Oaks Sydney Castlereagh Suites — Hotel in Sydney

Arriving at the Oaks Castlereagh Suites, me and my partner were greeted by a lovely receptionist, who not only checked us in smoothly, but also provided very useful information on getting around Sydney.

Speaking of getting around, the suites are conveniently located near both the Central and musem train stations within walking distance. Alternatively, further up from musem stations are the tram lines getting around.

However, the second we step into our room on floor 15, we were met with a tired room that had seen better days. From the dated decor and a stained floor, to the cracks within the walls, the room was clearly screaming out for some much needed renovations. Though it was at least tidy on arrival so I didn't want to make a big fuss about it.

Where i did make a big fuss, was the dreaded bathroom. Once again, very dated and tired. The red splats on the mirror, cracks in the wall and MOULD within the shower door jambs and soap rack would instantly set off alarm bells for anyone.

Due to the mould within the sliding door, it was incredibly difficult to open it up without needing to do it by force. Was worried it would break and I'd get injured.

The shower head either gave too little pressure, or too much that it'd rip your skin off. Once you get the desired pressure, you'll also have to fight with getting the temperature right constantly as the shower clearly can't hold it's temperature. The second you attempt to do so, it'll go either icey cold, or lava hot within a second.

As for sleeping in the bed, it has to be by far the worst sleep I have ever had. Despite the fact i asked for a double bed, it turned out it was just two singles held together by linen. This is a trend I absolutely hate with hotels. Regardless if my experience is good or bad at any joint i stay, i will call it out. Thus the Oaks Castlereagh Suites is no exception to this. Me and my partner found the mattress to be too stiff and the pillows too high up making us very uncomfortable, all while trying to avoid the awkward gap.

The bed wasn't the only thing that made our sleep horrible. The curtains weren't wide enough and alot of the light from the car park across the hotel would bleed right through the curtain gaps.

What also spoilt our sleep was the lack of any noise isolation. Simply put, it was non existent. We could hear everything from the trains running non stop, to the rouge drunken people screaming expletives.

Noise isolation within the hotel wasn't much better either. Our neighbours were noisy, and the mini hallway where our room was across from there's would just echo. Seemed to be the same case for the other rooms, because the noise from other neighbouring rooms would just echo throughout the floor. This would go on even late at night while we were trying to sleep.

Oh and don't bother using the TV to hook up a laptop to it. The TV couldn't even recognise the foxtel unit that was plugged into the hdmi port.

Now I know i might be coming across as harsh, nit picky even. Yes I could've gone down to the reception and complained about my issues to the staff. The thing is, I shouldn't have to! The amount of money I paid for to stay here, I expect the rooms to look half as nice as the pictures shown on hotel booking websites. It didn't meet my expectations, it threw up and spat all over them.

For the price, kind service and convenience i cannot reccomend staying at the Oaks...

The the article on a disabled hotel review side plus an email to the hotel gave me the impression that access with a mobility scooter might be difficult but they were wheelchair accessible. My mobility scooter is about the same size someone with permanent disabilities it's just wide as the wheelchair but it's longer but only because I don't have someone pushing me. The lift is perfectly accessible except it's a bit narrow that the ground floor and on the floors the room access is quite tight but being able to walk a little that was fine. The issue was the night manager followed policy and said I couldn't go in the lift with the scooter despite the fact that I'd done that when I checked in here had to escalate to senior management who agreed that they:d find somewhere for the scooter to park in the garage it was close enough for me to walk to. They said wait for 10 minutes please two hours later they still had no decision. By that time I was cold sore tired and getting increasingly anxious about how my very expensive scooter was going to survive the night. I finally fulfilled my ultimatum walked out of the hotel gave all three the key back at so that I couldn't be accused of theft got a Uber to go to the Hilton which I was going to charge them with the. I park the scooter in the street despite the fact that they claimed that I couldn't do that but I didn't then the Uber driver didn't do a good job so I had to get out and come back and notice it the I'd lost the keys to the scooter so try to get the manager and security guard to say if they had taken the keys for safety. I fully admit that some of my disabilities are ideas that ADHD that goes into over drive when I'm overly angry and anxious so I had yelled mainly because I'm also very deaf to start with and mainly because they kept provericating. Long story short I found ahead to wake my son up to come in and four hours after I first asked the rishette reception manager who had been ignoring me for two hours agreed that what I've asked for for ours before was okay My son talked to the manager on duty in the morning and got approval to park the scooter where I wanted to and I spoke to her later and tried to set up a meeting but I had a lot to do. The hotel will now get a bad review because of blindly following policies that were dictated by Centre management that made no sense for customers service.

However apart from entering the rooms which could only be done by a wheelchair and a pusher or a very flexible world cheer person example space for scooters to be parked out of the way. If I get to speak to the manager from this morning I've said that I can actually help them become disability friendly because they've got all the facilities and the location I got busy and we'll try again tomorrow My threat to suit will not be going through but I will be seeking a refund for inconvenience. In actual fact it's a beautiful hotel with beautiful rooms and if the if the disability rooms had straight on access it'd be a 5 out of 5 out of 5. That should have been done in refurb but corporates at a guess knowing how they worked preferred to make it look pretty but...

I stayed with Family in the 3 bedroom apartment for 2 nights...which was enough. On arrival we were smacked in the face with a chemical/paint smell that left us all with stinging eyes, noses and throats and a constant headache. The living area is spacious, dining table seated 6 but only enough lounge seating to comfortably seat 4. The TV was a nightmare to use and as there are a lack of power points, everything is run by power boards which I was zapped from trying to plug in TV. It is not a Smart TV Kitchen is well equipped but only really big enough for one person at a time and for an apartment that sleeps 6, they need a 4 slice toaster. Bathrooms were a good size and both had a bath and shower, along with complimentary toiletries, but no exhaust/ventilation. Bedrooms were quite spacious, huge amount of closet space but poor ventilation. No TV in any of the bedrooms. The balcony was a disappointment!! It's fully enclosed, so more a sunroom with a clostraphobic feeling and no area for fresh air. Pool and Spa area are very dated, the ceiling is in extremely poor condition and looks like its going to cave in. There was literally 2 seats in the entire room. The gym was small but well equipped and clean. The lifts are hit and miss and although your not advised, it is clearly in the middle of renovations which it desperately needs as do the rooms. There is underground parking but it's a tight squeeze and $55 a night (noticed an extra fee on my bank statement). The location is the best part of this motel, you are in walking distance to EVERYTHING but that also means your room is noisy (train track directly at front door). I do not think it's worth the $1000 a night I paid, infact, after walking in to the smell and seeing what you actually got, we contemplated finding accommodation elsewhere but knew we wouldn't get a refund. Pay the extra and stay at The...