We have been lucky enough to have stayed in this great hotel on a good few occasions over the last few years, both for work & pleasure.
The rooms are quite large for inner Sydney standards and it is everything you would expect from a five star hotel. Admittedly we've paid for their cheaper rooms (& you always get what you pay for) & are always one floor up facing the tennis courts opposite. The next time we will pay the extra for a west facing harbour view room.
Its very classy olde world charm, so for us its refreshing to see they've not given it the standard "noughties" makeover like most other hotels! But I can see that some folk will think it may be a little frayed around the edges.
There are a few restaurants nearby including a good "boutique" fish n chip place & a good Indian restaurant on the same street. The cafe in the Observatory, just up the stairs opposite the hotel do good salads.
Our only gripe in the many times we have stayed there ...last year we stayed for 2 nights which ended up being the hottest days of the year & the aircon was just not strong enough ...it was easily about 30C in our room on the coldest setting. We rang reception who said the aircon was working to the max but the outside temperature was too hot. Unfortunately they didn't have any fans & Kmart was a little far away, but a few backup fans (even from Kmart) would have been great!!
However we will still be back!

We couldn't get into our usual hotel and chooses this instead. We were not disappointed. It was small, very personal and very stylish. The rom overlooked the harbour and was huge, with all the services we could possibly want. My partner thought it was a little noisy, possibly because our room was very close to the central staircase. I was not bothered. We stayed for three nights and the fact it was a little walk away from the main Rocks area was wonderful as it was off the main tourist track. We will definitely be back! The only sour note? In this day and age, I think a charge of $50 for three days internet usage for an iPad that could only be used in the lobby was extortionate (the rooms only had wired access).

I have stayed here many times and never failed to enjoy the experience (including one stellar 4-day stay over NYE 2000). We usually stay in a room on the top floor on the southwest corner, with a great view over the western harbour down to Parramatta and the Blue Mountains. Staff are absolutely top notch, friendly and helpful as only Australians can be. The restaurant is much better than the usual hotel fare, and the Globe Bar is a great spot to relax. But the pool takes the cake. The ceiling is dark blue and painted with stars with small lights, a brilliant effect. The hotel is tucked away in Sydney's historic Rocks, but just a short walk over Observatory Hill (thus the name) to Circular Quay. All in all, always a treat to come back to.

Having stayed in Sydney a few times now, I think the Rocks area is my prefered location to stay. The hotel was beautiful, the staff very attentive. As we were only staying two nights ( a follow on stay after Canberra) I chose a standard city view room, which was very well appointed and spacious, and of great importance impeccably clean, as was the whole hotel. Any road noise was very minimal.
A couple minuses were the $40 charge for breakfast, I don't think so, and $17 for a glass of wine.
Walking to either the Rocks area, or Darling harbour is 5 - 10 mins, but easy going and not like the madness of the city centre.