Aiden by Best Western Darling Harbour

Aidin’s staff were so friendly and attentive during our first trip to Sydney, and we truly loved the city. It rained, so we were glad they provided umbrellas. The rooms are quite small, and our very large bags barely fit, but upgrading gave us enough space. The location made it easy to walk to many tourist attractions. On our last day they held our bags while we went to the opera. Highly recommend!

The staff were very nice and willing to help, and the location was convenient for getting around lively Sydney, with very accessible train rides nearby. But I wouldn’t recommend this place to people who need an accessible room. It felt like a half-baked attempt that didn’t properly meet disabled guests’ needs. I booked the room for my mobility needs. It was clean and the supplies were stocked, but the queen bed was pushed against the right wall, so you could only get in from the left. I was alone and could manage, but assuming a disabled person can use only one side of a bed ignores that different people may find one side harder to access than the other. The bed was also short-sheeted. The flat bottom sheet came about six inches short of the mattress end. I have pictures. When I moved around in bed, the sheets bunched up and exposed the mattress cover, so I had to get up and remake the bed. When I complained and suggested fitted sheets, the front desk said hotels only use flat sheets. If so, they need bigger ones, perhaps king sheets on a queen bed. I’ve never had sheets that short in any other hotel. All the lights were ceiling fixtures, with no indirect lighting or bedside lamp. The overhead light shone straight into my eyes, and there was no handy switch beside the bed for a midnight bathroom trip. I had to sit up, scoot toward the headboard, and reach around it to feel for a wall switch. There were two tiny, uneven tables holding the clock and phone. I suggested replacing them with one table that could fit a small lamp. Since my scooter was parked in the middle of the room, moving around in the dark wasn’t workable, so I left the bathroom sink light on as a night light. Each floor had sparkling and still water, but no ice machine. When I asked for ice, I got an uncovered bucket, and room cleaning didn’t take the bucket of water away the next day. In the very accessible bathroom, the sliding door had towel rods on the outside. With the door open, the towels sat right under the ceiling AC vent, leaving them cold and damp. I had to call for dry replacements. The only view was through a permanently closed round window facing a brick building. No view!

The staff were very friendly and accommodating, and let me check in early. The room was clean, the bed was really comfortable, and the location was great. Still, I was a bit disappointed. My room was tiny, with the bed right against the wall and no side table or bedside light, just a bright overhead one. There were no bedroom windows, only a bathroom window that let in muted light for privacy. The bathroom looked like a hospital accessible bathroom, with a toilet that had a padded back and no seat lid.

The location was perfect, and the room was okay. I was glad I upgraded to a regular queen room, given the complaints about room size. Wharfies downstairs is pricey, so be warned, but there are over 200 eateries just a short hop away. Parking is the painful part at $60 a day, and you can’t take the car out each day or the deal won’t apply. That leaves walking or hiring expensive electric bikes. Aside from that, I might stay again.