Crown Hotel Surry Hills

We paid $522 for a room with blood-stained sheets and no hot water. A quiet spot within walking distance of Moore Park, sure, but it would have felt fair at half that price. For what we paid, it was an absolute rip-off and definitely not worth it.

The food was the highlight: I had the carbonara and my husband ordered the green Thai curry, and both were amazing. The atmosphere was relaxed, and we saw plenty of people come in, eat, and leave happy. We’d only stopped for a drink while heading out to find dinner. Then we spotted the varied menu, and with NFL on the TV my husband was quite happy to stay and eat.

We needed somewhere nearby for a couple of nights because of our travel circumstances, so we hadn’t read reviews before arriving. The place was frankly disgusting. There were cockroaches and mold, the toilet wouldn’t flush, and the air conditioner barely worked. The “eco-friendly” hot water heater took 20 minutes of continuous running before the water warmed up. The sheets were clean, but the bed linens had stains. So gross.

We only wanted a meal and a cold non-alcoholic drink on our day off, but the man at the bar was rude from the start. When I asked about menus, he snapped that they were on the table, then demanded to know if we had IDs. I said I had mine on my phone, not with me, and explained we were just there to eat. He laughed in our faces and said the rules were different over here. When I said we’d go elsewhere, he kept laughing as if it was hilarious. He was perhaps in his 30s, seemed Australian, and wore a blue and white long-sleeved shirt. Rude staff towards normal customers. This was around 1:30 pm on a Thursday. My friend and I are both 24, and I wasn’t going to stay and put up with his behaviour.