The Macleay is located in Sydney's Potts Point area, a pleasant, leafy neighbourhood if slightly off the main tourist drag. If you're staying in Sydney for a while, the neighbourhood contains many of the basics that you will need, including a convenience store, supermarket, shops, cafes and a postal outlet. CityRail's Kings Cross station is just a short walk away, from where you can board a train that will whisk you to Martin Place station in the heart of the CBD (and within walking distance of Circular Quay, the Opera House and The Rocks) in minutes. Sydney Explorer buses also stop across the street.

The rooms in the hotel are a bit dated, and while some are said to offer spectacular views, others face an apartment building directly across a narrow street or alley, close enough for the people on both sides to check out each others' accommodations with ease.

Service is courteous, with front desk staff available in the evening for late-arriving guests, an amenity not always available at other serviced apartments.

While somewhat basic as far as accommodation goes, the Macleay offers good value for the traveler looking for proximity to conveniences and a short, easy commute to the "must-see" areas of Sydney.

Very small rooms with compact kitchen with the bare minimum of equipment. Some rooms (especially on the 9th floor) have amazing views across Sydney Harbour and the Opera House - very picturesque in the evening at sunset.
Located 5 mins walk from Kings Cross (not the most salubrious area of Sydney) and 30mins from downtown.
Clean rooms and friendly staff offering a 24hr check in. (Useful for those early moring arrivals at Sydney airport),
Supermarket across the road with a large variety of bars and restaurtants in the area,
Slightly more upmarket than your average backpackers hotel/hostel. Good priced for Sydney however.

The location was nice - just across a supermarket, next to Kings Cross, almost walking-distance (at least for us) to all the main sights (opera house, darling harbour, tower, botanical garden,....) We had a 2 bedroom apartment with one bathroom, a big kitchen and a fairly big living room. The bedrooms were also ok - nothing special and almost clean (don't look under your bed). The price was really good for Sydney. I would stay there again, but first I would make sure the bedrooms are not facing the mainstreet - it can get loud.

Having been booked in by Australian friends, my wife and I stayed twice at the Macleay, firstly for three nights and secondly for one night prior to leaving Sydney.

Your description of the hotel as 'a small charming hotel in a 130 year old mansion' is somewhat strange, this is a high rise block having seen better days. The interior as a whole is shabby, dingy and uncared for. The elevator floor could not have been cleaned in some time.

Rooms, although clean, were cheaply furnished and poorly decorated with only the wonderful view to compensate. However, our ninth floor second room had only a partial view, as half of the room width window had been boarded up with unpainted rough plywood. On complaining, the explanation given was that the window had fallen out in a high wind and was proving difficult to repair. On examination the remaining frame appeared to be suspect. We were told that no other room was available, take it or leave it. No apology was offered. As this was for only one night we took it.

This hotel is not worthy of a three star rating.