Room Service: Sunnybrook Hotel and Convention Centre (Sydney/Warwick Farm, Australia)

Sunnybrook Hotel and
Convention Centre
Warwick Farm, Australia

Editor's Note: As of our last occasional check, this property has since been renovated and is now a Holiday Inn.

Sydney is a very diverse place and one of the things I like to do is visit the districts that are associated with my ancestry. Cabramatta is proud to be home to many of Asian culture and as I ordered my dinner I asked a waiter about a hotel that a relative booked for me.

"Oh, it's quite a far place - half an hour walk," he explained. He then suggested I stay somewhere closer to Cabramatta railway station.

In the search for a "closer hotel" and naught too far a walk later, I stumbled across the Sunnybrook Hotel and Convention Centre which was the hotel I was originally booked into; felt like the coincidence of the year. It identifies itself more with the motor inn/motel quality accommodation and the dated decor agrees.

The person who checked me in fits with the amiable Australian quality of "fair dinkum": "There's your room key, this is our rate" and et cetera. There wasn't any bubblegum frill and the rooms spoke of an 80s era hotel with a crack or two on the ceiling and stains on the carpet. This property was mostly clean.

What probably disappointed me was the lack of room amentities - no internet or toothbrush - save from the towels, tea and soap - though they charged me a pretty Aussie penny (or five as the penny doesn't exist in circulation in Australia) for the night.

There was basic cable on the television and an iron with board however - contributing to the "80s" feel. My room did have a balcony with view of the outdoor pool and the surrounding residential area, a reminder of that long walk from Cabramatta railway station.

I did not eat the hotel food but they have two restaurants within the accommodation. Laundry and telephone service are also available but with an extra charge, like the breakfast.

The moral of this tale? It's a nice place to sleep, but they don't offer much else on basic rate. If you like retro and don't mind the occasional crack in the ceiling, bob's your uncle.