Holiday Inn Old Sydney
We have been to Sydney as a family three times now, each time to board a cruise ship. We love to stay in The Rocks area, because of the proximity to the cruising port, and because of the fantastic markets and food stalls! For pre or post cruise accommodation, we highly recommend Holiday Inn Old Sydney. We have stayed here twice and will definitely be back!
Location
The Holiday Inn Old Sydney is a heritage listed hotel uniquely positioned between the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the historic area, The Rocks. The hotel boasts views across both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, and is less than 100m walk to the cruise terminal.
View from the rooftop by night
and by day…!
Kids Stay & Eat Free
Like most of the Holiday Inn properties we stay at, kids under 12 stay and eat free here, with up to four kids eating free with two paying adults! It is such a huge saving, especially for those larger families and one of the reasons we keep coming back to Holiday Inn properties.
Rooms
We stayed in a Twin room which consisted of two x double beds and an extra rollaway for our smallest child. The rooms were very generous in sizing, and even featured a bath which is a huge selling point for me! We also had an incredible view straight out onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was a huge highlight for the kids.
Ample room for our large family!
Facilities
My kids favourite place to hang out at this hotel is the Rooftop Pool area, and once you see the view it’s not hard to see why. We had some awful weather during our trip, but that certainly wasn’t stopping them from swimming in the rain or enjoying the warm hot tub. The kids LOVE running up the stairs each morning to see if a new cruise ship has docked, and of course, watching with excitement when our ship does!
Boys and I loved the spa!
So exciting seeing our ship dock!
Dining
Playfair Terrace Restaurant serves an amazing buffet breakfast from 6.00am, followed by lunch and dinner. The breakfast had a great selection of food including freshly cooked to order eggs, a juicing machine, and my favourite – a proper coffee machine! We were off exploring during the day and meeting family at night, so didn’t eat lunch or dinner at the hotel but we did have some drinks at the Lobby Bar at Happy Hour, which seemed to be a popular spot! There is also a Rooftop Event Space called 55 George, which would make an amazing location for a work event or birthday party.
Nothing beats proper coffee in a hotel!
What makes this hotel the most convenient choice for our family is the fact that the cruise terminal is metres away. We can easily walk all of us and our three suitcases straight over without the need for taxis, saving us alot of money aswell. For anyone heading off on a cruise, we highly recommend this property or for anyone just holidaying in Sydney. It is the perfect base and if you stay over a weekend, The Rocks area comes to life with markets, stalls and fresh food.
Thank you very much to The Holiday Inn, Old Sydney for hosting us here during our recent trip. We had an incredible stay and will see you again for our next cruise!