There I was enjoying a good nights sleep in my spacious Novotel Darling Harbour room when I was rudely awakened by a blaring fire alarm. I looked over at the clock and read the numbers, 2.31 am.

What was going on? My daughter was feeling a bit anxious about all of this. “Daddy, Daddy what is happening?” she cried. The next minute we heard an announcement saying “Evacuate the building”. My wife and I hurriedly dressed ourselves and our daughter and headed for the fire exit. As we went out the door into the hallway we could smell burning plastic.

Was this a real emergency? We made our way down to the street and found a fire truck and a large crowd of already evacuated hotel guests. I looked up at the building and could not see smoke or flames. As we looked around at the guests we could see some people really got out in a hurry. There were a few people just in their underwear.

Some time passed and the word came to return to the building. As we got back into bed around 3.30 am there was an announcement saying it was a false alarm caused by some steam on a sensor. I still don’t know what the smell was.

That was my experience of the Novotel Darling Harbour’s evacuation. Apart from that I have to say I really enjoyed my stay at this Sydney Hotel. Our room was spacious and well decorated. The bed was comfortable and the room also included a good sized lounge that converted to a bed for my daughter.

The Darling Harbour Novotel is located on the Pyrmont side of the city and has great views of the city skyline. It has ample parking and provides easy access to the public transport. You can also easily walk to the city. I highly recommend a stay at the Darling Harbour Novotel. Next time I will take my tennis racquet as there was a court just near our room.

My family and I have just returned from a weekend in Sydney, Australia. This is one city that I always miss after ending a visit. The main reason I love Sydney is the harbour. It is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. I also love the beaches. Bondi and Manly are world class.

On the weekend we spent two nights in Sydney staying at the Capital Square Hotel located next door to the Capital Theatre. Unlike our last visit which was the worst ever stay in a hotel, we enjoyed our stay. The price was $107 per night which I found through a search on the hotels combined website. This price was a lot lower than other Sydney hotels I have stayed at in the past which were around the same price range previously. The hotel room was well maintained and comfortable. It was also roomy.

As we were located close to Chinatown we used that as our base to venture out for our night time meals. One night we tried an authentic Chinese Xinjiang restaurant, on Saturday a Korean BBQ restaurant located at 35-37 Goulburn St. Sydney. Both meals were very enjoyable. When returning to the hotel we passed a very popular Japanese restaurant on the corner of Pitt and Campbell Streets. We have been there in the past and enjoyed the food. This time around there was a huge crowd just waiting to get in.

On Saturday we decided to have a family outing at Luna Park. This entertainment park has been a Sydney landmark for over 70 years. Just the view makes it a worthwhile visit as it is located on the north side of the harbour adjacent to the Harbour Bridge. Admission to the park is free however you need to pay for the rides. We purchased the day pass which was $42 for adults and $32 for our child. There is a good variety of rides and most of them were suitable for our 5 year old. She could not go on one ride because of a height restriction, while another one she decided as too scary. I really enjoyed going around on the Ferris Wheel while enjoying the million dollar harbour views.

Getting to Luna Park was easy. We caught a train from Central Station over to Milson’s Point station. After getting off the train we headed down the hill and into Luna Park. It was a five to ten minute walk from the station. The cost for return tickets for 2 adults and one child was approx $9. In the park there were plenty of choices for satisfying our hunger.

Getting back to my worst ever hotel stay, it was last November staying at the Pensione Hotel on George Street, Sydney. The hotel itself was quite nice. It was a trendy boutique hotel that was nicely decorated. The problem was that they gave us a room on the second floor which looked out at George Street. In case you don’t know this street gets extremely busy at night time. The noise of cars, people and sirens made it near impossible to sleep. Some thick glass windows would be a welcome improvement.

For day 2 of our Sydney weekend getaway check back here in a few days.