With an early flight to Singapore the following morning, we chose to spend our final night in Sydney at the on-site Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel.
My stay took place after the hotel first opened in June 2013. But if you check very recent reviews on Trip Advisor, you can see that nothing has changed. We booked promo rates of around $100/night. Since the price was reasonable, my uncle and I each booked our own room (he snores). Note that rates typically are as cheap as $125 and as much as $280. Dayrooms and family suites are available.
My room was comfortable and open. The bathroom counter was in the same room as the bed and desk. A separate walk-in shower and toilet were situated to the right.
A mini-bar included plenty of snacks and drinks for purchase.
I appreciated that the room offered plenty of electrical outlets and no converter was needed at the desk:
The United 747 pictures in the old paint job certainly date this trip report, but note the excellent tarmac views from my room. The windows were nicely sound-proofed, so there were no sleep disturbances.
Although I did not use the gym facilities, a small gym was available. No pool.
Also available: a rooftop bar, lobby restaurant and bar, a Touch&Go Cafe, as well as room service.
If you are traveling to/from the domestic terminal, a free shuttle service is available. Wi-Fi is also free throughout the hotel, though did not work well in my room.
CONCLUSION
I’d rate this hotel as a solid, four star property that provides an excellent environment to sleep before or between flights. This is not a “vacation” hotel, but it is highly practical.
We spent the previous evening with friends and returned quite late. Tired, we overslept and barely made our flight. As in, with mere moments to spare. Thank goodness all we had to do was literally walk across the street from the hotel to the international terminal. With such an early departure, it would have been a waste to spend another night at the Park Hyatt.
> Read More: Park Hyatt Sydney Review
I stayed there 2 nights ago and it looks the same.
What you are not writing about is the loyalty side of your stay.
Did you join Rydges Priority Guest program? It would give you a welcome drink.
In anticipation of your stay you could have matched to Platinum or Black which would give you 20% or 50% off food and drink in this or any other property in the Rydges family.
And you would get corresponding level in GHA Discivert program.
My last stay at this very Hotel was on points – as Black I get 20 points every time I stay at Rydges (plenty of them in Australia and NZ) and 150 gets you a free night.
Who do they status match with, and at what level?
Thanks.
Very helpful comment. Thanks for writing!
From memory I was matched to Hilton Diamond but I was also Hyatt Diamond and SPG Platinum at the time. Best to consult statusmatcher.com
It is a funny arrangement as GHA Discovery and Priority Guest Rewards are separate programs of Global Hotels Alliance (apart from Rydges it has Kempinski, First Hotels, Outrigger, Pan Pacific, Park Royal and many others) and Rydges (QT, Atura and others) with different, non-overlapping benefits. Worth closer look at it so that you don’t leave money on the table when staying at these properties 🙂
Thanks so much! I quickly looked at statusmatcher, but no one had posted any reports. I’ll have to look deeper and in other places. Definitely worthwhile for trips to New Zealand.
A follow up:
I’m in Singapore and yesterday I used GHA local experiences to go to a buffet dinner at Pan Pacific. The cash price is S$88 plus 10% service charge and 7% local tax but I used a Local Experience earned when I stayed at some provincial Rydges hotel and paid somewhere around A$120 per night. I’d say GHA Discovery is a hidden gem.