Vulcan Hotel — Hotel in Sydney

DO NOT STAY HERE. Terribly run hotel with the worst customer service. Owners truly only care about making $ at the expense of the guests.

I wish I had read all the one star reviews here before booking at this hotel as they are all SPOT ON. Do yourself a favor and read them all now.

Why the one star review? Because I can't give the Vulcan Hotel a negative rating. Here's what happened:

After midnight, the people staying above us with a young child were making so much noise (constant banging) that I tried to call the room above us to ask them to be more quiet given the time. However, the man who answered said he had no children. I then looked on the phone and saw a number to call for after hours assistance. When I tried to dial it, I couldn't even finish dialing before getting a beeping sound indicating an error. I tried several times, to no avail. I then tried the front desk, no answer. My husband got up at one point as there was lots of noise in the hallway, but the family got in the elevator. We had nothing we could do as we couldn't reach anyone, but couldn't fall asleep because of the continuous racket.

The next morning around 5 am, we were awoken by the alarm of the person in the room adjacent to us. We were exhausted as we couldn't get to sleep the night before due to the noise above us. About an hour later, the alarm went off again and didn't stop. We had to call the front desk and the receptionist had to go knock on the person's door to get them to turn it off.We had to listen to the alarm until then.

By this time, the traffic out front was like an LA freeway. Unbelievably loud, and nonstop. (See pics.)

Since we'd arrived at night, it wasn't until the next morning that we saw that the building across from the hotel had graffiti all over it. (See pics for the view from our room.)

The photos on their website are very misleading. Look at the ones here on TripAdvisor for a better idea of what to really expect.

Blankets are like something out of army barracks.

When we checked out in the morning, I explained our frustrating stay to the receptionist and how the after hours number on the phone didn't work. I told her that we weren't happy and wanted some sort of recompense given the outrageously high price we'd paid for such a room and lack of service. The receptionist said there was nothing she could do and instructed me to lodge a complaint via the email address on their website. I asked if there was a manager or someone else I could speak to, but she said there was no one and that's all she could tell me, to write in.

Once I returned home, before writing in, I called the company where I'd booked my stay for the Vulcan Hotel. They contacted management on my behalf and asked about a partial refund due to the problems during our stay. Their response: there was no record of our complaint being made while we were at the hotel and without that, there was nothing they could do! What a Catch 22! This is such a great system for them so that they never have to do anything for guests who are inconvenienced. I've never seen such terrible, terrible management at a hotel.

I was instructed to write to the hotel directly and explain what happened, which I did, asking for a 50% refund, given that we did stay at the hotel (I am a reasonable person). I received a response which completely ignored my request. Instead, I was told that I shouldn't have called the number on the phone for after hours assistance, but the number which we were given on the back of a card that we were given upon check in! Honestly, what a set up. Who thinks about looking at some card after midnight? We would ALL dial the number listed ON the hotel phone, right? The manager wrote to me as if I was an idiot, and I didn't appreciate being written to in this manner, especially since the Vulcan Hotel took no responsibility for their problems in how they run their business.

I have not felt this frustrated and undervalued as a customer in a very long time, if ever. Stay here at...

Dear Chesca and the Vulcan Hotel Team,I’m writing to express my sincere gratitude for the warm hospitality and incredible assistance I received during my recent stay at Vulcan Hotel on April 13.When I first arrived at the hotel that morning and found out my room wasn’t ready yet, you and your male colleague (whose name I unfortunately forgot to ask) kindly provided me with a Sydney map and took the time to introduce some wonderful local sights and food options. I truly appreciated your friendliness and thoughtfulness—it made a great first impression and helped me feel at ease in a new city.Later that day, after returning from lunch to check in, I discovered that I had lost my passport. I was in a state of panic, but you comforted me and patiently helped contact the taxi driver and Sydney Airport, even though it was a Sunday and the airport office couldn’t be reached. What touched me most was that you didn’t stop there—you continued to help me follow up the next day, and thanks to your persistence and kindness, I was finally able to retrieve my passport from the airport.I was so relieved and overjoyed, and I truly wish I had the chance to thank you in person before I checked out. Unfortunately, you weren’t working that day—but please know how much your support meant to me. You went above and beyond, and I will always remember your compassion and patience.I would also like to compliment the hotel itself—the room was very spacious and clean, the facilities were excellent, and the value for money was outstanding. The included breakfast was a lovely bonus too. I highly recommend Vulcan Hotel to anyone visiting Sydney!Thank you again for everything. I hope to stay with you again in the...

We recently had another fantastic family stay at the Vulcan Hotel, and we couldn't be more pleased with our experience. This hotel is perfectly situated in the bustling Sydney Central Business District, making it an excellent choice for families looking to explore the city. ||From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by exceptionally friendly staff who went out of their way to assist us with any requests we had, making us feel right at home. The hotel's location is another major plus—it's just a short walk from Central Station, making it easy to navigate the city’s public transport. We were also conveniently close to vibrant hotspots such as Chinatown and Darling Harbour. One of our favourite features was the nearby park, which provided a lovely space for our children to play and unwind after a day of sightseeing.||We stayed in a Twin room, which was just perfect for our family of four. The room was spacious and comfortable, giving us plenty of room to relax after our daily adventures.||A delightful highlight of our stay was the continental breakfast offered each morning. It was just what we needed to kickstart our day, with a variety of options that catered to everyone’s taste. This daily ritual was a wonderful way for us to gather as a family before heading out to explore all that Sydney has to offer.||Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Vulcan Hotel and are already looking forward to...