Hotels in Australia for Frequent Travelers

Traveling for extended periods of time, whether for business or pleasure, would naturally take a toll on one's physical and mental conditions. It is therefore only appropriate that one chooses the best, most comfortable and suitable hotel to crash into as one arrives to rest for the night. If you happen to travel Down Under, then you would be spoiled for choices. Hotels in Australia comes in many different shapes and sizes, with some of them offering services that pamper you to the very limit of your credit card.

For those among you looking for extravagance and luxury, there are many leading international hotel chains in Australia that you can opt for. Sheraton hotels for example, offer many hotel chains throughout the Gold Coast as well as Perth. One of the more popular ones is the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa at the Gold Coast.

Another popular hotel chain is the international Rydges hotels, with chains in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. There are three Rydges hotel chains in Melbourne, i.e. Rydges Hotel, Rydges on Bell Preston and Rydges on Swanston. These hotels are most suited for business travelers as they provide a range of conference facilities.

Travelodge hotels is another popular hotel chain in Australia. This hotel chain is more for the budget traveler, such as myself, as they provide basic needs at very reasonable prices. Travelodge hotels provide a consistent blend of modern quality facilities and friendly service. Travelodge Sydney for example, is situated on the edge of the Central Business District, where it is perfectly positioned to explore the city of Sydney.

Radisson Hotels is another popular hotel chain in Australia. Radisson Plaza Hotel in Sydney for example, is an intimate, boutique style, five-star property housed within a stunning heritage listed building located in the heart of Sydney. This hotel is the perfect place to stay for those attending the Musica Viva Festival thanks to its close proximity to each of the Festival event locations.

Thus, before embarking on that business or leisure trip to Australia, make sure you check through these hotel chains first before deciding on the best ones to suit your needs.

(Photos top to bottom: Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa, Rydges Hotel Melbourne, Travelodge Sydney, Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney)

Having a great time at Darling Habour, Sydney, Australia

A few posts back (my post on October 27th 2007 to be exact) I wrote about interesting places to visit in Sydney, Australia. Here's a bit more info on places to visit in Sydney, focusing on one of the city's most popular arts, entertainment, shopping and leisure spot, Darling Harbour.

Darling Harbour is a modern leisure area on the waterfront to the west of the city. It was developed in the 1980's from a previous dockland region. Here you will find the country's largest cinema screen — eight storeys high — at the Imax Theatre. Lying north of it is the Sydney Aquarium and the more recent Sydney Wildlife World. Sydney Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world with more than 5000 different Australian fish displayed in their natural habitats. Visitors can "walk on the ocean floor" through 145 metres (480 ft) of acrylic underwater tunnels. The aquarium is open 9.30am-9pm daily, with the last admission at 8pm. Just a short walk south is the Chinese Garden with its serpentine paths and placid pools.

There are plenty of shops within the wonderful Harbourside shopping complex, with restaurants lining the beautiful waters edge. The huge Sydney Entertainment Centre lies at the southeastern edge of Darling Harbour. And of course, not forgetting the all-important Darling Harbour hotels which you'd be spoilt for choices to choose from for places to stay.

Crossing to the west, the Powerhouse Museum offers a look into its current exhibitions which range from fashion to cutting edge technology. At Harbourside's northern end lies the Australian National Maritime Museum. This is sited by the water at Darling Harbour and contains exhibits chronicling Australia's maritime history. Darling Harbour also features the new Sydney Art Gallery housing a magnificent display of Australian artwork, and is open daily between 9.00am - 5.00pm.

There are wide promenades and large swards of green where people can relax, and there are the occasional street performances as well as organised concerts and other activities. For the kids there are always the carnival rides at the eastern end.

Of an evening head to Star City which is home to the large Sydney Casino. It also features 2 theatres, a nightclub, the Star City hotel, a fitness centre and plenty of shopping outlets and restaurants. It is in Pyrmont to the Northwest of Darling Harbour. Opposite the harbourside is a new eating and drinking area called Cockle Bay Wharf which also offers great nightlife. There is a full range of stylish restaurants, al fresco cafes, bars and clubs. Cockle Bay Wharf has life and atmosphere during the day and the evening, and is a great place to simply relax amongst friends.

Darling Harbour also hosts some fabulous Water Screen displays during the evening, which are a magnificent blend of music and laser images projected onto water fountains. These are held from Wednesday to Sunday on the half hour (depending on the season and weather).

The wonderful and colourful Paddy's Markets are also held near Darling Harbour on the corner of Hay and Thomas Streets, every Thursday - Sunday. Nearby is also the Sydney Fish Market where there is definitely plenty to choose from.

Two more places you can consider to stay in are Ibis Hotel and The Four Points by Sheraton, both located within the Darling Harbour area. Ibis Hotel has 256 hotel accommodation rooms together with iBistro restaurant, iBar and overlooks Darling Harbour and the city skyline. The Four Points is Australia's largest hotel, boasting 630 rooms including 45 suites. It is located within Sydney's central business district and just a short walk from the Pitt Street Mall, Queen Victoria Building and Chinatown.

Whatever it is you plan to do at Darling Harbour, make sure it's an enjoyable and memorable one!

Fascinating Sydney

A couple of posts back I wrote about Sydney, Australia. I've got this somewhat close interest with Australia of late probably because I'm currently working on a project of which the client is Australian. I've heard many interesting things about Sydney and what goes on in the city during the day, and especially at night. Sydney night-life is magic, they say. I asked if getting a place to stay in Sydney would burn a hole in your pocket. No, they said. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of cheap hotels in Sydney from what I found out.

Any plans to go to Sydney? When you do find you way to Sydney, among the first pit stops to make would be Circular Quay, which is an area full of festivals and shops. From there you can walk up to the world-famous Sydney Opera House which was completed in 1973. It's a building with as great architectural significance as the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal. Just next to it would be the Government House, a beautiful and historical building just south of the Opera House.

Have you heard of The Rocks? In days of old, the convicts used snadstone to build up the streets, hence the name. The Rocks is a small collection of streets that originally were slums but now offer a shopper's paradise. Then there is Harbor Bridge, also known as "The Coat Hanger" by locals. It's actually a bridge with a pedestrian walkway, two railway lines and an eight-lane road. Some of the best views in Sydney can be seen as you walk along the bridge which will take you a good 30-40 minutes.

The Sydney Aquarium is one place you must visit. You are able to walk under water and explore Australia's rich and diverse aquatic life and habitats. The aquarium trip is best suited for kids, family and friends. I wouldn't miss that one for sure.

And of course, not forgetting the beaches. Two places you should make a point to got to would be Bondi and the northern beaches. Bondi is located just 15 minutes west of downtown Sydney. The norther beaches are cleaner and less crowded compared to Bondi beach. You should try out Manly Beach, Palm Beach, Whale Beach or Avalon.

At night, you can enjoy some of the musical, comedy and magic shows plus a variety of other shows to choose from, depending on what you're interested in. Go check out shows by Ben Bradshaw, Australia's most successful comedy magician to date. Or if you're into dancing and dance shows, then go check out All Flavours, the only crew that mixes capoeira martial arts and acrobatics and breakdancing.

(Photo source: www.entertainoz.com.au)

Sydney, Australia

I have a colleague, Sam Curtis, who's Australian and he was describing his hometown to a group of us yesterday in one of our short in-house seminars. Sydney is where he comes from and he said it is a terrific city for tourists. I've never been there myself (have only been to Brisbane about 9 years ago) but would definitely like to make my way there. First question that pops up in my head would be, what's the best way to fly there? Well that's easy. Wherever you are, I'm pretty sure you can get a flight to reach Sydney.

Next big question would be, where to stay? Now that gets kind of tricky because you have to book from wherever you are in the world and hope that the place you secured is as you expect it to be. For a start, you can look through the list of hotels in Sydney which offer reasonable rates for avid travellers. I found out - thanks to the technology we refer to as the Net - that Sydney has a range of hotels you can consider, 3 to 5 star hotels all over the city. If you are travelling on a much tighter budget (like myself most of the time), then this is where you should visit to confirm a place that would not burst your wallet.

The third question would be, where do I go in Sydney? That of course is most important, since the whole purpose of travelling is to visit places of interest, historically or aesthetically or other. I found some sites where you could get such info, one of them is this. A very comprehensive information list on the city of Sydney can be found here.

Sydney is now in my wish-list of Places to Visit in the Near Future.