Stamford Sydney Airport, Australia
Corner Robey & O'Riordan Streets, Mascot, NSW Australia 2020 Telephone 61 2 9317 2200 Facsimile 61 2 9317 3855 http://www.stamford.com.au
The Stamford is the most imposing, and the highest rating of the Sydney Airport hotels. Neighbouring the domestic terminals are the Ibis, and Holiday Inn hotels, the Sydney International motor inn, in addition to the Stamford. Nearer to the international airport is the Mercure Hotel, which was formerly the Sydney Airport Hilton. The Stamford is rated 4.5 star and is a deluxe hotel, and at 1 kilometre is closest to the airport of its counterparts. I arrived at the hotel by car, drove into the fairly elaborate drive-way at the entrance, and eventually navigated my way to the car park entry, which the directional signage for was not the best. On entry to the car parking, which is under the building next door, I found it a bit of a mish-mash. There was however good signage directing guests (and visitors) of the hotel to certain areas, which after some time I arrived at. The parking bays are dual-bays, more designed for valet parking. Most people had parked their cars in the front bay, so they could easily access them. Keys are not required to be left anywhere, or in the car. I then unloaded and went to the lift lobby, however there I was directed to the 'Hotel Lobby at the other end'. Eventually I got to the lift (there were two) and ascended into the hotel lobby, which I had to assume was the 'G' level as indicated in the lift. The hotel lobby I found grand, quite upmarket, extremely spacious, and leading into a substantial bar and restaurant area. There were two attendants at the next and I gave my credentials. My booking was not easily located, and after several minutes in the back office searching for it, I was then attended to. Check-in otherwise was brisk, although a litle clinical. I was then given a card to Room 733 on the 7th floor. I found my own way to the lifts, as I had not been told by the receptionist where they were. Up to the 7th floor, and quite a distance from the lifts was Room 733. The room was very spacious, very well appointed, colours being tans and browns, and with a nice outlook over the Mascot area, with distant views of the city. A 3-panel wardrobe on the left at the entry contained a number of shelves (handy for long term guests), a bathrobe, iron and ironing board. Adjacent to that was a cabinet containing tea and coffee making facilities and a mini-bar fridge. Prices for the mini-bar, at the time of my stay, included local beer at $5 (Australian dollars), premium beers $6.50, soft drinks $3.10, mineral water $3.30, chocolate bar $2.20. Nearby was a luggage rack, and then a very large cabinet containing TV (satellite channels, local TV and pay-for-view movies), and 3 spacious drawers. There was a dining table at the end, fairly long, and not so wide, that contained a link for high speed Internet access (Inter-Touch), for which there is a charge of 55 cents per minute (maximum daily charge of $29). There were two three-quarter beds, with a bedside table in-between, which contained white and yellow pages telephone directories, a clock and a phone. The phone didn't have a modem or data port, but it could be disconnected and a line accessed for Internet use. The beds had nice headboards, and lamp shades, which swivelled out over each bed. The bathroom, again decked out in tan and brown pastel colours, was also very spacious. Bench space was reasonable, lighting excellent, a phone alongside the toilet, a timber towel rack, combined shower/bath, and hairdryer. Around 6.30pm I wandered down to the bar to join a friend. The bar was quite large, with stools, and a number of lounges. Draft beer included local favourites VB and Hahn light. Just on completion of the drinks, a bowl of mixed nuts arrived, which prompted a second round of drinks - good salesmanship! It was then into the quite elaborate, and extremely large dining area, which adjoined the bar. On show was a large seafood buffet, at $43 per person, which included oysters, king prawns, Balmain bugs, fish, curries, roast ham, salads, pumpkin soup, pasta, and a delicious range of desserts including Christmas pudding, fruit mince pies, pavlova, chocolate cake, and more. The variety, quality and presentation was all of a good standard, and an enjoyable night was had. In-all the hotel came right up to expectations for a 4.5 star facility. The hotel is handy to both airports, has a shuttle bus it shares with the nearby Holiday Inn, and seems to cater well for stopover travellers, as well as local corporate visitors, and on-site conference travellers.