I have a background in commercial art, and currently work as a freelance cartoonist in Queensland A...
I have a background in commercial art, and currently work as a freelance cartoonist in Queensland Australia. My interests include travel, photography, swimming, skin-diving and I'm an avid user of my local library.
Member since:24.02.2003
Reviews:17
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This review for Ciao describes my stay (during August 2008) at the glittering Star City Casino Hotel, located in Pyrmont, an inner city suburb of SydneyAustralia.
Previous reviews of this hotel have only really described the casino area, but you can have a great time staying here even if you aren't into gambling, because there's lots of places to eat and things to see and do. Also I took a few photos at the hotel, and readers may be interested in these.
Good points were as follows. Excellent proximity to the downtown area. It was easy to get to most of Sydney's attractions from here. For example there is a monorail which runs very near to the hotel, and this got me in no time to shopping areas downtown. This facility runs every two or three minutes. However, it's a pleasant 15 min walk if you prefer walking and there's lots to see en route. . There are also
metro rail links and bus services to the hotel (#443). Also harbour ferry services link the hotel to Circular Quay, which is the focal point of Sydney. The hotel has a minibus service too.
When I checked in, I was greeted courteously and efficiently. Although the official checking in time was 2pm, they let me have my room early (around noon) which was good. Staff were polite and helpful.
MY ROOM
My room on the ninth floor ( I asked for an upper floor because I like having a view if one is available) was clean, and tastefully furnished in muted beige and brown colours. The higher up you stay, obviously the better view you get.
Be aware too that there is a price difference between rooms that look out towards the city and harbour bridge. The best views look over to the East. My room was on the Western side of the building ( a cheaper option) and a small balcony overlooked Pyrmont buildings - not so glamorous perhaps, but this was OK with me. There were in-room internet facilities to hook into if needed. The bathroom was tastefully furnished in brown and beige marble. A combination shower and bath was handy. A large plasma TV was included in the room with cable channels available/. It was a comfortable setup, and I was quite content with the room. Not quite so happy with the amount of time that reception took to answer when I wanted some room service. Perhaps they were busy with other customers. But a five minute lag in answering, made me feel irritable about waiting.
RESTAURANTS AT STAR CITY
The hotel (five star) has a range of restaurants. I dined at the Lotus Pond Chinese restaurant and found the food excellent ( I had stirfry prawns and rice plus vegetables). It was artistically arranged on the plate. The ambience was good, and the waitress helpful. The decor in the restaurant was charmingly Oriental with a kind of an elevated dining area with a moat around it, lanterns, soft lights and helpful staff. I could see live lobsters and fish in tanks waiting their turn to be cooked and served up on plates.
One thing I should mention. When I came to go back to my room after eating at the restaurant, I went to the elevator area. I found it hard to see which elevator was vacant for me to board. There are about six elevators to choose from, and a light shines when one arrives for boarding. However, it's a bit tricky to distinguish whether the light is on or not. However, the flower arrangements in the elevator boarding area are quite delightful, and most colourful.
BARS
I can recommend the Lobby bar as doing a good cocktail. This cost me $15 (Australian) and the staff there were very courteous and polite. I cannot say the same for the Sports Bar area (located within the casino area). The cocktail served to me there wasn't of the same quality as the one downstairs. I joined up (free) as a member of the Casino. This gave me valuable discounts on meals at the hotel. A magnificent buffet breakfast (in the Garden Buffet restaurant) the following morning only cost me $9 I(with the voucher). Ordinarily you'd pay around $26, but even at that price it's still good value. There was a great array of all sorts of fruit, hot dishes, Asian breakfast items etc. I enjoyed this. For a slightly more expensive breakfast go to the top 17th floor, and take in the Astral restaurant. Although I didn't eat there, I went up to the top, and admired the view. There is a large horse statue (with a lampshade on its head) at the entrance to the restaurant. The city views are well worthwhile seeing from the Astral.
GYMNASIUM AND POOL
I worked out at the gym - well equipped with treadmills, and a variety of machines designed to test the appropriate areas of one's physique. The swimming pool is very nicely situated and offers excellent views of Sydney's skyline. I swam there in August (winter) with the steam rising off the water, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
CONCIERGE
Regarding the concierge in the lobby - they took a while to locate my left luggage there when I checked out later. However this small problem was soon resolved by the concierge staff. Generally I found most hotel staff were friendly, helpful and motivated.
CASINO
The casino itself I found a bit dull despite the gushing waterfalls. But I'm informed a major renovation is underway, and when completed, this could brighten this area up immensely.
CONCLUSION
My opinion. If you stay at Star City, you'll get an excellent standard of accommodation, helpful staff, and good proximity to city attractions in Sydney. I'll remember that fabulous buffet breakfast for a long time.
Pictures of Star City Casino
Spectacular views from Astral bar at top of Sydney's Star City Hotel justify the $A250 approx room rate !
Sounds and looks like a good hotel but I wonder why the horse has a lampshade on it's head! Swimming in the pool in winter... could only be done in Australia! Very good review xx
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Oct 13th, 2008
(Oct 17th, 2008)
very helpful by (95%):
helpful by (5%):
