Rydges Sydney Airport

[Stephen Brown]

Fellow Geeks,

Has anyone stayed at the Airport Rydges as yet? If so, what are the rooms like? I'm coming down next week Monday and Tuesday for some geeking and my regular, the Stamford and the Rydges are the same price (the Stamford must be feeling the pinch a bit). Both have free Wifi and the like so just after some room reports.

Thanks in advance.

[Greg McDonald]

I stayed there Friday last week. Standard hotel room but new and tidy. Bed was really comfortable and the shower was so big you could have a party in there! Nice coffee at the shop on the ground floor and nice eatery so I'm told. Free shuttle to domestic too. All in all, a nice place.

[Steve Bottom]

Had a few nights there , make sure you ask for a airport room view, on 7 or 8 floor, get good high shots over the international ramp, I was in room 617 which was OK, had the angle that took in the touch down point, and the sydney city in the background, my other traveler companion had a room on 8 around room 806 and had angles down the main runway towards Kurnell.

[Radi K]

Room 801 is pretty good! - you will get a view of all the runways and all the terminals. This is the view - sorry for the bad quality.

[Danny G]

I reported Dec 7 about room 805 .

[Rod Sloan]

Watch out for the parking prices. Ridges will validate 50% off from memory??? You'll still need a bit of coin though.

[Stephen Brown]

Yeah, parking has been the worry about this site.

[Adam.S]

I have put up photos of my two-night stay here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29513280@N05/collections/72157640753878254/
I booked the "plane spotters package" for my stay.


I also stayed a few nights at the Stamford Plaza Sydney airport hotel a few months prior.
I will eventually get around to putting those photos online too.

[Adam.S]

Room 801 is pretty good! - you will get a view of all the runways and all the terminals. This is the view - sorry for the bad quality.

Great photo Radi. I think I stayed in room 802.

[Sarah C]

Thanks for sharing the pics Adam - how clean was the glass?

[Jacob L]

Great Shots Adam,
Might consider it myself

[Adam.S]

Thankyou, I am glad some have enjoyed the photos.
I felt a bit self indulgent at the time for putting them online.

how clean was the glass?

Upon my arrival I was informed that a window-washing crew were to be working on the outside over a potential 2-day period.
During my stay I did not see the window cleaners, although the windows weren't too bad anyway. Only noticeable being a little dirty during the early morning when the sun is shining in directly from the East.

I believe I read somewhere that the windows are cleaned fairly regularly, however I guess it's luck of the draw; all you need is one 'dirty shower' to undo the good work done by the window cleaners who may have just completed their task a few hours earlier!

Being a new building with new glass helps too I think.


Jacob - I think an overnight visit is well worth the pricey stay (perhaps a late checkout too) just to get a fairly detailed perspective of the airport's daily operations. A radio scanner and a real-time internet flight radar website certainly add to the experience.

[Robbie J]

So, I'm assuming there are no open windows to shoot your pictures from? Everything is shot through the glass? What about a rooftop viewing area at Rydge's? Is that on offer?

[Sarah C]

Thanks for the review Adam and answer to my question.

[Adam.S]

Robbie J - Correct, there are no rooms with open windows or a balcony which overlook the airfield. The hotel does offer rooms with a balcony, but they look out to the courtyard area.

http://www.rydges.com/accommodation/sydney-nsw/sydney-airport/rooms-and-suites/

Also of note, all 'Superior' rooms do not have views of the airport, you need to instead book a 'Deluxe' or 'suite' room.
*If using the Hotel as a 'day room', you will be put in a Superior room only*

Booking a 'plane spotters package' is not essential in order to get a room with a view, although a theory I have is that the hotel tries to accommodate guests who book this package with a room located somewhere in the 'middle' of the hotel.
Whereas without booking the package, you may be more likely to be located at either end of the hotel - ie. a room at the Southern end of the building may not provide much of a view of the Northern end of the airfield and vice versa given that the hotel does not run exactly parallel with the airport.

To give you some idea, here is an external photo of the hotel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29513280@N05/12199915116/in/set-72157640750252235/lightbox/

I stress, this is just a theory of mine and I may be quite incorrect.
Regardless, booking any Deluxe room will provide you with a great view of most (if not all) of the airfield.

As for the rooftop - I am unsure what kind of access is available to guests for photography. You would have to check with the hotel first. Would be great if it could be done though.


A interesting article about the best plane spotting hotels around the world mentions Rydges at Sydney.
http://www.globalairportcities.com/page.cfm/Action=library/libID=1/entryID=1216
(London Heathrow's hotel looks good too!)





Admin Update:

Some photos of the Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel Dreamliner Room view and Viewing Deck.

http://yssyforum.net/board/showpost.php?p=88060&postcount=36

Kurt A.

[Adam.S]

I have finally got around to uploading the photos from my stay at the Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport Hotel from a visit back in August 2013.

The photos are not of the highest quality compared to what other group members here have produced, however I thought I would share them as they provide a good perspective of the airport's overall daily operations; as well as showing what views of the airfield this hotel has on offer to compare with that of the Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel
My Stamford Plaza photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29513280@N05/collections/72157644846781725/

and again my Rydges Hotel photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29513280@N05/collections/72157640753878254/

Cheers.


(Not sure if I should have started a separate thread for this, however thought having the web links here in the same thread makes for a good comparison between the two hotels)

[Grahame Hutchison]

Certainly a great selection of liveries on September Day 2 Adam

[Adam.S]

Certainly a great selection of liveries on September Day 2 Adam

That is true Grahame, some days are certainly more 'colourful' then others.

It is amazing to see how the airport 'scenery' changes over time; whether it be changes to aircraft liveries, or types of equipment and/or Airlines which no longer fly into Sydney any more.

Each photography outing to the Airport really does act as a 'snapshot' of the current-day operations of the time.

[Stephen Brown]

Geeks and others,

Just a follow up. If you have the cash the room to get at Rydges is 805. It is the room directly underneath the viewing deck and has panoramic floor to ceiling views of the airport. It can get a bit pricey though. But you can relax and watch all the activity from the comfort of your hotel room.
http://cdn.rydges.com/media/1065558/720x395_Deluxe-King-Suite1.jpg

Taken from inside the room through the glass.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g183/yssy_moderator/YSSY%20Stuff/Spotting%20Weekend%202014/FRI_16_zps7ef7cac9.png~original

[Greg Hyde]

Maybe open balconies over an airport may be a security issue. (RPG's etc)

Also Rydges may have "self cleaning glass", no kidding it does exist.

[Adam.S]

Just a follow up. If you have the cash the room to get at Rydges is 805. It is the room directly underneath the viewing deck and has panoramic floor to ceiling views of the airport. It can get a bit pricey though. But you can relax and watch all the activity from the comfort of your hotel room.

Thanks for the insight Stephen.
The room in question would be a 'Deluxe King Suite' I presume.

If the cost were not a factor, I'd be interested to compare the Hotel's 'Deluxe Suite' with the (top floor) 'Executive King Suite' and their respective views.

[Sarah C]

I stayed a month ago and forgot to add my comments - put simply it would have to be one of the best plane spotting hotels in the world.

The spotters package was well worth it and it gave you different options in terms of the rooms. Room 805 mentioned would have to be the best, but all others either face more towards the city (excellent for 16R arrivals) or the other side slightly angles more to the south, which is better for 34L action.

I stayed in a room facing toward the south and loved it.
- The room itself was very comfortable, had all the amenties you would want, comfortable bed but the view was the best. Internet, TV etc were all good, the bathroom layout was interesting.......the whole 'open' design doesn't leave room for any privacy if you are staying with someone you don't know.
- The other thing that was interesting to watch that high up was all the action on the departure level drop off, particular in the morning..........even late at night when the last flights are leaving, there is still lots of activity. I had a chuckle at some women who literally parked her car for about 20 mins right outside the drop off and then didn't understand why the patrol nabbed her. I am surprised her car wasn't towed to be honest but it was quite funny! I also saw some boy band arrive at the side enterance (never knew where it was) and to see all the crowds of people was unusual.
- The food and drink options downstairs was pretty good but if you were really picky, you could always walk across the road to the terminal for the usual options.
- You did get a bit of glare in the afternoon with the sun but it was a minor inconvenience, considering the view. Even the window allowed you to get enough of the aircraft after rotation from 34L.
- I will say the biggest issue when they were using 34L was all the light poles around the airport, particularly at rotation but nothing could be done about that!
- The 1pm late checkout with the package is very generous but they also allow you to check in early if the room is available - the online check in and SMS when your room is ready was amazing. I ended up staying well beyond 24 hours so it was certainly value for money
- Pack your scanner, have your computer with you and have Flightradar etc on and you will be all set!
- The rooms aren't soundproof so you can hear some of the action but it is music to my ears..........
- Get up early and watch the sunrise..........I was there on a glorious morning and to watch the sunrise over the airport was magic.
- And for those who haven't visited the deck yet, make sure you pack your sunscreen, hat etc as there is no protection from the elements unless you go inside. You can burn pretty easily on a sunny day but considering the view, it is a small price to pay.

If you were catching an early flight, this would be the place to stay.

I hope we have some more spotting activities next year - it will certainly give me another reason to stay for the weekend (without flying anywhere) but I will certainly be back again.

[Rowan McKeever]

Ahhhh Sarah, making me jealous!!!