Meriton Suites Waterloo

The apartment at Meriton Suites Waterloo was spacious, clean, and nicely laid out, with a comfortable living room and dining area. The bedrooms were comfortable too, and everything felt modern and well maintained. The kitchen had an oven, cooktop, fridge, and coffee machine, which would be useful for a longer stay. Coles, cafes, and restaurants were an easy walk away, and Sydney CBD was relatively close. Secure parking was available as well. We were welcomed by friendly reception staff, and the modern entrance and stylish, well-kept reception area made a good first impression. It was a pleasant stay and good value for money. I’d happily stay again.

A female staff member later helped us find a much more pleasant renovated room. She was kind, professional, and genuinely seemed to care about sorting things out. She even let us inspect the room first. The sewage and disinfectant smell was gone there, but a strong renovation and paint smell irritated my throat. We booked three nights. In the first room, the bathroom smelled awful, a mix of sewage and strong disinfectant, and the sink was clogged. A friendly staff member initially agreed to move us to a lower floor, which was fine with us. Then the manager intervened and said they would send someone to fix it instead. I explained that a smell like that couldn’t easily be fixed quickly and asked again to change rooms. The manager agreed reluctantly, then had someone tell us there were “only two rooms available,” both with very strange loft-style layouts. We looked at them and found them impractical and uncomfortable. It honestly felt as if we were being pushed to accept the original room. We ended up staying there temporarily. Someone fixed the sink, but did absolutely nothing about the smell, which we still couldn’t tolerate.

The location is great and the rooms are wonderful, with some having two sets of balconies. The gym and pool are the downside: they’re in another building, a few minutes away.

The pool was very cold, almost like an ice bath, and it wasn’t in the same complex as the Meriton Suites apartment. We hadn’t been told we’d have to walk along the main street through parks in Waterloo to get there. The gym was also outside the complex, on the opposite side, which I hated. Going back at night through the park made me a bit uncomfortable, and the pool’s location was a real turn-off. There was a sauna for men and one for women, but people seemed to hog them and didn’t want you coming in when they were there. I felt uncomfortable a number of times and left without going in. I had thought the pool would be in the same complex and heated. The split-level two-bedroom apartment itself was lovely, very clean and spacious, with two balconies and very quiet. It had two bathrooms, one an ensuite, plus a well-maintained kitchen, laundry, lounge, and dining area.