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Hotels · Australia

Where to stay in Sydney

Four Sydney hotels we have read the guest data on — a 4-star The Grace Hotel, a 4-star Great Southern Hotel Sydney, a 5-star Shangri-La Sydney, and a 4-star Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites — with the complaints written as plainly as the praise.

  • 4 properties reviewed
  • 3 areas covered
  • 2 head-to-head comparisons
  • Guest sentiment from our hotel data provider

Written by the TravelShifu editorial team · last checked · hotel method

Desk assessmentWe have not stayed here. This verdict is built from the property’s own records and third-party guest reviews, read in full — including the complaints.

Check Sydney rates

We hold no live rates, so nothing on this page quotes a nightly price. This opens the partner’s own Sydney search, where you can put in your dates and see the real number.

Ad · Trip.comBrowse all hotels in SydneyOpens Trip.com's own search. Dates are not pre-filled — a date baked into a static page is wrong by the next morning.

Should you book this Sydney stay?

Where to stay in Sydney — the verdict

Stay at The Grace Hotel if the strongest headline in this sample is the product (8.9 from 18,217); compare the other three on location and cleanliness category scores before you treat star class as a guarantee; read Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites carefully — cleanliness sits at 7.14 out of 10 in this seed.

POI rows exist for The Grace Hotel (Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.9 km, Sydney Opera House at 1.4 km); Great Southern Hotel Sydney (Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.4 km, Sydney Opera House at 3.6 km). Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites has no POI rows in this ingest — we do not invent kilometre claims for those pins.

Guest headlines: The Grace Hotel posts 8.9 from 18,217; Great Southern Hotel Sydney posts 8.2 from 15,419; Shangri-La Sydney posts 8.7 from 13,117; Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites posts 8 from 11,011. We cite scale, count and date — never as structured data.

Nothing on this page quotes a nightly rate. We hold no live rates — the CTAs send you to Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com or Vrbo. Those are partners; the links may earn commission.

Best for

  • First-time visitors comparing The Grace Hotel against softer-scoring pins
  • Anyone weighing dated cleanliness category scores before star class
  • Travellers who will not invent landmark walks where POI rows are missing

Not for

  • Anyone who needs verified landmark pins for every hotel — coverage is uneven here
  • Guests expecting a spotless story at Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites without reading the cleanliness score
  • Readers hunting a quoted nightly rate on this page

Verdict last reviewed . Rates, refurbishments and management change — re-check anything time-sensitive before booking.

Best Hotels in Sydney

Sydney hotel choice is which map you want to wake up on. These four sit on different pins on purpose — The Grace Hotel (8.9 from 18,217), Great Southern Hotel Sydney (8.2 from 15,419), Shangri-La Sydney (8.7 from 13,117), Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites (8 from 11,011).

4 properties reviewed by our editors · Last checked 8 Aug 2026

Filter Sydney hotels by price band or trip type
  1. Building at The Grace Hotel

    Number 1: The Grace Hotel

    4-star hotelUpscaleCBD & York Street

    A 4-star The Grace Hotel at 77 York Street — Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.9 km with a 8.9 headline from 18,217 reviews and issues with cleanliness named in the cons.

    • Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.9 km
    • 8.9 out of 10 from 18,217 reviews
    • Location score 9.4 out of 10
    • Cleanliness score 8.4 out of 10

    our hotel data provider: 8.9/10 from 18,217 reviews — as of 8 Dec 2025

    Full review of The Grace Hotel
  2. Building at Shangri-La Sydney

    Number 2: Shangri-La Sydney

    5-star hotelLuxuryThe Rocks & harbour

    A 5-star Shangri-La Sydney at 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks — Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.5 km with a 8.7 headline from 13,117 reviews and poor service named in the cons.

    • Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.5 km
    • 8.7 out of 10 from 13,117 reviews
    • Location score 10 out of 10
    • Cleanliness score 7.85 out of 10

    our hotel data provider: 8.7/10 from 13,117 reviews — as of 8 Jan 2026

    Full review of Shangri-La Sydney
  3. Building at Great Southern Hotel Sydney

    Number 3: Great Southern Hotel Sydney

    4-star hotelUpscaleGeorge Street & Darling Harbour edge

    A 4-star Great Southern Hotel Sydney at 717 George Street — Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.4 km with a 8.2 headline from 15,419 reviews and cleanliness issues named in the cons.

    • Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.4 km
    • 8.2 out of 10 from 15,419 reviews
    • Location score 9.17 out of 10
    • Cleanliness score 7.66 out of 10

    our hotel data provider: 8.2/10 from 15,419 reviews — as of 10 Jan 2026

    Full review of Great Southern Hotel Sydney
  4. Building at Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites

    Number 4: Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites

    4-star hotelUpscaleGeorge Street & Darling Harbour edge

    A 4-star Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites at 243 Pyrmont Street — no POI rows with a 8 headline from 11,011 reviews and cleanliness issues named in the cons.

    • 8 out of 10 from 11,011 reviews
    • Location score 9.15 out of 10
    • Cleanliness score 7.14 out of 10
    • Swimming pool

    our hotel data provider: 8/10 from 11,011 reviews — as of 16 Jan 2026

    Full review of Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites

Where to stay in Sydney: best areas by trip type

Pick the area before you pick the property. In Sydney the walk out of the front door decides more of the trip than the room does.

Sydney at a glance

Best area for families:
CBD & York Street — best area for families in Sydney
Best area for couples:
CBD & York Street — best area for couples in Sydney
Best area for a first visit:
CBD & York Street — best area for a first visit in Sydney

CBD & York Street

Typical nightly rate: 4-star band for this sample per night

Best for first-time visitors · couples · families

CBD & York Street — The Grace Hotel puts Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.9 km, Sydney Opera House at 1.4 km, Queen Victoria Building (QVB) at 0.4 km on our hotel data provider’s figures.

Trade-off: The Grace Hotel: issues with cleanliness, food options were lacking

Getting around: The Grace Hotel lists Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.9 km, Sydney Opera House at 1.4 km.

Close to: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Queen Victoria Building (QVB), Sydney Tower Eye, Circular Quay

  • 4-Star
  • CBD

See 1 hotel in CBD & York Street

The Rocks & harbour

Typical nightly rate: 5-star band for this sample per night

Best for first-time visitors · couples · families

The Rocks & harbour — Shangri-La Sydney puts Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.5 km, Sydney Opera House at 0.6 km, The Rocks (historic district) at 0.1 km on our hotel data provider’s figures.

Trade-off: Shangri-La Sydney: poor service, outdated facilities

Getting around: Shangri-La Sydney lists Sydney Harbour Bridge at 0.5 km, Sydney Opera House at 0.6 km.

Close to: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, The Rocks (historic district), Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Darling Harbour

  • 5-Star
  • The Rocks

See 1 hotel in The Rocks & harbour

George Street & Darling Harbour edge

Typical nightly rate: 4-star through 4-star for this sample per night

Best for first-time visitors · couples · families

George Street & Darling Harbour edge — Great Southern Hotel Sydney puts Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.4 km, Sydney Opera House at 3.6 km, Darling Harbour at 0.6 km on our hotel data provider’s figures.

Trade-off: Great Southern Hotel Sydney: cleanliness issues, outdated room quality; Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites: cleanliness issues, old and tired rooms

Getting around: Great Southern Hotel Sydney lists Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.4 km, Sydney Opera House at 3.6 km. Oaks Sydney Goldsbrough Suites has no supplier distance table we can cite — plan walks on a map.

Close to: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, Queen Victoria Building (QVB), Sydney Tower Eye

  • 4-Star
  • George Street

See 2 hotels in George Street & Darling Harbour edge

The full guide

Read the full Sydney guide

Neighbourhoods, transport, costs and seasons — then use Popular searches for the where-to-stay guide, itinerary, eats hub and these property shortlists.

Read the full Sydney guide

Straight comparisons

Hand-picked pairs, not every possible pair. Each of these exists because it is a decision readers in Sydney genuinely have to make.

Popular Sydney searches

Sydney hotels — common questions

Which area of Sydney is best for a first visit?
Start from the neighbourhoods on this page and the hotel with the POI pins or location score that match your days — not the highest star class alone. In this sample the strongest headline is The Grace Hotel at 8.9 from 18,217 as of 8 December 2025.
Should I book Sydney hotels direct or through a booking site?
It varies by property and by date, which is why we never quote a nightly rate here. Check the partner link for your dates, then check the hotel’s own site before you confirm. Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com and Vrbo are partners; those links may earn commission.
Why do you show guest scores but never a star-rating snippet in search results?
Because the scores are not ours. Every review number on this site comes from a supplier’s aggregate. We show the supplier score plainly, attributed and dated, and we never emit it as structured data. We have not stayed — this is a desk assessment from our hotel data provider’s dated guest analysis on the page.
The Grace Hotel or Shangri-La Sydney?
The Grace Hotel posts 8.9 from 18,217; Shangri-La Sydney posts 8.7 from 13,117. Full comparison: /hotels/sydney/compare/the-grace-hotel-vs-shangri-la-sydney. We have not stayed — this is a desk assessment from our hotel data provider’s dated guest analysis on the page.