Metro Hotel on Pitt – a Hidden Gem in Sydney

Metro Hotel 

I live in rural NSW Australia, but often go to Sydney, the capital city of NSW, Australia. In the many years of walking along Pitt Street, the main and most central street in the Sydney CBD, I have never really noticed the Metro Hotel on Pitt.

The stylish boutique hotel is located at 300 Pitt Street Sydney has a rather unassuming street frontage, and apart from a small stylish hotel sign, I can see why I have often walked past it without knowing it was there. The four star hotel is in an eight story former central city post office heritage listed building surrounded by office and shopping towers. The entrance to the hotel is set between the Paridiso Café & Bar on the right and a pub on the left.

Last week I was fortunate to indulge myself with a Winter Special Package at the Metro Hotel on Pitt. I travelled from Musweelbrook to Sydney on the CountryLink XPT train. The walk from Central Station along Pitt Street only took 15 minutes. The hotel lobby, though not huge, was beautiful, though I didn’t have time to sit in the comfy chairs and read the newspapers available on the coffee tables. I was warmly welcomed by the friendly gentleman at the reception desk and checking in was a breeze. They issued me with my room key, which was one of those key cards that I used to operate the elevator and open my room door. I liked this security feature of the hotel as it meant that only hotel guests could access the guest room floors.

Metro Hotel on Pitt

My comfortable Superior Deluxe Queen room, one of the 115 guest rooms, was on the top floor and had a large picture window overlooking Pitt Street that let in the natural sunlight when the drapes were opened. The building on the opposite side of the Hotel has been vacant for several years, so no one could peer into my room through the open drapes. The drapes were high quality made of thick material, so blocked out the sunlight and noise when closed. On entering the room there was a built in wardrobe in which I hung my shirts on the provided coast hangers. There was a safe in the wardrobe which I could have utilised if I had any valuable, which I didn’t. Also provided were an iron, which I did not need to use, and an electric jug and tea and coffee supplies, which I did use.

The bed was a comfy queen sized bed, with a wonderful mattress that I had no trouble falling asleep on. The linen and pillows were all in great condition and matched the stylish décor of the room. The other furniture in the room consisted of bedside tables with digital clock and phone, a writing desk with internet connection, and a cabinet with a small fridge in it and a large flat screen TV on it. A welcoming bottle of red wine was placed on the coffee table.

A large modern ensuite bathroom was off to the side of the bedroom, with a shower, toilet wash basin, and large mirror with good lighting. A hairdryer was on the wall, and complimentary handwash, shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream were provided in dispensers. A new set of clean towels were provided each day.

My room at the Metro Hotel on Pitt

My stylish hotel room was clean and spotless. I could not find ant dirty marks or dust anywhere I looked. The cleanliness of a room is particularly important to me, as any dust triggers off my asthma. On a cold winters day in Sydney it was good to have the room heated by a quiet air conditioner that I could turn off or on and set the desired temperature.

A nice feature of the hotel that I liked was the framed limited production prints of Sydney scenes painted by various well known artists hung on the walls of the hotel corridors. It was good to see that the lighting of these corridors was environmentally sound, as the lights were controlled by sensors and only turned fully on when they detected a person’s presence. Another feature of the Metro on Pitt is that all the guest rooms are not the same - there is a range of room styles to choose from, ranging from Standard, Superior and King Spa.

The best feature of the Hotel on Pitt was its ideal location. It is only short block away from Town Hall underground rail station and the bus stop on George Street which enable quick access to Circular Quay, The Rocks and Domestic and International Airports. Other handy transport options are the Monorail which goes to Darling Harbour and taxis. However, The Metro Hotel on Pitt is so centrally located in the CBD of Sydney that most venues and attractions such as cinemas, theatres, China Town, Queen Victoria Building, Darling Harbour are all within easy walking distance. For those interested in Shopping, the David Jones and Myer department stores newly renovated Westfield  are only one or two blocks walk away. The Pitt Street Mall is only one block north and a supermarket and other shops can be found in the World Square complex one block south.

Paradiso Restaurant, Cafe & Bar

The Paradiso Restaurant, Cafe & Bar was in the hotel building on the ground floor fronting Pitt Street. It was here I enjoyed the plentiful buffet breakfasts and scrumptious evening dinners. Paradiso offers a range of Modern Australian and European dishes and apart from Metro guests attracts many other people passing by or staying at other city hotels.

Two nights staying at the Metro Hotel on Pitt was not long enough to do all the things I had originally planned to do on my winters visit toSydney. I managed to squeeze in going to Darling Harbour to see the Titanic Exhibition at the Sydney Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Sydney. At Circular Quay I saw the Museum of Sydney and the opening night of Aida at the Sydney Opera House.

Checking out was a breeze, and they willingly stored my bags until I returned later in the day to collect them and boarded the train back home to Muswellbrook.

The Winter Special Package at the Metro Hotel on Pitt is only $199 per night, which includes one night's accommodation for two in a Superior Deluxe Queen room; dinner at Paradiso Restaurant on the ground floor (entree, main & coffee/tea); bottle of wine on arrival and extended checkout till 12 noon. The Winter Special Package offer is valid from July 1-August 31, 2012; subject to availability. Guests are able to book the Winter Special at Metro Hotel on Pitt by calling the toll free Central Reservations line on 1800 004 321. Alternately guests can book online by logging onto Metro Hotels' website at www.metrohotels.com.au.