Short review
Note: 3 is average
Value for money: 2.5/5 (Room is reasonably priced, parking is expensive)
Services: 3/5 (As expected for a 3-star hotel)
Bedroom: 2.5/5 (Small and some dusts above the window; bed is too soft for me)
Bathroom: 3/5 (Small, but functional and clean)
Breakfast: 3/5 (Not bad; certainly have experienced worse before)
Facilities and amenities: 2.5/5 (Near the domestic terminal and a train station; basic room amenities; unreliable Wi-Fi)
Pros
- Near the domestic terminal and a train station
Cons
- Cleanliness can be improved
- Unreliable Wi-Fi
- Expensive parking
Long review
Ibis Sydney Airport is located about 1 km walking distance from the airport’s domestic terminal, while Mascot Train Station is 600 metres away. There are also restaurants within walking distance. This is where the good things end.
The hotel has a decent size car park. We could easily find parking throughout our short 2-night stay. However, parking will cost you $32 per night, which is rather steep. Going out of my car, I immediately noticed a crazy amount of cigarette butts littered on the ground.
Going up to our room, the carpet on the corridor is stained in many places. Overall, the corridor has seen better days.
Our room is a standard room with 1 double and 1 single bed. At 16 sqm, the room is compact, so we had a limited space to open our luggage. All the necessary basic amenities were provided though. Wi-Fi was available, but it was rather slow and unreliable. The beds are rather too soft and bouncy for my liking. At night, I could sometimes hear other guests on the corridor or the room next door.
The room window is overlooking the main road. I also noticed a lot of dusts on the wall above the window. The room service menu looks decent as it offers a good variety of dishes. The price is again rather expensive in my opinion.
The bathroom is tiny, but clean and functional. Some signs of wear and tear with a bit of rust visible here and there.
Breakfast at Ibis Kitchen and Bar was actually pretty reasonable. They served the usual Australian breakfast, two choices of pastries, cereals, fresh fruit, and yogurt. They also served congee, but this one was terrible. Tea, coffee, and juice were also provided.
How about facilities? Other that those mentioned above, there is none. There is something like a fitness centre on the ground floor, but we could not access it using our card, so we did not bother to ask. Our room was not cleaned either. Not sure whether that is the norm or whether we should ask them to do so.
Overall, it is practical if you need a place to stay that is near the domestic terminal, particularly if you are a solo traveller. It is also located near a train station, so exploring Sydney while staying in this hotel is also possible. If you travel by car, however, and need to park in the hotel, it will lower the value for money considerably. The room looks tired, but I guess it serves its purpose as a reasonable place to sleep.
