Rather than stay in a chain hotel I decided on the Great Southern Hotel in George Street.  There have Great Southern Hotels in Sydney since 1854 and the current hotel was built in 1939 to replace an earlier hotel.  It has been  very carefully renovated keeping many features of the the original, for example the staircase to the upstairs bar has been retained though the bar itself is now a conference suite.

The hotel exterior, there is a bar at the front (outdoor and indoor) where you can get good food and drink - there is a separate dining room if you want something quieter.

There are a number of picture on the ground floor showing the hotel as it was when it was new, only the street furniture has changed.  It appears that it was viewed with some amazement at the time so was photographed for numerous magazines.

The reception area has been modernised without affecting the feel of the place.  The wood panelling on the walls has been restored and the area has a number of period fittings to make it more “interesting”.

Some of the items to be found in the Reception area.

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