The Resch House

The heat was unbearable for me. Even with the windows open, the room got stiflingly hot and humid, and the ceiling fan and plug-in fan couldn’t keep up with a humid Sydney night in such a poorly ventilated room. I felt like I might throw up and took medication to try to stop a migraine. I ended up searching for other places at 3am and trying to convince myself this was different from sleeping on the street. I handled the noise better than my husband, who needed both earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones, but the heat was absolutely insufferable. Noise was a problem too. I’ve lived in the CBD, travelled around the world, and like budget accommodation, but this was by far the worst place I’ve booked. After two flights of narrow stairs and no lift, you’re met with city noise from George St and Liverpool St not far below. The occasional ambulance siren cuts through it, but it can settle into the expected general hum for this location. At night there’s also a loud karaoke event that goes on until the early hours. You can hear every word of each rendition of Living on a Prayer, and the room shakes from the sound, even with the windows shut. The accommodation blames city living, but I’ve lived in the city before. These rooms have no noise insulation. The place shouldn’t exist as it is. They should either make the whole building a night venue or insulate the rooms and provide adequate climate control. It was also awkward, and kind of funny, making eye contact with people at the night venues across the road. There were a few positives. I appreciated keyless entry and not having to make small talk at check-in, since there’s no reception. The pub staff I happened to meet were very nice, and I understand they can help with accommodation questions. The hotel did email a warning about karaoke, the stairs, and having nowhere to store luggage, but I wish they’d also warned me about the heat. The room had a small basin with water, towels, and tiny soap, shampoo, and conditioner. The bathrooms were tolerable, though I always wear flip-flops in shared bathrooms. There was a window sill for putting things down, but nowhere to keep toiletries in the shower. The bed was comfortable, but the sheets were a little itchy. The decor is cute, the location near Capitol and the train stations is great, and the power outlets worked fine. The private room price was okay, but far too much given the complete lack of heat control.

We popped in for a drink while walking through the city and wanted to sit outside because it was hot inside. I started stacking glasses left by the previous customer, then a bar staff member came over to clean the table. I asked for a cloth and she replied bluntly, something like, “yeah, got one right here.” She then asked my husband to lift his beer so she could wipe the table. He moved it to a dry part, and she bluntly said, “no, can you pick it up, mate,” then “cheers.” That might sound like a normal exchange, but her tone and body language made us uncomfortable and unwelcome. We hadn’t done anything to deserve being spoken to that way. I wouldn’t recommend visiting.

Our whole table felt uncomfortable for the twenty minutes we were there after one drink. The customer service was poor and the staff were incredibly rude, as if they clearly didn’t like working in hospitality. Definitely wouldn’t recommend.

We'd had a great time at The Resch on earlier visits, but tonight the bar refused service to our entire table after we'd had two beers, because one person was said to be intoxicated. We were just having fun and being friendly and respectful. We won't be back.