I decided to stay here on night when I had Saturday night birthday drinks and Sunday morning birthday breakfast both in Manly. It certainly beat getting to Manly, getting back home then going back again with bad hangover in tow. Or that's what I thought.
I've always thought the Sebel Manly was a nice hotel and when I went to book I had visions of myself on a balcony with sweeping views of Manly Beach. Not so. You can book one of these rooms - for a stupid price. This place actually has two 'Towers' - the North Tower which faces the beach and the South Tower which is basically a building out the back and round the corner. After discovering this I decided that I didn't want to stay in a non-descript building (South Tower) so booked a room in the North Tower with no beach view. Arriving we were told there was no parking left in the North Tower so we had to go to the South Tower. A concierge arrived to help us with luggage but proceeded to drag us through Manly Wine - at about 7PM on a Saturday night. Weird. The room was really average - the hotel felt run of the mill and a bit on the old side. In the morning there are nice touches like beach towels and the Sunday paper but honestly, I would never recommend this hotel to an out of town guest. Better to rent a beach pad or head up the road to The Manly Pacific. read more