The Old Clare Hotel, Sydney

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

The room was spacious and beautifully presented. The rooftop bar and pool was excellent. Loved the design, objects, and photos showing the history of the site.

The cafe that did breakfast had friendly staff, however it was very expensive and below Sydney standards for food and coffee.

Location, good size room, good facilities

Bed was very soft, old operating theater equipment in reception area was very creepy when checking in late at night with none one around and low lighting!

I loved the facilities and location

The block out blinds in my bathroom did not work making it difficult to sleep with the light coming into the room

We were just very happy about the location of the hotel and what was around it and the amenities. Breakfast in the morning was wonderful. Couldn’t have been happier.

I really can’t think of anything that I did not like about this hotel

loved the style, vibe and details of the room - highly recommend!!

The towels were disappointing.

Nice apholstery, old charm

Not really friendly staff at front desk. Felt very pricey for average service. It was off-peak season so it would have been easy tø provide good service.

Great location, friendly staff.

Loud clunking noise which periodically woke me up regularly during stay. Arrived on a cold day and room was freezing when I entered. Roof bar was shut over Easter and there were no towels at the pool. Wanted to love this hotel. It was OK.

Great location, spacious rooms, modern vibes in a beautiful old building. Beautiful big windows with natural light and stylish fixtures. Loved the lolly bar at the entrance of the hotel.

The breakfast room service, was super pricey. We also were unable to order food 5 minutes before the kitchen closed in the evening.

Great location, generous sized rooms and a big comfy bed!

The only thing I have to say is that I couldn’t pull the duvet up high enough as it seemed like it was nailed under the bed haha

Love the location and the hotel has been beautifully & thoughfully renovated over the years. It’s really quite special!

No comment

Everything! This is one of my favourite hotels ever, always so beautiful - the rooms are stunning, interesting. Great location at the centre of everything in Sydney. Lovely helpful staff, nice facilities and delicious food on site.

Nothing.

Perfect location to explore the city. Delicious breakfast. Comfortable bed.

Great location. Super helpful and friendly staff. Beautiful building. My favourite hotel in Australia if not the world.

Nothing. Perfect stay

Quirky, welcoming, exceptional

Temporary parking to get car park access a bit difficult to find.

Proximity to great nightlife, restaurants and public transport, the sleek fit out & interiors

Room was on the ground floor so could hear a bit of backstreet pedestrian & traffic noise

heritage combined with modern bathroom!

Unique, quiet, beautiful rooms, fabulous rooftop bar and pool, brilliant location, laid back but with class

Rooftop bar line up for drinks. QR codes on tables would fix this

Very clean and comfortable. Good breakfasts

Could be noisy at night. Especially our last night (Thursday) loud music and shouting outside our windows until 1.30am. Think weekends would be noisy

An old building fully renovated - beautifully designed. This hotel was excellent: super comfortable and in an excellent location, close to central station, restaurants and cafes just around the corner.

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Chippendale location, not the best if you are there to visit the city. Also, not much around. The hotel is nice with a very nice room…HOWEVER, booked a room with a king bed..but it is anything but that. They stick two single mattresses together and one of them clearly needs to be changed as it curves in. My back has never hurted this much and I’ve been staying in hotels for the last +6months! Also, staff is nice but a bit cold. And I had to haul my luggage myself on a trolley with a wheel that didn’t work.

Spacious room on the quieter side of the building. Lovely repurposed lights and interiors. Staff are friendly and helpful. Close to Central station.

Pillow was a bit hard and there was no bench/storage space in the bathroom, as it was set up for disability access.

Great hotel… practically a destination in itself!

Nothing… loved it!

Breakfast was very nice (a la carte and good). Bed was enormous and comfortable. Great location and lots of great dining. Loved your bar (ground floor one) and the live music. A fun hotel to stay at (and comfortable).

We had a disabled bathroom (but have stayed before and liked the standard bathrooms a lot).

The decor was cool. Location was handy to train station and a good variety of food options. The room was spacious and quiet. The staff were friendly at reception and the lolly battle was a nice touch. They accommodated early check in and late check out.

I did casual breakfast, which was ok but a little expensive and they ran out of what I wanted so got some smashed avo and toast instead which was over $20 and presented a a bowl of avo and dry toast, some dulls or something would have been nice as the tomatoes on toast wasn’t available. The bar female tender in the hotel bar was a bit rude, not friendly. The roof top was a bit dated and not very inviting.

Excellent things: shower pressure, makeup mirror, complimentary bicycle, staff. Could be better: if there was a selection of local beers in the old pub. Options were pretty bland.

Central location Lolly jar in reception

The mattress was way too soft on the bed

Great location. Close to good restaurants, and central and easy walk to capitol theatre. Funky building with a lot of thought gone into the renovation. Nice big room. Beautiful pool terrace. Enjoyed the stay

Great hotel

Breakfast was good

The bar music was way too loud

The buildings are interesting and characterful. Location is good - very close to Central station and the area is full of students which gives it a busy vibe. Room was a good size with a super king bed (on the soft side of soft). Bathroom was clean, spacious and light. Rooftop bar is a lovely spot for a drink in the evening. The front reception staff were friendly and helpful.

The view from my room on the 3rd floor was of an internal void area including the tops of walls etc that normally no one would see and probably shouldn't - better to fill in the window and replace with some nice artwork. The design of the carpets in the hallways and my room were not to my taste - dark colours with random patterns that reminded me of the worst designs from the 80s. The hallway carpet on my floor wasn't vacuumed for several days during my stay - I know because there were bits that would have been removed if it had been. None of these issues impacted my stay but let's just say it's definitely a 4 star hotel, not 5, as indicated on Booking.com.

Such a great and historic place to stay. So central to everything we absolutely loved our stay! The service was excellent, facilities even better, food was incredible at the hotel and around.

Great location.

Bed were very soft.

Wonderful rooms ( very soft beds !!)

Stylish clean and efficient.

Service at breakfast is slow and officious.

The living area felt quite dated and smelt damp

The hotel is lovely and situated on spice Alley which was wonderful. The staff were fabulous and loved the bar french bar man who was always very helpful

Beautiful building. Rooms felt luxury. Great location right next to Spice Alley. Roof top bar and pool another great option. Will be back.

Parking is a little painful and confusing to find but close and convenient. You need to park and get the key from reception then find the parking. Then do the same leaning. It’s not easy to park out the front to pick up and drop off key. A little stressful. Central is close if you could do public transport.

all very good loved the Lollie bar in foyer.

nothing

Friendly, stylish, little bit different from cookie cutter hotels

My only issue is the the pillows were all tall round bolster pillows, be good to have some flatter ones.

The staff are always very friendly and helpful. Check in is an easy process.

Our room was on the first floor opposite a restaurant that operated a disco until midnight. It sounded as if the party was in our room. This was disappointing, as we had an early start the next day and didn't get much sleep. The last time we stayed there in a different quieter room. Be aware that the rooms that are beside Spice Alley can get noisy, especially on the weekends.

Location is perfect for light rail, really nice classy hotel, super comfortable room

The toilet behind the frosted glass in the room with your partner/loved one is interesting.. solid privacy may be better

The room, location and surrounding restaurants, food, supermarket etc are all perfect for the traveller.

I am a 'firm' bed person, and this one was super 'soft' which was maybe less than ideal for me. In house food is 'ok', however, the options immediately outside in the Kensington St are exceptional.

Great location, friendly staff, quirky artwork and occasional furniture. Great pool and bar setup.

Everything!

Nothing!

No valet

Location Quirky and interesting finishing Heated pool Toiletries were delicious

Didn’t like all the stairs of a loft room Room downstairs pretty useless Sorry cafe didn’t have all day breakfast Not enough milk or tea bags for one night