There is nothing wrong with the Marriott Harbourside, its in an excellent position. A two minute walk to Circular Quay/ Opera House and 5 min to the Rocks.

Quay West apartments are located in the Rocks district slightly up a hill. They do however offer apartments which would be good for a family. They are approx 5 mins walk to Circular Quay.

To me, the best apartments/hotel located in Sydney is the Quay Grand Apartments in Circular Quay. I stayed there last weekend and found them to be fantastic..especially if your budget can stretch to a habourview apartment.(one bedroom apartment - easily big enough for a family of 3).

Many thanks, Ellemay. I looked on Wotif and the Quay Grand is pricey 1st til 3rd Aug. They haven't got the following week listed yet. We don't mind paying the money if we're spending a lot of time in the room but I know we'll be out and about most of the time. The only thing that bugged me about the Marriott was that they don't give you a King bed and a roller bed. For 2 adults and a child they only have 2 double beds!

Cheers

Hi,

Both those hotels are in good locations and I think you'd have a nice stay at either.

If you want to consider Darling Harbour, I'd recommend the 4points by Sheraton. It's location is convenient for both the city and Darling Harbour and it's a good quality hotel.

Thanks, Camsean. Half my problem is deciding whether the Circular Quay area or Darling Harbour would be best for us. Is it quite straight forward getting from one area to the other?

Hi Chocorina,

Rarely do I wander off topic but I just have to ask how an Aussie ends up on Sakhalin Is?

Like a few aviation types I recall Korean Flight 007 back in 1983 and the end result.

Is the island a defence installation now or what? Please satisfy my curiosity, Cheerz Wab.

True Wabster, interesting history regarding Sakhalin Island.

I'm wondering if they still have horrible earthquakes ??

Chorcorina, to get back to your question..Darling Harbour or the Rocks/Circular Quay areas in Sydney are excellent locations to be positioned for exploring Sydney. Your son will enjoy either locations.

Darling Harbour has a ferry service which links into Circular Quay and other Sydney Harbour wharfs.

sydneyferries.info/timetables/darling-harbou…

Getting to, from and around Darling Harbour is easy.

Arrive by train, bus, Sydney monorail, Metro light rail or walk down from Sydney's CBD.

For a great excuse to enjoy the harbour, enter by water taxi, ferry, harbour cruise or jet boat.

The Metro Light Rail is another transport system which transports passengers quickly to key destinations around Darling Harbour and the city.

The service has 14 stops between Central Station and Lilyfield in Sydney's inner west with 5 stops along the route servicing the Darling Harbour precinct.

So with the ferries, monorail, and light rail you have plenty of transport handy if you feel like exploring our city.

Getting between Darling Harbour and Circular Quay is no problem at all. You could catch a train from Town Hall station, a ferry from Darling Harbour or just about any bus going down York or George streets.

I really don't know which area I would choose. There are probably more shops and amusements around Darling Harbour but Circular Quay is really a quintessential Sydney location.

I would say that for me I'd prefer to be on the city side of Darling Harbour i.e the same side as the 4 Points and the Crowne Plaza and Holiday inn rather that the Ultimo side i.e the same side as the Mercure and Ibis.

Really though. you'll be fine in either Darling Harbour or Circular Quay.

IMO Id stay in the area you have booked, its easy to get to Darling Harbour from Circular Quay - walk or get the ferry from circular quay it goes under the harbour bridge & last time I used it was no more than $4 adult. Could get bus and or train down to Town hall & then walk (about 5 mins).

Hey Everyone,

Thank you so much for all your advice. I will keep our booking at the Marriott, now I can relax!

Wabster and Ellemay, this Perthite Aussie married a Welshman who is in the oil industry and so we move around every 3 to 4 years. Sakhalin is one of those remote 'hardship' postings but in fact, there are great things here and the lifestyle isn't bad at all. Lots of oil here, lots of beautiful mountains, countryside, caviar and salmon, run-down Soviet style buildings and yes, the occasional earthquake (nasty one hit Nevelsk last year and we felt it here in Yuzhno). We live on a purpose-built 'camp' with our own international school and lovely housing. However, most of us feel the need to escape every 3 months or so and therefore do lots of travelling. As far as the military is concerned, we hear cannons going off some evenings but otherwise they are out of sight.

So, we'll be on our way to Perth to visit my family etc and decided to break up the long journey by stopping over in Sydney for 5 days. Can't wait!

Sounds very interesting Chororina, have fun in Sydney I'm sure you will enjoy our beautiful city.

Thanks for sharing about your lifestyle !

EM.