Best hotel views of Sydney: Holiday Inn Potts Point

The Holiday Inn Potts Point in Sydney offers splendid harbor views with the Sydney skyline, bridge and Opera House. The old-fashioned rooms are big, service is friendly & competent and the location near Kings Cross is convenient and fun. It’s good value and I would recommend it to friends & family!

Location: Potts Point / Darlinghurst is one of my favorite areas to stay in when visiting Sydney for leisure: It’s easy to get to by train, close to the sights in the city, the Eastern Beaches and the bay and it has a great neighborhood vibe with lots of little coffee shops, restaurants and bars, giving you more of a “local” feel rather than a touristy one.
The Holiday Inn Potts Point is located right next to the Kings Cross station (Victoria Street exit) with a direct line to downtown and Bondi Junction for beach access. It take about 30 minutes to the airport by train or taxi. If you like to walk, you can even go for a stroll to the Botanic Garden.
The location up on the hill also gives the Holiday Inn its most outstanding feature – the stunning views over Sydney’s Central Business District, the Harbor Bridge and Opera House. This view alone is worth staying here for me!

Service & Rewards: The service is another differentiator for the Holiday Inn Sydney Potts Point – check-in was fast and friendly. I received all the necessary information about the hotel amenities and services as well as transportation. The helpful staff also provided recommendations for the most popular shows in town, based on their own experiences. I always appreciate advice based on their honest opinion, instead of what they are getting commissions for!
Housekeeping was very responsive and cleaned my room quickly and thoroughly on request. All towels and supplies were replenished appropriately each day.
I was excited to find out that the Holiday Inn Potts Point provided a complimentary upgrade to a harbor view room to me as an IHG Rewards Club Platinum member – that’s a big deal and much appreciated! I also had a choice of a welcome drink or additional IHG Rewards points and chose the points – they posted before I left the hotel! All of those perks were provided, even though I stayed on award nights, making them even more appreciated!

Room: The best thing about my upgraded King room is the stunning view over the Sydney Harbor and skyline. While I was on a lower floor, it was still amazing. It was my main reason for booking the hotel and I just can’t get enough of this room, waking up to it or going to bed with it! The room is pretty big by Sydney standards, with a comfortable bed with soft and hard pillows.

There is a soft chair by the window and a work desk with task chair against the wall. A large closet holds a large safe and iron & ironing board.

You also get a TV, mini-fridge and coffe/tea facilities. There is a luggage rack and plenty of space for your bags.

The bathroom is equally big with the toilet on one side, the large sink-in counter-top in the center and a shower-over-tub combination on the right. It has a double, partially see-through curtain on a straight rod. Standard Holiday Inn bathroom amenities are provided and the towels are thick and of good quality.

The whole room is clean and well maintained, but it is very obvious that it has not been renovated in a very, very long time. The furniture is old fashioned, vintage 70s or 80s. The light wood and carpets are a sea of beige, making it very uninspiring in a city known for its boutique hotels and style!
The free WiFi internet was reliable and fast with an average speed of 4.9Mbps – it appeared to be capped at that speed and was very consistent, enabling work, calls and video streaming!

Restaurant & Amenities: The Holiday Inn Darlinghurst has a small gym with older equipment for a basic workout. There is no pool.
There are PCs and printers in the lobby, so you can print your boarding pass or tickets at no charge!

The hotel restaurant at the ground floor offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. I stay in Darlinghurst for the many restaurants and didn’t try it. But the prices are very reasonable and comparable to restaurants in the neighborhood, so if you want to eat in for convenience, you don’t have to pay through the nose for it! You can see the menu below:
Bottomline: The Holiday Inn Potts Point has stunning views, and it is worth upgrading to the harbor view rooms for it! The location is great to explore the city and beaches and the service is better than many other hotels in Sydney, friendly and competent! The rooms are drab and in need of renovation, but are clean and well maintained. At a price of 30,000 IHG Rewards Club Points per night or a cash rate of $180 during my stay, the Holiday Inn is good value compared to chain hotels in the city center – but significantly more than the stylish, independent boutique hotels in Darlinghurst If you don’t mind the outdated rooms and look for the reliability of a chain hotel, the Holiday Inn is a great choice and I’m sure to return in the future. For a more stylish stay and better value, check out the nearby boutique hotels, like the Kirketon Boutique Hotel Darlinghurst!


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