Ed L.
Yelp
I found this quaint hotel on Hotels.com, but found out that it wasn't really a hotel, but a step up from a hostel. It surely had private guest rooms, but I was surprised to find out about the shared centralized bathrooms and showers.
I probably should have read through the reviews, but I couldn't turn down this deal, due to the close proximity of the Bradley Park location. The property was basically 1 km from the start line of the 2018 Blackmores Sydney marathon and half marathon and decided to book this one - mainly due to that aspect. And so, I booked this hotel accommodation, not knowing well enough that this is like an upgraded hostel. The Glennferie Lodge is basically a two story private residence - or what looks like it in Kiribilli / North Sydney Australia. It's nice that it is nestled in the suburbs of North Sydney, away from the urban twang from the central business district across the bridge. The neighborhood that it sits on is a quiet area, which is always nice to be in. I booked two nights here at the Glennferrie Lodge and possibly had a good stay here, even though having to go to the restroom at 2:30am & 4:15am, and need to leave your room wasn't the highlights of my stay. Just needed to be said. Keep that in mind when you are looking for affordable accommodations here in the northern suburbs or even in the Sydney's central business district. For me, Glennferrie was affordable enough and logically sound.
The overall experience here at the Glennferrie Lodge was ok and good at the same time, although the aforementioned shared bathrooms outside the individual units was a bit annoying. I guess that came with the territory when you acknowledge booking with them. They assigned me room 59, which was one of the rooms on the ground floor. As you can imagine, those shared bathrooms / showers were on the higher level. So, having to climb stairs at 2:30am for the restroom wasn't fun, but necessary. The Glennferrie Lodge is located at 12 Carabella Street in the Kiribilli / North Sydney Australia neighborhood. They accept major credit cards for payment, which is always a good thing for travelers and people who wish to stay local. Getting here is usually done through private car. They have parking spaces here for guests. Best bet is to utilize these spaces or other nearby residential streets, if possible. For me, I got here initially through walking from CBD area of Sydney via the Sydney harbor bridge, although taking Uber thereafter was way better. However you want to get here is fine. Sometimes, finding a nice place outside the CBD area for a relaxing weekend can do a lot of justice.
The house itself was beautiful, however, when you walk through the level where the reception was - the floor squeaked pretty loudly. Hard to tip toe about when the floor does that. The room I got was nice. Since I was there for 2 nights, I slept on both beds, one on each night. Seemed the right thing to do really. They had me in a room with 2 single beds. The unit itself seemed albeit small, but it was large enough to be habitable and cozy. The ambiance of the room was nice and everything was working correctly. The WiFi was spotty during my stay or not working properly, so I just used my network data. The room itself was clean and seemed like a small apartment, but with 2 beds, instead of one. All in all, it was a good stay. The prices here were pretty good. I believe it was about AU $80-$100/night, which isn't bad at all. Just need to remember the thing about the shared bathrooms, showers, and you should be alright. The check in and out service was fine, friendly, and quick. The beds were pretty comfortable and I managed to get good amount of hours of sleep for the race and enough to get up early for the early flight out to Christchurch, NZ the Monday after. It's a cute place, if you don't mind the bathroom / situation.
Consider coming to the Glennferrie Lodge, where it can be cost effective to be here. Although it's not a bad location from the CBD area of Sydney, best bet is to just get around with a rental car or even uber. Recommend if you are visiting Sydney and need a place that's budget friendly. 4.0 stars for the overall experience. 3.0 stars for the bathroom trips upstairs. 4.0 stars for the room and bed. comfort.
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