6/13 Woolloomooloo, NSW

Choosing accommodations on the internet is simple, that's one reason to do it, but largely arbitrary, that's one reason not to do it. Remember that Google does not rank by quality but only by "number of hits." So we chose the Woolloomooloo Waters Apartments, part of the Waldorf chain in Australia. The dissimilarity between the name "Waldorf" and the price should have been a clue that is was not as sharp as the images would suggest. The double queen beds with hide-a-bed, the reasonable price, the equipped kitchenette, the continental breakfast for $10/family, the pool, the premium free coffee was perfect! The saggy beds (I propped our bed up with available phone books and slept better the second night...), the initial body odor smell in the room, the windows that would not lock, the expensive internet connection which we opted not to use, and the $20/night parking rate were all things we would rather have avoided.


Still we were 1 block from Sydney harbor, immediately east of the Botanical Gardens park where you can see the Opera house on the adjacent point with the famous bridge behind it; and a 15 minute walk to Circular Quay. The location was great! A bit like Vancouver Canada's downtown it was a heterogeneous mix of homeless folks, a public school, pubs, upscale apartments and - my budget says thanks - that it was a block from Harry's famous pie shop: Harry's Cafe de Wheels, where we had supper the first evening.

But the accommodations were suitable and conveniently located and priced fairly for 5 people so we stayed 5 nights there. Outings the next 4 days were made from this location.