Mercure Sydney Review

The location of the Mercure Sydney is perfect. Close to the bus and metro station and within walking distance of the Rocks and Circular Quay.

Sydney CBD hotel

During our stay in Sydney, we are staying at the Mercure hotel. After our bad experience in Cairns , I am curious to see if the Mercure is satisfactory this time.

Mercure Sydney

The hotel looks modern and in no way compares to the Mercure in Cairns, where we stayed recently. The lobby is large and sleek, the rooms are modern and the facilities up to scratch.

While we had no Wi-Fi in Cairns, we could enjoy 450MB/s here. As we still sometimes work remotely, which is a big plus.

Unfortunately, the hotel – and in the bigger picture Accor – did nothing with our feedback on Cairns. Both hotels are of the Mercure brand and both hotels are part of All / Accor. Personally, I had expected some goodwill after our previous poor stay, a missed opportunity.

Mercure Sydney room

The room at the Mercure in Sydney is fine. Nothing special, just okay. The Mercury is one of Accor’s budget brands, though you don’t notice much of that in Sydney (more on that later).

We choose a room with king-size bed (a queen-size bed is 1.50m in Australia). The room has a neat bathroom with walk-in shower and single sink.

The TV has a Chromecast that doesn’t always work (but when it does, it works fine). Presumably this has to do with the integration they have set up with the Wi-Fi network.

You will also find a special LED option in the room (for mood lighting), which transforms your room into a cheap third-rate motel in no time. You can adjust the light in your room to literally any colour you want. Thanks to this lighting, the hotel is like a fairground from the outside. It’s a pity and totally non-functional. The light is dim and there is no bright light in the room.

Breakfast Mercure Sydney

Although we did not take advantage of the hotel breakfast – we prefer to have breakfast at separate joints in town – we did take a look at what the hotel has to offer.

Breakfast is extensive and looks fine. Familiar healthy and not so healthy options such as fruit, salads and pastries are plentiful.

Sydney Mercure location

The hotel’s location is very good. During our search, we specifically look for a hotel that is near The Rocks but remains affordable. The Mercure comes out well in this regard.

The hotel is 35-40 minutes’ walk from Circular Quay, is within walking distance of the bus station and less than 5 minutes’ walk from the metro/tram. If you have an early flight, you will also be at the airport, both domestic and international, in about 15 minutes.

Price Mercure Sydney

Price is an issue in Sydney. Hotels are expensive. We pay 210 for the Mercure per night (November 2024) for a standard double room without breakfast.

Hotels even closer and/or in the CBD or near the Rocks are about twice as expensive. A search on Airbnb also does not yield good alternatives.

Tip: want to stay cheaper? Then check out Manly. The ferry gets you to the harbour in 20 minutes, close to all the food and drink outlets.

ALL Accor membership

As mentioned, the Mercure is part of the All Accor programme. At the time of writing, I have Silver status there, which offers few benefits.

In case of complaints and/or feedback, you don’t notice much benefit from the programme. Usually, I believe that a hotel programme gives you certainty about the quality of the hotels, but this is less true in the case of All Accor than for Hilton’s membership programme, for example.

ALL Accor Hotel Sydney

Although the hotel is a big improvement on our previous Mercure stay, I am not entirely satisfied. For instance, several times we did not get new towels, no new coffee, our coffee mugs suddenly disappeared and it was too crowded.

During a conversation I have with one of the staff, I understand that the hotel is never below 90% occupancy, which does the hotel no favours. The lifts cannot handle the crowds, so you often find yourself waiting too long. The small swimming pool is crowded and children play in the gym.

Add to that the lack of All Accor member service and the Accor advantage is thus gone for me.

Conclusion Mercure Sydney

Look critically at how you want to arrange your stay in Sydney. We walk to the CBD in 20-30 minutes, but you can also do that via the Ferry from Manly. There you’ll have an equally good stay for less money. Manly itself is also very nice, by the way!

Would you like to stay in the CBD though? Then check out the Australian downtown hotel or alternative hotels without a membership programme.

If your budget allows for a slightly more expensive hotel, the Hilton and Four Seasons are beautifully located and I can absolutely recommend them in terms of location.