All right, we've found our ultimate hotel getaway: but now we need a million dollars. The Sydney Hilton has started up a Million Dollar Package which, just like it sounds, is a hotel package costing a million dollars. (A million Australian dollars, that is--which is just US$960,000 at the moment, if that makes you feel any better).
The Million Dollar Package is one of those ultimate luxury deals, with a few rather expensive surprises. Yet we're not quite sure who would book it other than Montgomery Brewster who needs to spend $30 million in 30 days.
Staying in the north side of Sydney has one big advantage--a trip into Sydney means you get to cross over the gorgeous Sydney Harbour Bridge. Right now there's another interesting advantage if you stay at Rydges North Sydney, because they've recently upgraded their guest rooms to include new "Dream Beds" ... and since they found the old television sets didn't fit in so well anymore, they've also upgraded them to be 32 inch widescreen LCD TVs.
But that's not the good news. The cool part, we think, is that Rydges now has 166 old TVs (less a few that they've already given away) that guests can take home if they want. Rather than just dumping their 24 inch Philips televisions, Rydges North Sydney has decided to let their guests take them away instead, so if you stay at the hotel in the near future, you can pick up a free (working) TV.
Largely targeted at business travelers, room rates can drop to as low as A$139 (US$130) on weekends, making a free TV an exceptionally good deal. Come to think of it, the picture on our TV's been looking a bit crooked this week ...
Popular Sydney hotel, the Park Hyatt Sydney, might face a few changes in the future. It has just been sold to a private Japanese investor for a record price for the Australian market.
The final price for this posh hotel was A$201.6 million (almost US$190 million), which works out at almost US$1.2 million per room, the highest per-room price ever paid for a hotel in Australia. We're glad the per night rates translate to being a bit cheaper (although at around $730 a night, we probably shouldn't use the word cheap).
No word yet on whether the new owner has plans for any alterations--though since it's running pretty successfully at the moment, we'd tend to adopt the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" motto. Some are saying, though, that it's the beginning of another round of increased Japanese investment in Australian hotels.
Easter's coming early this year, and in Sydney as well as hunting for chocolate Easter eggs or greeting the Easter bilby (the Australian animal version of the Easter bunny), they'll be celebrating the Darling Harbour Hoopla Festival as well.
Hoopla is a circus and acrobatic festival that will see performers juggling, busking, abseiling and doing aerial stunts and slapstick comedy routines at many locations around the Darling Harbour precinct, all for free, and it sounds like a good laugh and a lot of fun.
We've already figured out that the Observatory Hotel in Sydney well deserves its spot on Travel+Leisure's list as the best hotel in Australia. So we just wanted to give you one more reason to try it out. This time, it's because they've combined an environmentally respectful event with a great meal in their Galileo Restaurant.
The deal all takes place on March 29, 2008, when Earth Hour strikes. Earth Hour is a green movement started in Sydney last year, when private individuals and businesses agree to turn off their lights and other appliances for one hour. This year it's between 8pm and 9pm in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, plus a bunch of other cities including Chicago, Toronto and Copehnhagen.
At the Observatory Hotel, as well as encouraging guests to turn off the lights and air conditioners in their rooms, the restaurant will have no lights too. Instead, they're offering a special candle-lit dinner, with the seven-course `Dine in the Dark' degustation menu with matching wines, for A$155 (US$140).
No menu selections required, it's all been chosen for you by their chef and sommelier, so a lack of light won't matter too much. Presumably they'll still be using electricity in the kitchen, or your meal would come out a bit cold.
It's a while back that we first heard about the Hilton Sydney's special deal known as the Provocateur package, but somehow we let this intriguing package slip our mind. This week a Sydney Morning Herald journo tried it out and reported back on what exactly is involved in being provocateurs for the night, and it all sounds rather tasteful and a lot of fun.
Apparently, the Hilton says, Australians are "desperate" to spice up their sex lives, and that's why the Provocateur package is becoming a big success. Of course, the Sydney Hilton needed some spicing up too, and after extensive renovations and additions like this package, it finally seems to be back on track.
Yesterday we wondered if Travel+Leisure had made a mistake when they deemed the Four Seasons Sydney the #1 hotel in Australia when clearly The Observatory Hotel had achieved a higher score of 87.41 to the Four Season's 86.93.
Today we have our answer from T+L:
You're right - the Observatory Hotel in Sydney is, in fact, the number one hotel in Australia in the T+L 500 2008. We've updated the list on www.travelandleisure.com/tl500 so the correct information is available online.
To be honest, both hotels are deserving of the #1 spot. After all, the ranking scores are very close. But in the end, it depends on what you prefer. The Four Seasons rises up in the Sydney skyline to give you killer views of the opera house and the Harbour. It's also located just near Circular Quay, the central business district and the Rocks, a shopping and bar area on George Street.
The Observatory is a smaller hotel on a quiet street and has an older feel but it also has the best service we have ever encountered in a hotel. Aside from the famous high tea, not to be missed at the Observatory is the Day Spa and the large indoor pool with a domed ceiling painted to resemble a Southern Hemisphere sky "filled with twinkling stars."
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
While the number 1 position of the Four Seasons Sydney Hotel on the Travel + Leisure world's best list might be in dispute, you can't dispute the fact that there are rooms in the Four Seasons with truly spectacular views.
If being able to take in the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and magnificent Sydney Harbour itself doesn't qualify as a killer view, then nothing ever would. Stroll the historic Rocks area, walk to the city center and shops, or just gaze out your window at the best views of Sydney--the choice is yours.
Nightly rates at the Four Seasons Sydney start from A$295 (US$260) per night on the weekend, including breakfast, or you can go for a "Stay Longer" package at A$350 (US$300) per night (room only), where you'll get the fourth night free. Which means more time for gazing over the harbour.
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by amandak
