Merewether Beach

Stayed at the Courthouse Hotel Darlinghurst and had a mixed but generally decent experience. It’s an older building converted into a budget hotel, and the biggest plus is definitely the location. It’s very central and convenient. About 20 minutes’ walk to Central Station, 20 minutes by bus to the CBD, and around 30 minutes to Bondi Beach, making it easy to get around Sydney. The surrounding area has plenty of restaurants and bars (LGBTQ-friendly), and despite that, the room was mostly quiet. The accommodation is small, with only four rooms on the first floor sharing two bathrooms and showers. Hot water can be a bit inconsistent, likely due to the age of the building. On weekends, the atmosphere changes with more short-stay guests, which can get quite noisy late at night (around midnight to 2am) and occasionally messy. However, a cleaner comes in daily around 10am to tidy up. A convenient point is the downstairs bar, open from 9am to 2am, where check-in is done with the staff and you collect your room key (no reception desk). Lighting is good during the day with natural light, but quite dim at night. Because there are restaurants below the building, occasional bugs or cockroaches may appear, which is worth noting. There’s also a small shared kitchen/pantry area with a large fridge and basic essentials, but no stove. Overall, it’s a budget-friendly and well-located stay with some trade-offs typical of an older shared building.

Well done to the staff

Potts Point is a great area to base yourselves in in Sydney and Spicers is a great "hotel" - actually, that's too impersonal, it feels more like a home away from home. The reception staff are interested and attentive, our room (No.8) was well provisioned and superclean, we were in walking distance of interesting local shops and restaurants, and a short Uber to the CBD. Thoroughly recommend.