I am an Australian living in Ireland, my partner and I just returned home to Sydney for a three week holiday. I always like to spend my first night back in Sydney in a hotel on Sydney Harbour, I had pre-booked a room at the Sydney Intercontinental, I opted for a Club Harbour View Room for one night at a cost of $415 AUD.

We landed in Sydney on 15th February 2005 at 6.30am. We caught the train from the airport into Circular Quay, this took about 15-20 mins. The sight of Sydney Harbour and the Bridge as the train pulled into Circular Quay was breath taking as always. We got off the train and walked the 5 mins to the Sydney InterContinental Hotel.

By now the time was approx 8am. The hotel reception were very friendly and even though we were early offered us showers and breakfast in the Club Lounge, this was much appreciated after a 24 hour flight. I cannot start to explain the breath taking views of Sydney Harbour on offer from the Club Lounge. There are beautiful lounges inside with panoramic views or there is an outside decked area where you can sit and soak up the sun as you look over Sydney Harbour and surrounds.

After showering and having some breakfast we headed off for a look around Sydney, the hotel stored all our luggage as our room would not be ready until approx 1pm.

On returning to the hotel around 2pm our room was ready, it was a modern decent sized room, very clean and high standard of furniture. The view from the bedroom window was beautiful, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House in clear view.

I cannot highly recommend enough paying the few extra dollars for access to the Club Lounge, the way it works is it costs a little more but it guarantees you a room on 24th Floor or above, it gives you access to the top floor lounge whenever you like, and between 5pm and 7pm each evening there are free drinks and canapés on offer, and by free drinks I mean whatever you like and as much as you like within those two hours, champagne, wine, spirits and premium beers are all on offer. Great value as you sip away on your drink overlooking one of the most beautiful sights in the world, Sydney Harbour. Its sets you up for a great night out on the town!

All in all this one night was one of the best, if not the best stay I have had in any hotel around the world all for $415 AUD (£170 STG or $330 USD).

This hotel is definitely not worth the money. The staff are incredibly unprofessional and rude. I have stayed at numerous Intercontinentals and I would have to say that this one is probably the worst. There are so many hotels in Sydney that are worthy of 5 stars, I recommend that you do not waste your time with this one.

The hotel certainly met all of our needs while in Sydney. It is well located - only 2 blocks from the Circular Quay where most of our activities started. The room was more than adequate. We had a lovely view of the bridge; and the service was well above average. Highly recommended. Please note that they honor The Entertainment Card. We were able to get a very good price using the card.

Frankly, I expect more from Intercontinental Hotels. I am not one of these self-important, excessively-demanding business people, but I get the sense that the people who are happiest with this hotel are tourists who don't put many demands on the staff or its services, and are happy with a decent room at a fair price.

The standard room itself is as you would expect for any mid-class hotel, no better, no worse, and the bathroom was a little cramped. Room housekeeping was fine. The location is probably the best part -- nice view of the harbor and reasonably convenient to attractions and travel needs.

The problems come in conveniences and courtesy I expect as a business traveler. First, in the middle of their high-travel summer season, when the hotel is packed, the bar is closed! Yes, you could get a drink in the lobby, but this also meant being in crossroads of an Amway convention that was in town -- about as relaxing as a train station. And, there are times when you want to hear it from the bartender about an interesting nearby restaurant, not the concierge with a line backed up.

Booking a last-minute meeting here also seemed beyond the service capabilities of the staff and hotel's overall facilities. Admittedly, it was a last minute booking, but they had a room available for later in the day, and adequate notice since we only needed a room, i.e. no special equipment, etc. When we tried to enter the meeting room at the scheduled time of 7:30 p.m., it was locked, and no staff were around to let us in. This would not have been an issue if there had been any house phones available on the floor, i.e. not in the halls, not near the meeting rooms, not near the elevators, everywhere you would normally expect a house phone to be in a business class hotel. 'Had to go down to the lobby, and someone finally let us in, then promptly disappeared -- didn't ask if we needed anyting else, didn't ask if we'd like drinks service, etc. and etc. To top it off, the bathroom attached to this meeting room was filty, as if housekeeping hadn't been here is quite some time. 'No excuse for any of this lack of small attentions that could have made a better experience.

If you stay at this hotel, and you'd prefer a nice, clubby, English-style bar, try the nearby Sir Stanford (Stamford? I forget). 'Very friendly and accomodating.

There must be better places to stay -- will never go back when on business.