The Old Clare Hotel, Sydney

Location was Amazing and the hotel was great Very quiet

I like to have fresh air in the room and not able to open the windows was not the best but I do understand why

Location is very close to central station and lots of restaurants and cafes within walking distance. Very cool decor and clean room.

Can be expensive

Comfy beds, wonderful breakfast, excellent location

The Old Clare is exceptionally well located, minutes walk from the Central Train Station with easy access to an extensive rail network. It is also next door to a street full of restaurants on the one side and a mall with restaurants/movie theater on the other. I had a spacious room, the bed was comfortable and the shower water pressure was good. The staff were friendly and efficient. It was very clean.

I would recommend skipping the food in the bar for any of the eateries near at hand.

Great location, has a special feel and excellent staff

Complimentary sweets in atrium! Pleasant staff. Interesting building, and area, with industrial past Room was double storey, making it feel large and private. Excellent bathroom. Very clean. Big windows. We were lucky enough to get a room on the east side with copious morning sunlight streaming onto bed, which was really lovely. Location is excellent. Spice Alley, a pedestrian "eat street" next door on one side, shopping centre with cinema on the other. White Rabbit, an excellent contemporary Art Gallery, very close. Close to bus, light rail, train and metro.

Mattress felt worn out. Soft and uneven. Toilet has lack of privacy being mounted right off bedroom. May not bother some. Bath comfortable but takes a very long time to fill. Towels smaller than expected. Artworks in shared spaces not labeled.

Super cute interior, and size of room great.

The pool was really cold.

We love everything about this hotel and stay here for a little treat every month. The staff are absolutely incredible too.

The concierge was very friendly upon checking in (a lady but I didn't catch her name). I liked the retro vibe and decor of the hotel. The book at the front where guests could write down why they were here was a cute touch. High ceiling was pleasing to the eye.

I booked the 'King Room - Connell'. I messaged the property asking if it's possible to be assigned a room with frosted glass for the bathroom (upon reading reviews about the fully open bathroom). Customer service replied, saying ALL Connell King Rooms were clear glass and that there were NO frosted glass bathrooms for the category I booked. Their replies were polite and quick, so no complaints there and I appreciated them asking if I'd like an accessible bathroom, which I declined. After checking in, I went to my room and saw a frosted glass bathroom, which was what I wanted anyway, so all good, but I was confused as customer service said otherwise. They clearly provided me with the wrong info. My suggestion is for all staff to brush up on their knowledge about each room to avoid confusion for guests. Also, I believe the first 2 photos under the category of 'King Room - Connell' were incorrectly placed :( This was the only reason I booked this room. It could be my misunderstanding, which I'd take responsibility for, but I was under the impression that when you click on a specific room, the photos shown would reflect the actual room you're booking. Please let me know if I misunderstood, otherwise maybe remove the two photos or move them to the correct category? The above are very specific to my situation with booking so other guests may not have the same issues. However, the following is something that needs to be addressed properly. I requested for late checkout the night before leaving and the male concierge said it was okay to check out at 11:45am instead of 11am. He literally said, 'This is all in the system for you.' The following day, I received a call from reception around 11am asking about checking out and I had a feeling my late checkout request wasn't actually processed. When I checked out at the lobby, the lady told me there is no record of me requesting late check out ...

Location to restaurants

Breakfast was great

Very clean, beautifully presented and well located.

Temporary Parking to get the key so that we can get into the car park is very difficult. I wasn’t aware if the 15 minute car park in gin lane until leaving this time.

Top: ambiance - pool - near nice restaurants

Tip: noice around hotel - noice in pub - reinstate restaurant - split level rooms are too small, rather make it one level with larger rooms

I do t think the heating was working. The thermostat was set to 25 and seemed to be running but it was quite cold in the room. Mini bar prices a too high to enjoy the offerings. Otherwise good.

. Convenient location, really beautiful rooms. Artsy and comfortable, warm and cosy but still luxurious! Love this place so much. Also ridiculously comfortable, large beds and large squishy pillows!

Nothing

location near Central station was important for me comfortable spacious room

Went up to the pool area but unable to order a drink and no information about how to

Loved that they included a bottle of bubbles as it was my birthday and love the unique design of the room. The bath in the middle of the room is such a cool feature! Heated pool, including pool towels available also really great!

Understand it is winter but the pool bar being open in the afternoon/evening would have been great, otherwise nothing to really complain about

I love the quirky style. The bed and pillows were extremely comfortable. Location fantastic and staff super friendly

The carpet in the room could do with a deep clean or to be ripped up. The shower took a long time to get hot. Breakfast was average for the price but coffee excellent.

The bed was the most comfy bed I have ever slept in.

Would have loved an outdoor heated spar

The location, the generous sized rooms, soft comfy bed, rooftop bar and heated pool.

The toilets in the rooms aren’t very private with a glass door.

Beautiful character filled cub room

Nothing.It was all amazing

Good bed. Room was clean. Hotel in great location.

The room lay out with a down stairs sitting room not to our liking.

Generally nice and clean

No room service Room didn’t have toothbrush

Location is great and the design is amazing

Noise proof is not really working. I can see they’ve tried but still, not a very quiet place. Which is understandable when it’s very close to the city and very close to a Main Street

Beautifully appointed.

Beds are waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too soft and with the current trend of hotel sheets not actually doing their job (duvet cover? fitted sheet? correct size for the mattress?) it felt as though you were drowning in linen and making contact to the duvet and mattress. Kinda gross.

I love this property! The position, the decor, the proximity to central station and Newtown. I was upgraded to a large 1 bedroom apartment which was awesome. Spice lane loaded with cool little nook restaurants and bar in house and at the doorstep. Great staff, and the most luxurious dressing gowns, I just had to buy one to take home with me.

Friendly staff. Upgrade on arrival.

So I walk into The Old Clare and immediately - dopamine. Just a hit. The kind of hit you get when someone not only read the brief, but also went, “What if… we didn’t finish the brief… on purpose?” And it works. It’s like the building is mid-thought. And I’m into it. Like, heavily. There’s this intentional incompleteness to the whole place - and that’s not me being shady, that’s me being in love. Big-brain move. Wise. WISE. Like, “finish it but don’t finish it,” K? They left enough raw edges to whisper “heritage” but polished just enough to say “I know what a Henry vacuum is.” (I believe I spotted a green one.) Also - and I can’t stress this enough - the corners in our room? Protected. Armored. Anti-clumsy. As someone whose spatial awareness is more of a suggestion than a skillset? I feel seen. No chipped paint. No mystery smudges from whoever walked into that wall at 2 a.m. before me. Smart. Sensory-wise? 4 out of 5. Which is high! That’s a Rose-4. Which is like a regular 5. I didn’t bring my decibel meter but my nervous system did not file a complaint - and that’s rare. Usually it’s filing something. And let’s talk about the in room guest book. Whoever made that? Neurospicy, through and through. (If you don’t know, now you know & you’re brilliant) I felt it. I knew. When I read “Dial 9 for Ice, ice, baby” - I had to sit down. (I was already sitting down, but I sank further into the plush, nest of a bed) I laughed, I pointed at the page, I said to my partner, “This person gets me.” You, guest book person? Never stop. You are the Alanis Morrissette of hotel in-room literature. Don't you think? It’s defiantly not ten thousand spoons when all you needed was a knife. This is a knife. Crocodile Dundee, would agree. Anyway - I love it here. I’m not saying I’m moving in, but I did google long-stay rates. So.

Mirror lighting was definitely not the decision of anyone who wears makeup (the little magnifying mirrors are a waste of money) & no full length mirror in the room - questionable. Just pop one inside the wardrobe doors! We didn’t ask if there was an option - but if there was an option to have a firmer bed, we would have requested it! The cloud like bed, was SUPER excellent for relaxing & so satisfying to sink into, but, I need a firm bed so my back doesn’t make me feel 90 years old.

Convenient location, wonderful atmosphere, spacious comfortable bathroom, and nice rooftop.

No toilet brush provided. Mattress not firm - sinking into it each night.

Great location near Central station. Loved the style of the hotel. Room was quiet.

Had trouble finding Kensington St to pick up cark park fob, street looked too narrow to drive down.signage in car park was hard to read to find lower levels. Light switches in room were hard to figure out.

Beautiful restoration

The parking was a little tricky, juggling the key to gain access, is shared by all guests. Had to wait multiple times.

Friendly staff. Comfy bed!

Would be great to have a door between the bathroom and bedroom in the loft!

The vibe, the lollies, the rooms were amazing.

The parking.

The vibes is gorgeous, the location made it so easy to get out and about. Plenty to do around the area and everything you need right out the door.

The hotel has parking available (at a cost which is expected) however they only have two parking access keys shared between anyone using the parking facilities meaning you had to get the key and return it to reception anytime you entered or exited the car park and at times had to wait for other people to return the key . This was the only let down at the hotel, everything else hit the mark

Beautifully renovated old hotel, fun pub downstairs and cool rooftop pool and bar. Close proximity to central station and good restaurants. Would stay again.

Beautiful spacious room, extra large comfortable bed with a selection of Asian cuisine in spice alley right behind you.

It is on the outskirts of the CBD not in the CBD but still very walkable distance

Loved the design and how they combined other original decor into the space. The high ceilings in the room the bathroom the oldnessof the building but still being clean and comfortable and the rooftop pool was so nice.

Not much I didn’t like, we went to go to the restaurant on Sunday but it was closed which was a shame.

The modern/retro Reno’s

All good

Old Clare is my favourite hotel in Sydney CBD, large rooms, with echoes of its industrial past, very comfy beds and furniture and well equipped bathrooms. Lighting arrangements are diverse and large windows open onto the streetscape. Close to transport at Central, shopping and movies at Central Park mall and great restaurants and cafes nearby. Staff are helpful and gracious and room service was prompt and generous. There is a rooftop bar and a pool for warmer weather. As a guest from Singapore remarked it is unique in contrast to many monochrome hotel chains.

NA

Bed was amazingggggg great location! Room was quirky staff were lovely and easy check in!

Couldn’t find parking and our internet in room wasn’t the best we couldn’t connect to chrome cast on tv

Everything. This is my absolute favourite hotel in the world!

Everything was fabulous

Excellent location, situated in an amazing funky restaurant precinct. I was upgraded to an incredible two-story room with a deep bath, huge bed and spotlessly clean. This hotel has a very unique and thoughtful decor, which was refreshing.

The 7am spin class was held on the floor above which could be heard clearly from the bedroom (I should have got up and joined them!).

Location within 15 minutes walk of CBD. Good decor. Quiet. Nice atmosphere.

We had a twin room which was nice. However the bathroom was entirely un glass you could see right through to the shower which wasn't great for a twin so no privacy if you are with a friend or relative. No water to drink other than in mini bar. No staff on reception at 9 am for checkout was odd.

Quiet, great location, good facilities, excellent staff. Longshore restaurant was excellent and had exceptional service.

Location and pool.

The bed consisted of two mattresses - mine was fine and my husband's was too soft.

What an amazing place. Exceptional location with spice alley JUST out the door, just a few minutes’ stroll to Central but somehow still tucked away and peaceful. The foyer lollies were a 10/10 hit for us, as well as the enormous and soft bed! Absolutely a new favourite for Sydney visits—next time we can’t forget our bathers!!!

No shade to the staff, who were helpful and accommodating when prompted, but at a place of this calibre I expect to be absolutely schmoozed with charisma at the desk. It’s the little things.

Spacious duplex. Nice pool. Great location

Very dated. Rooms need a revamp and a deep clean

Really stylish, comfy hotel in the heart of Sydney. Large comfortable beds, bathrobes and very clean modern furnishings make it a really cosy stay. The rooftop bar and pool is nice. There are some nice bars and restaurants close by in Chippendale and it’s also very convenient for the CBD and other more buzzing neighbourhoods. Would definitely stay here again.

The pool is not the best if you’re looking for a relaxing day lounging in the sun, as there weren’t many sun lounges by the pool and its right next to the rooftop bar so a bit exposed.

Spice alley next door is amazing. The finer dining options right under your doorstep is top tier and delicious. Beds were very comfortable. Botique style interior was a nice touch. Small touches all around.

Car parking is a bit tedious with dropping off garage keys every use but given central station is stone throw away it's a very small compromise.

The styling of the hotel and the friendly staff

The food available could be of a better standard