Hotels for a 2-week trip to Australia

(Also see the March and January articles)

I booked the Central Railway Hotel (240 Chalmers St., Sydney, NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA; phone 612-9319 7800, fax 1004 or visit www.centralrailway.com) on the Internet.

This was the least-desirable accommodation I experienced on my entire 2-week trip, March 12-26, ’06. The room cost was reasonable, Aus$85 (US$62), but not a good value. The hotel was almost empty, but they put me in a room that was closet-sized. I was offered an opportunity to upgrade for an additional fee, but I declined.

• For future reference, the next day I found alternative accommodations in Sydney at the Royal Exhibition Hotel (86 Chalmers St., Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia; phone 02-9698-2607, fax 02-9690-1714 or visit www.royalexhibitionhotel.com.au), which is even more convenient to the train station and approximately the same price.

• I had lunch in Sydney at an excellent Spanish restaurant that I have visited several times in the past, Capitan Torres (73 Liverpool St.; phone 02 9264 5574 or visit www.capitantorres.com.au).

Try the mussels (Aus$18.50, or US$14) as a main course, and enjoy the outstanding service provided by José. (Main courses run Aus$23-$27.)

• In Adelaide I stayed at Mercure Grosvenor Hotel (125 North Terrace, Adelaide, S.A. 5000, Australia; phone 61 8 8407 8888, fax 8866 or visit www.accorhotels.com). This reservation was booked through Expedia, www.expedia.com, and paid in advance at a very attractive rate, US$65 per night.

• Adelaide is a very lovely city, great for walking, sightseeing and food. You can explore the city on its free bus service, the 99B Beeline Bus and the 99C City Loop Bus. I found Adelaide to be delightful. For me, the Central Market was the top attraction. This was not the typical market for the benefit of tourists but a real, working market for the locals.

• For dinner I chose an Italian place, Botticelli Restaurant (104 Flinders St., Adelaide; phone 08 8223 2036). I had a Caesar salad, interesting, and seafood risotto, uninteresting, at Aus$70 (US$51) including wine and gratuities.

I found that waiters in Australia loved serving international travelers, as Australians generally don’t tip. The expected gratuity for good service seemed to be 10%, and many restaurants didn’t include a gratuity entry on their credit card vouchers. In those cases, I simply left cash for the server.

• Across from the Central Market, I found Gaucho’s Argentinian restaurant for lunch (91 Gouger St., Adelaide; phone 8231 2299 or visit www.gauchos.com.au). Their churrasco and chimichurri were poor imitations of the Argentine originals but good, nevertheless, when paired with an excellent Australian red wine. Lunch with steak, wine and gratuities was Aus$65 (US$46).

Afterward, I returned to the hotel to catch the Skylink shuttle to return to the remote railway station to catch the train for the next portion of my trip.

ROGER HEWITT

San Jose, CA