Swiss-Grand Resort & Spa

I’m an American who is visiting Sydney for the holidays. I booked this as part of a package through
. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, even though it was pretty far outside of Sydney itself. I figured I could spend the day exploring the city of Sydney and afternoons chilling at the beach and resort at night. Little did I know.
Before I even get to the hotel I had issues. I have a friend who’s going to join me a few days into my trip so I wanted to change the room from one king bed to two beds. I try calling but no one answers so I email. Initially, they tell me that I have no reservation. So I call Orbitz and they give me my hotel reservation number. I email the resort my hotel res and then I get another email saying the room was put under my husband’s name. Which is very strange since I’m not married. So I call Orbitz again and this time they have to call the resort and get everything straightened out. Once that’s taken care of I’m told there’s a lounge room with a sofa bed for my friend, no need for two beds. Okay, fine.
I contacted the resort and they gave me the estimate for a cab, which was between 30 – 50 Aussie dollars. Through email they gave me the name of a shuttle company they use which was cheaper, however, after they informed me in the email that it would be best to contact the company prior to arrival to set up a pickup. I call the company and get a man who tells me to just call them when I land. What?
I arrive Christmas day in Australia. First, it really is very far. Not feeling very confident about the shuttle service I decide to pay the cost and get the cab. It’s exactly 50 bucks. As soon as we pull into the resort’s lot I get a sinking feeling. I’d thought that the resort was right on the beach, however, there’s a street you have to cross to get down there. So, okay, no big deal, not what it looked like from the website but I have no problem walking. Then I check in. The clerk was very nice and I get a room on the third floor. I’d seen pictures of the rooms on Orbitz’s website, however that did not prepare me for what I got.
As I walk down the hall I notice that the carpet is heavily stained and looks as though it hasn’t been changed in decades. There is wallpaper peeling off the wall in the hallway, it just looks awful.
Getting into my room, There’s a small living room space with the sofa, which is basically a love seat. Already I’m not liking what I’m seeing because the love seat looks very old and not very comfortable for someone who’s going to sleep on it. The bathroom and bedroom are no better. There are two TVs but they’re both very old (there’s a theme here), not flatscreens like most hotels have. I try to turn on the lights and TV but nothing works. So I have to call the front desk and they tell me you have to leave a room key in a little slot by the door for the power to work. Once I get the power going I turn on the TV and there’s only four channels. I’m trying to justify this in my mind, «I won’t be in the room that much, etc, etc.» but then I see the view from my room and it’s the back of a bunch of houses. It’s ugly, especially for what I paid for the room and I was under the impression I’d be getting a better view. There is paint peeling off the bed frame and there’s no top cover for the bed, it’s just covered in sheets, even though the photos posted on the site display top covers.
At this point I have to say I feel I’ve made a mistake in my choice of hotels. It’s really far from Sydney and I haven’t seen enough to make me want to spend my time here. So I get on the phone with Orbitz about changing hotels.
Long story short, I cannot get a refund for the resort as they tell me it’s the holidays and they don’t cancel/​refund rooms. However, they offer to show me another room with a better view. I agree and the manager tells me that she’ll send someone up in about ten minutes. I wait about an hour and no one shows up. When someone does show up, it’s a maintenance man who apologizes for disturbing me because my room is listed as «vacant».
At that point I’m done. I decide to eat the cost (which was a lot) and book another hotel through Orbitz. I have to say, even with the loss of money it was the best decision I could’ve made and I’m happy I didn’t stay at the Swiss Grand. The very expensive lesson I’ve learned is to always double and triple check hotels, especially when traveling overseas. Had I seen that this hotel only had one review in the past year I probably wouldn’t have booked it in the first place.

This is a great hotel. If you’re looking for some respite from some things as I was, it is a good bet to move away from the chocolate tim-​tams and the potato chips and pack an overnight bag and get moving. This hotel sits right opposite Bondi Beach but you still feel secluded — in a good way. The hotel staff were polite, professional and efficient and I was given the keys to my room before I was even able to reassess whether I made the right call choosing the hotel over the double choc tim-​tams. And I gotta say, my room was a delight, folks.
For one thing, the place has ample space. You first walk in to a nice room with an armchair and a table with all the things to make coffee or tea before making your way to the sizable bathroom and from there it’s just a straight march to the bedroom. There were a couple of missteps from where I was sitting which I feel compelled to point out. Don’t expect a great night of TV viewing. The television is small and there’s no Foxtel. They’re also seemingly only familiar with the numbers 10, 7, 9 and 2 on this end of town. The room was also a tad cold and unfortunately we had to call front desk for a blanket more than
On the plus side, you — like us — may get a very nice view of the beach. And my God, you would not believe how many people are down there at 6 in the morning doing squats and lounges in freezing cold weather.
I got buffet breakfast at no extra cost with my room so if you too happen to get similarly lucky take advantage. The breakfast is plentiful and good and it’s also a nice, airy dining area. I promise you I will be back.