Hotel Captain Cook (Sydney, Australia)

Rooms are clean, comfortable and very reasonably priced. The food too is varied, good quality and certainly not OTT, pricewise. The only possible blip is that they don't do breakfast, but that's easily sorted via the nearby IGA and the perfect omelettes and coffee served in the café next door.

Beds are super comfy and the shower is great, with lots of hot water.

You can't manufacture the friendly atmosphere that exists throughout the building and particularly in the bar. Can't imagine why it peaks on a Friday night. Could possibly be due to the fact that they employ topless waitresses then! All good fun though.

The hotel is close to the airport, which is good. There is, though, some airport-related noise, which isn't so good. There's also some road traffic noise  and of course, some expected noise from the friendly bar. The latter isn't too bad though and finishes at a reasonable hour. After that, it's the inconsiderate cleaning staff that can keep you awake.

Rooms are air conditioned but problems include some of the units not working and others being excessively noisy which, at night, can affect an otherwise good night's sleep. If your TV is on the wall, it will probably be mounted too high up. This make for difficult viewing and a stiff neck the following morning.

Reception isn't covered 24 hours so, if you're leaving early and maybe need an airport taxi, you'll need to make your own arrangements rather than rely on staff. It's worth noting, at this point, that there is no phone in the room!