theme and...

This place, as you'd expect, is an incredibly popular choice with budget travellers, and is easily the best of Bondi's hostels. The staff here are as clued-up as you'd expect from a YHA joint, and there are excellent communal areas to enjoy, such as a big kitchen with...

There are a few YHA hostels in Sydney, but this is the one that really captured our attention and held it - its location is so central it's almost a part of Central station and its facilities are far better than you'd generally expect with a budget price tag. Another bonus?...

This hotel is in a large, beautiful old house with a peculiar sculpture out the front (you can't miss it). Its location is excellent - close to the city on Sydney's charming, leafy and tranquil north shore - with the added lure of being able to hop on a ferry and be in...

The Highfield is one of Sydney's most highly regarded budget options, and with good reason - the standards of cleanliness and comfort are high, despite facilities being basic and unfussy. You can probably put this down to the fact that the hotel is Swedish owned and operated,...

This central pub represents a good deal on a number of fronts - a super central location, low prices, plenty of character and its own microbrewery on the premises! The rooms themselves are in better than decent shape and all have en suite bathrooms - a rarity for pub-style...

The Chelsea is a low-key delight in Sydney's B&B category, taking pride of place on one of Darlinghurst's coolest (and quietest) streets in a gently crumbling terrace house. You'll find two types of room here - contemporary or French Provencal, so take your pick and pack...

This hip, stylish 16-room place is still trading on its remodelling from a few years ago, thanks to designers du jour Burley Katon Halliday, who went for a blindingly white look for the most part.

Attractive, recently renovated rooms heal over-travelled bones at this almost-hip boutique hotel, nicely located right near Hyde Park. All 38 modern rooms have kitchenette, telephone, safe and Internet connection. A three-bedroom apartment is also available. Parking and...

The Mariners Court is a tucked-away treasure that offers great value for money and welcoming service. It won't be the flashest place you'll stay in Sydney, but it certainly offers a rare combination of location, price and extra features (including air-conditioning) that have...

Standing sentinel-like at Millers Point, the Palisade Hotel has solidly, stolidly furnished rooms, some with breathtaking views of the harbour. It's a funky old heritage building (though the shared bathrooms definitely reflect its age), and it's in a part of The Rocks that has...

The Australian Hotel is easily one of the best pubs in The Rocks, with a fun, friendly and bustling atmosphere and the chance to drink both cold beer and fine wine and enjoy a great gourmet pizza. It also offers some of Sydney's best pub accommodation, with old-fashioned...

Quite a find in Darlinghurst, the Altamont features smart-looking, modern rooms with en suites and an easy-going, convivial vibe. Well-priced, nicely designed rooms feature some stark modern details or custom-made Indonesian furniture, breaking up any uniformity in this...

This part of town is slowly but surely getting a bit of a clean-up and nowhere embodies this better than the Pensione Hotel - a tasteful reworking of a stately George St building - and with prices guaranteed to make it popular.

This delightful little boutique hotel has been beautifully decorated in a modern style that retains interesting original tilework, Art-Deco details and a sense of beach-house space with great sensitivity - thanks to well-known Sydney architect Virginia Kerridge.

The Kirketon is going through some changes - with its once-famous restaurant and bar undergoing refurbishment and prices plummeting to the easily affordable. Despite all this change, the rooms are still in good shape, the service is still helpful and the location still ideal....

This superb heritage home (1892) has been faithfully restored and converted into quiet and tasteful lodgings. The rooms are spacious, decked out with en suites, fireplaces and antique prints, while unsightly mod cons are discreetly hidden from view, so as not to disturb the...

One of Sydney's better sleeping secrets, and with good reason - you wouldn't want anyone else to gazump your reservation either. It's a nice little bolthole with a sense of privacy and discretion. And its location is smack bang in the city centre.

The Central Park is a perky, snazzy corner hotel that makes extra efforts to keep the guests coming back. To whit: fresh fruit and mints for guests in the reception area, bottled water free of charge when you arrive and free local phone calls. And that's before you realise...

Slick and smooth, this hotel plays host to the likes of low-key moguls and secretive stars who appreciate staying in surrounds that are straight out of an interior-design periodical. Every superstylish mod con (including DVD players) is provided; in fact the trinkets and...

The Hilton is the most famous, anticipated and fancy facelift Sydney has seen in a long time - even the stats don't quite capture the feeling that something radical has happened to this particular (and barely recognisable) face of luxury accommodation - 30 months of work and a...

You'll be left with no doubt that this boutique landmark wants to make an impression when you walk into reception. A huge replica of Caravaggio's Medusa dominates the room and a bowl of highly polished ruby-red apples invites a Snow White chomp. Service comes straight out of...

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 bottle of wine. Now there's a way to ensure repeat business.

If it's not the marble bathroom with the oversized bath, the sensational day spa or the feather doona, it must be the lavish indoor pool with its magical, twinkling starry sky that makes the Observatory special.