Park Regis City Centre

For the price per night, I think the location comes with a hefty premium. It's in the heart of the CBD, and probably the main thing you're paying for. The building is old, but the rooms are clean and maintained. There's Foxtel on the TV, a 1.5m rooftop pool, coin laundry, and daily milk and cookies, plus candies and lollies left by room service. On the downside, the walls are thin enough to hear people moving around. There's no closet or microwave, which makes having a fridge feel a bit pointless, and the shower area is particularly small. A solid 3-star hotel, though it feels expensive for an old building.

Qantas cancelled my flights at the last minute, so I needed a room. At Park Regis, reception was quick and efficient, and I was checked in within five minutes. The room was very spacious, with a huge bathroom, and everything was clean and tidy. The mattress was pretty good, and there were more than enough pillows. I slept really well.

The location is perfect and the staff are amazing. The room, though, was still dusty and quite small. Some towels had yellow and red stains, and the mattress was stained too and had no protector. There was hair left in the sink drain. The shower curtain was a bit grubby, so a glass door would have been much nicer.

At $350+ a night, this place was disappointing in a lot of ways. The location is great, but the building is old and worn. The lifts are noisy, and during a shower the individual water heater clunks into action. The toilet sits mostly under the shower, separated only a little by a curtain, so it feels like you'd be using it while showering. The water temperature is almost impossible to control, swinging from very hot to very cold. Carpets are old, paint is coming apart, and the narrow corridors make the place feel like a rabbit warren. I wouldn't want to be there if a fire broke out. Noise also came from several places, including outside. I was glad to leave.