The Royal Automobile Club of Australia Accommodation
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The Royal Automobile Club of Australia Accommodation
89 Macquarie St, Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia
The Royal Automobile Club of Australia Accommodation
62 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
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I am a member of the club and I stay quite often because I live a couple of hours outside Sydney. I highly recommend membership of the club. The accommodation is comfortable and, for members, very reasonably priced. In addition, one has the advantage of the Members Bar, social activities, and new friends. There is a restaurant and parking is available on-site. End of Macquarie Street, with Circular Quay and The Rocks just a short walk away. Light rail up George Street to the CBD and trains from Circular Quay to the airport.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The club itself is over 100 years and I think the building is probably older. This club has the prime no. spot in Circular Quay, hard up against the Cahill Expressway and trainline. It seems to have very good sound proofing and didn't notice any noise. The building is very well maintained, although it is a bit old fashioned. It is all nicely done but it is very old school not plush 5 star. However I suspect the rooms are original too and they are definitely not plush. I stayed in a single room which was an OK size - definitely not wide enough to fit a bigger bed. Had very old furniture - not fancy antique - just boring average and old. In OK condition. Old wardrobe, desk, chair, single bed, small bar fridge, TV with 5 analog channels only (geez even the rest of us have caught up with the 16 channels of Freeview - they really need to fix that). There are some single rooms that share a bathroom (4 i think) but I had an ensuite room. The ensuite is very clean, everything worked but really old (1950's?). These single rooms have not view and small opaque glass panels into a light well - no view. So I do not recommend this room if you are after the hotel experience. Only stay here is if you want the amazing location, know a member who can get you in and you are willing to have this olde worlde experience. I believe the Queen/King rooms are large and some have views of Circular Quay/harbour bridge. Room rates include a continental breakfast and for $5 extra they will cook a hot breakfast. The breakfast room is on the top floor of the club in the restaurant. It is all silver and waiters and the view is a knock out, esp on a sunny morning, directly over Circular Quay. They have a fitness club but I think you have to pay for it: $11. So I decided to go for a jog past the Opera House/Botantic Gardens which was fabulous and the better option anyway. There was no internet in the room. Although the business centre had it. Very understated and professional service. The single room price was very expensive in terms of the quality of the room but you are paying for the location. The Queen / King room prices are starting to be the same as the Sir Stamford cheapest rooms so you have to decide if you want plush or not
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Date of stay: May 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Â pay extra or suck it up
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
You do need to understand what you are in for here.
We stayed on a reciprocal deal from the excellent RAC in Victoria of which we are members; a great modern place bustling with activity and fabulous facilities. That's not what we got at the RACA.
The good points: Location, location, location with an added old-world charm. Lots of wood panelling and some magnificent spaces. The king room (we were upgraded at our expense from the unavailable Queen room) was clean except for the window which looked grandly but murkily out onto the Harbour Bridge. It was quiet despite the Cahill Expressway running round the building only metres away; we were a couple of floors above it. The view from the breakfast room was marvellous - Bridge, ships, ferries.
But points off for everything being just a little tired. It was as though museum dust-sheets had only just been removed.
No in-house catering on Sunday (except for breakfast). You don't need it of course because the area is packed with lovely food places, but don't plan a romantic dinner in your room.
The king bed was two single beds pushed together. Previous experiences warn that this is a dangerous configuration - any amorous advance to the other side of the bed and you disappear into a crevasse. But not here, oh no. I don't think we do amorousness here. The rim around the mattresses is made of apparently some special steel, more like a razor ribbon fence topping. Don't try to cross it.
Slightly archaic dress rules too. The instructions said that they were more relaxed for breakfast, but I got sent back (very sweetly) to change out of my smart casual shorts on a 26 degree day. I had good casual shoes on, no thongs for me - I have my standards! But shorts was too much (or too little) for them. I do respect places maintaining high standards - I am against singlets and thongs in dining rooms too, but...
Best access to the Quay is through the basement car park, although if you want to do it smarter, you can use the front door and walk all the way round.
There's a lovely reading room, but it is very hushed. Any sound raises 1950s British library eyebrows.
Our room was next to the Boardroom. We stuck our noses in out of curiosity and enjoyed the faded 1956 print of Her Majesty and on the opposite walls, the 1946 one of her Mum. They are not very republican here, but it is a Royal Club, after all.
But the big gripe was the cost and so the value-for-money. We had the reciprocal member rate (and I think you can only stay there if you are a member, or a member's guest, of the Club itself or one of the many other Clubs with which it has an arrangement) at $280 a night including the adequate but not lavish continental breakfast. Insult was added to the injury by charging us for the very moderate coffee at breakfast - $40, for perhaps eight coffees between the two of us over three mornings. Presumably there was available some lesser coffee (of indeterminate drinkability), but we were not offered anything other than the espresso. And when the waiter says "Would you like coffee now? What would you like?" you just assume that the long black and flat white are all part of the deal. Well, at least the cups were a decent breakfast cup size...
Frankly the whole deal was poor value for money. $180 a night and coffee included would have been a reasonable and quirky experience. But where else can you stay with a view of the Harbour Bridge?
Actually, now I think of it, there are stacks of places.
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Date of stay: October 2016
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Make sure you are above the Cahill Expressway
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stay at the Club once or twice per week. I am a member. I love the Club and the quiet, civilised atmosphere. It is old-style and atmospheric. Everything is impeccably clean and it is very comfortable. For members, it is very reasonably priced. The location is fabulous.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I are members of one of their affiliates. We followed the protocol and provided all needed documentation way in advance so our full day of travel wouldn't be met with hiccups at the hotel. That was pointless because they couldn't find our info when we arrived anyway, due to their shoddy paper tracking methods. It would be a nice touch IF they could manage it. We told them we could forward it if they gave us the code to their wifi, to which they replied it wasn't working that great at the moment. So here we are, no supporting docs to prove we can stay and no avenue to get them, staring at a man behind the counter giving us no direction on next steps. They did let us stay and we did get the info to them the next day, but it wasn't for major effort on our part, that's for sure.
I felt uncomfortable and unwanted in all the community facilities. The tables in the dining room were usually dirty when you were seated for breakfast. Multiple times I found that our key card didn't work to enter the building, leaving us to call the front desk to buzz us in, only to be greeted by someone who seemed thoroughly annoyed. Icing on the cake: we used their shuttle service to go to the airport when we left. First off, the lady at the counter who gave us the tickets was so rude about it. She treated us like children reminding us if we lost the tickets then we can't use the shuttle and we won't get a refund. Seriously lady? Your outdated paper tickets don't reflect receipt of purchase in the very off chance we lost them? She didn't need worry, we cherished those tickets...our way out of that club. She also told us the shuttle takes 1/2 hr to get to the airport, so obviously she knows nothing about it because it was 11/2 hrs of stopping at other hotels before heading to the airport. I'm glad we planned on getting there extra early, because we probably would have missed our flight otherwise. Never again.
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Date of stay: November 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is a great historical building and worth checking it out however entry is restricted to members and guests or by pre-arrangement through membership department. We went there for lunch, food and services were 5-star. Through the new membership arrangement we had a short guided tour of the building. The club is good for business and private functions. However the internal areas are quite run down and it looks like they really need more new members to keep it in better maintenance. Overall it was a very pleasant visit.
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Date of stay: April 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am a reciprocal member from the London Victory Services Club and had the good fortune to stay here. My stay in Sydney at the Royal Automobile Club of Australia has been wonderful, so much that I extended my stay from two to six nights. I have experienced service that went above and beyond what I expected and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again, and definitely recommend it to others. The location is wonderful, across the street from the botanical gardens and next to the Circular Quay Wharf and Opera house. The hotel itself is like stepping back to a time of class and beauty that is not often experienced in this day and age. The breakfasts in the Harbour Room, and drinks in the Victoria Room were a pleasure, with wonderful views of the harbour. What am absolute pleasure. I can’t wait to return.
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The RAC Club is by Circular Quay,a perfect location. My room had a view of the Harbour with its iconic bridge,glorious at night with the fairground at Milsons point all lit up. The club is very traditional,decor wise with lots of oak and dark marble. The breakfast/ dining room is on the top floor,with great views. Staff are pleasant. I will stay here again.
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Date of stay: February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
As Yanks, we don't often get to experience the old wingback chairs, oak panel, coat for dinner kind of accommodation. The RAAC is all we could have hoped for, it reeks of old money, old customs, and old values of service, tradition and loyalty. If you are looking for the latest glass and granete techno hotel, it is not for you. But to get a taste of old school understated class, join a club and get introduced. We were there for a week and smiled as we explored every floor, picture, medal case, and trophy shelf. History and hotel all in one.
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Date of stay: February 2015
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Â Old building with all rooms altered for 20th Century - not 21st. Each one will be different.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can't beat this location if you want to be a part of the passing parade on the Quay in Sydney. We had a view of the Harbour Bridge, and could walk to the Opera House in minutes. Myriads of restaurants are close to this hotel and it is the transportation hub for all the ferries that ply the beautiful surrounding waters. The hotel itself is a reciprocal club of the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle, WA. We made our reservation several months ahead and, I believe, were given the "best" room in the house. The building is quite old, and the windows are fairly small, but I did go to sleep each night looking at the Harbour Bridge. There is good security as you have to be admitted from the behind closed doors after ringing a bell. Our room was large and had a number of places to sit. Breakfast is included. There is an extra charge for items ordered from the menu, but the buffet selection is quite large, and satisfying. Service is impeccable and friendly. There is jockeying for the windows that look down on the Quay, but the servers do their best to get you a view. Exploring the many historical rooms was fun. Many rooms have lovely older furnishing and lighting, and the pictures along the halls tell of years and years of racing activities. They are worth spending time reading and viewing. The Botanical Gardens are almost across the street and also worthy of a visit.
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Date of stay: March 2014
Rooms
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Ask for a view of the Opera House or the Harbour Bridge.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Sydney area.
LOCATION
AustraliaNew South WalesSydneyCentral Business District
NUMBER OF ROOMS
29
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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