The Old Clare Hotel, Sydney

Location, Heritage building

The beds were too soft for our preference.

Unique decor, proximity to shops, restaurants and public transport, lolly bar

Nothing

The hotel building is beautiful and the room was lovely, really nice and clean. The bed was very comfortable. The hotel is 5minutes walk from central which makes it perfect for getting anywhere in the city.

It was extremely noisy on Saturday night, with hen parties in the building and the street next door - the sound proofing is pretty non existent. There was a glitch with their online system so my room service order never went through and I waited almost an hour for my food.

A tastefully appointed room particularly liked my desk top lamp. It was a repurposed Riley car rocker cover on an old screw jack. It met the standards for that type of hotel. Proximity to a great street packed with culinary choice.

Nothing of note

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Friendly staff. Upgrade on arrival.

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.

Friendly staff. Comfy bed!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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