Stamford Grand North Ryde, Sydney

...outdoor heated pool. The Stamford Grand North Ryde came up trumps on both accounts, but in endeavouring to keep my travel budget down and having forked out nearly £700 for a flight, all the agent websites were way too expensive. So I did what I quite often do and tried to dig out the chains website, who unwaveringly didn't fail to let me down. A little check with our own "helencbradshaw" and one of my colleagues assured me that my chosen ...
...in 1995, and owned by Stamford Land Corporation Ltd, one of Singapores best known public companies, Stamford hotels and resorts have a range of hotels and resorts in key cities in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand in Asia and South America.

Their properties are 4.5 and 5 star outlets, some suites and some hotels.

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BOOKING
I made my booking at the Stamford ... more

When I knew I could go to Australia, my next mission was to find somewhere to stay.

I tried Expedia, last minute, and the other usual culprits, but as I knew nothing of Australia's Geography, I was very much in the dark about what to chose. The University I visited was in a Sydney Suburb called North Ryde, and it was Google that came up trumps directing me to the four vacation outlets in the area. Only problem was, being that far away from away from home, firstly I wanted High Speed Internet Access and an indoor, or outdoor heated pool. The Stamford Grand North Ryde came up trumps on both accounts, but in endeavouring to keep my travel budget down and having forked out nearly £700 for a flight, all the agent websites were way too expensive. So I did what I quite often do and tried to dig out the chains website, who unwaveringly didn't fail to let me down. A little check with our own "helencbradshaw" and one of my colleagues assured me that my chosen destination was close to the Uni I would be spending most of my time.

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WHO ARE THEY?
Formed in 1995, and owned by Stamford Land Corporation Ltd, one of Singapores best known public companies, Stamford hotels and resorts have a range of hotels and resorts in key cities in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand in Asia and South America.

Their properties are 4.5 and 5 star outlets, some suites and some hotels.

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BOOKING
I made my booking at the Stamford Grand North Ryde at their website www.stamford.com.au - firstly selecting the "book a package" link rather than a straightforward reservation, and was offered a Palm Suite for AUD 120 (c£48) a night room only. Breakfast was an additional AUD24.50 as taken. Once I knew I was definitely going, I proceeded to make the booking, this required me to input all my personal details, but at no point did it request a credit card, I naturally assumed that it would on the next page, but this was not to be, and I was advised that my booking from confirmed, and that if a credit card was required, someone would be in touch with me, but I heard nothing. I did contact them the night before leaving the UK to confirm the booking, establish what time I could check into my room (I was arriving in Sydney at 6am) and also ensure that it was indeed close to where I wanted to be; what I would say about the Australians is to be aware that their idea of right next door, or 5 minutes away and ours could well be completely different, as indeed it was, although to be fair it wasn't too far away as to be unwalkable.

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LOCATION & GETTING THERE
This hotel is a fair way from Sydney Airport, and cost around AUD 65 in a taxi, the journey taking around 45 minutes in morning rush hour traffic.

As I have already mentioned, the hotel was in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde near Chatswood, and a journey by bus into the centre took around 40 minutes. Daily bus tickets are available from the driver which cost AUD15 (c£6) and covered travel on all the city buses, trains and ferries.

Consequently, if you like to be in the thick of things, then the Stamford Grand is not for you. However, if you are travelling on a budget and need to keep costs down, then believe me, you could do a lot worse.

There is ample on site free parking for drivers, there is bus stops to and from the city directly opposite and there was always taxis in the forecourt.

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CHECK-IN
Reception was a grand affair reminiscent of an opulent 5 star outlet, leading off to a bar and restaurant.

I had booked a smoking room on their website, but on arrival was told that I could smoke on the balcony but not in the room. I was absolutely exhausted after a day and a halfs travelling and literally begged for a room where I could smoke and sleep, after a little bit of playing with their computer and making telephone calls, I was allocated what appeared to be one of only a handful of the 250 suites that were not no-smoking. After completing the usual personal details and providing the customary credit card swipe I was despatched to my room with a little help from the concierge with my luggage.

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THE SUITE
I am quite accustomed to arriving at hotels to discover they are nothing like the portrayal on their website, particularly when they offer heavily discounted, and the trepidation was made worse after reading an op on a Stamford outlet in New Zealand. However, I can categorically say that in this instance I was in no way disappointed, apart from possibly the fact that my suite didn't have a balcony and that there could have been a few more power-points, but this was overcome by y trusty extension lead which is now firmly a part of my travelling kit.

The suite was two rooms and a bathroom. The first room had a bed settee, table and chair, high speed internet connection, TV, mini-bar, tea and coffee making facilities and sink area. The main bedroom had a 7 foot bed, another colour TV, wardrobes, drawers, digitally operated safe, iron and board. The safe did not carry an extra charge and was large enough to put the laptop in.

The bathroom was a site to behold; a Jacuzzi bath, separate shower cubicle, toilet and sink, a hair dryer was provided as were lots of luxury toiletries including shampoo, shower gel, conditioner, sewing kit, and shower cap. The only downside to the bathroom was that the tap was in the middle rather than the end of it, and it took a little bit of mastering to stop hitting myself on them when getting in and out, but had it sorted by the end of the week.

The room was fully air conditioned with a range of powers, and it was much needed, as despite being the middle of Autumn down under, the temperatures ranged between 25 and 32 degrees centigrade for the duration of my stay. I think it was suffering from serious exhaustion by the time I left.

The mini bar was well equipped with bottled water, red and white wine, gin, vodka, whisky, coke, tonic, soda water, sprite and diet coke. There was also a range of chocolates, crisps and snacks. The room was checked daily and anything used was replaced every morning.

Room service was available 24 hour, although menus were restricted during weekends. Food was a mixture of Asian and Western cuisine, and thankfully everyone was acutely aware of the MSG issue.

My only gripe about the room service was their persistent failure to bring salt, pepper and vinegar, although on request, it was always quickly made available.

TV Programmes were limited to the 5 main TV channels, and covered quite a bit of sport, but also many British and American dramas, although they are a bit behind the UK in showings. You could also purchase films although the majority of these were the same as those shown on the plane, saving me a few pennies.

High speed, 1Mb wired internet access is available in all rooms for AUD 24.95 (c£10) a day, and the charge is simply added to your room bill.

Checkout was normally 11am, although I successfully managed to secure my room until 5pm for an extra AUD (c.£40).

Maid service was daily, and they were flexible (up to 4pm) on their times if you didn't want to be disturbed. Laundry facilities were also available for an extra charge.

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LEISURE FACILITIES
I was intrigued to read the hotels description of their pool as the largest indoor / outdoor pool in Sydney. All became evident as half the pool was heated and indoor, and then walled off from the outside element which was most definitely not heated.

The hotel also had an outside heated spa, and sitting there in the balmy autumn evenings watching the flights overhead was absolutely heavenly, the only things missing were a glass of champagne and my other half.

The outdoor pool, like most holiday outlets, had sunbeds and parasols around it. The hotel also had a well equipped indoor modern gym, although it did close extraordinarily early at weekends, at around 4pm.

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FOOD
Breakfast as already mentioned was AUD24.50 as taken, although for some unknown reason I was given a corporate rate of AUD15 (around £6), although I only ended up partaking twice thanks to the onset of jet lag and suffering from a bit of hotel fatigue as these days I seem to be spending more and more time out and about. To be fair, the breakfast couldn't be faulted. A range of fresh fruits, cereals, juices, bread, toast and rolls, bacon, Sausage, eggs, pancakes, cold meats, fishes and cheeses.

In addition to breakfast, the hotel offers both a la carte and buffet meals during the lunchtimes and evenings, and although the buffet was rather pricey, (38 dollars at lunch, and 42.50 in the evenings) if you are a big meal eater then I would seriously suggest giving it a try.

On offer was always a superb range of shellfish and seafood, salad, cold meats, cheeses, fish, breads and hot meals such as curry, ribs rice and potatoes, and you could take as long as you wanted to eat and visit the buffet bars as many times as your want took you. The quality was excellent as was the service

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SERVICE
This deserves a separate mention, because literally no stone was left unturned, nothing was too much trouble for the hotel, and many British outlets could do far worse than take a leaf out of their book.

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ACTIVITIES CLOSE BY
The hotel runs daily free buses in the week to Sydney CBD and at the weekend into the city, although from talking to reception, you will have to be quick to get on.

The Sydney Olympic village is about 20 minutes from the hotel, and Bondi beach and where they film "Home and Away" are not too far away.

The Macquarie shopping centre is about 10 minutes walk away and offers a range of quality shops and eateries, including quite a few you will be familiar with from the UK. Macquarie also has a cinema and ice-rink, although be aware that as it is adjacent to the University, you will be guaranteed to be sharing your space with a lot of students, although I must confess they did appear far better behaved than some of their UK counterparts.

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SUMMARY
A few minor niggles, but in the main this outlet was absolutely superb, and for £551 for7 nights including most of my main meals, the internet connection and a few 'treats' from the mini-bar, it is not really to be faulted. The setting, the rooms, the facilities and the service were absolutely superb.

WOULD I GO BACK? If the opportunity arose, an outstanding yes both to Sydney and the hotel.

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OUT AND ABOUT
Unfortunately only two days of my short stay in Sydney were dedicated to viewing their world famous scenery, so I don't think I am justified in be able to review the sites of this wonderful city. However, there are a few locations I would suggest visiting if you are fortunate to ever get there and like me are on a tight timescale, I know my peers familiar with this superb city will shout at me for not adding more.

Manly: Sydney's original holiday resort, offering plenty of shops and idyllic surfing for the enthusiasts

The Opera House - very grand, but better looking from a distance

Sydney Harbour Bridge - probably with the above two of the most famous icons in the world, and 3.5kms and several hours to take a tour around it, personally I was satisfied with a bus trip over it and a lot of photographs from underneath

Piccies attached

As the title, it is the flow of the water down the plug hole - it does go anti-clockwise, but then it switches to clockwise and sometimes even straight down

For details on this, and other Stamford outlets visit:
www.stamford.com.au

Sue.51 

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