Melbourne & Sydney, Australia - What Is The Most Convenient Area For Lodging?

A lot is going to depend on budget (and happy to recommend hotels if you're OK to share your budget). But in summary with Sydney and Melbourne the most convenient areas are what we'd call central business district, ie the very centre of the city. This is also where all the top hotels are. Within that CBD, in Sydney the Rocks (near the harbour) is particularly picturesque. For Melbourne, around the northern end of the CBD is nice. But there are other areas worth considering.

No single area is close to all sites, but public transport in both cities is good.

@Simon, thanks for your reply. I wish I could answer your question about budget. The friend I will be traveling with is calling this a once in a lifetime trip and I expect she wants somewhere nice. I won’t say there is no limit, but I believe she’s willing to pay for quality. In Sydney it makes sense to me to have a place with a washing machine, as we will have just finished a 10 day tour and I doubt there’s an opportunity to do laundry. The Rocks area in Sydney sounds nice. In Melbourne we will be at the beginning of the trip, so laundry isn’t important.

@Eatsrootsandleaves, I’m not sure yet what the plan is for Melbourne yet. We both have guidebooks, but I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. Our trip is in March/April 2025, so we have some time. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

In The Rocks area of Sydney we usually stay at the Rendezvous Stafford. We like the location close to the central transportation hub of Circular Quay, as well as it being a short stroll over to the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. The rooms are quite nice, spacious, and well-equipped for self catering with kitchenettes in most units and a cute little grocery mart about a block away. They have a coin operated laundry that always comes in handy, and we've never had to wait for access to a washing machine.
The CBD in Melbourne is probably your best bet if only for the easy proximity to the various public transportation options.

@Robert, thanks for the hotel recommendation. It looks great, but unavailable during the time we need. We will be there for 5 nights and we fly home on Easter, so I think we need to figure out lodging there ASAP.

@Andrea
It appears that the hotel reservation system isn't yet allowing bookings beyond 31 March of '25. Same deal with booking.com - everything's blocked out beyond 3/31, so it looks like they're only taking reservations up to 6 months in advance for some reason. You might want to try them again in a few weeks if the place appeals to you.

My OAT trip stayed at Holiday Inn Express Southbank in Melbourne. Just across river/pedestrian bridge to CBD, convenient to public transport and dining options. Not luxury but nice, would recommend!
We stayed at Rydges World Square in Sydney. We got regular (large!) rooms but I think they also have extended stay type suites with kitchenettes, don’t know about laundry. Centrally located. Extensive breakfast buffet! No complaints but you can likely find similar that belong to other hotel chains if loyalty points matter ;-)

Free tram loop around CBD.
Free tour of Victoria State Library (sign up online).
I enjoyed Melbourne Gaol.
Day trip from Melbourne: Moonlight Sanctuary—all the Australian animals you came to see!
In Sydney we had bus tour ending somewhere out along the harbor (with fish & chip shop at the ferry stop) then ferried back to Central Quay viewing Opera House and Harbor Bridge as we approached!
Didn’t get to do myself but you can walk along the Bridge for more views (or go all out with Bridge Climb!)
If you’re going to:
Uluru was worth the trouble to get to but if you can, flying beats driving (Qantas has good food, even in regional coach!)
Cairns: besides GBR, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures was great! (It’s since been added to the included itinerary on OAT :-)

At risk of repeating myself, but I think the Meriton is a good AU hotel chain and worth considering, there are half a dozen Sydney locations.

https://meritonsuites.com.au

Mentioned above, the ferry to the bay with the fish and chip shop will be Watsons Bay and Doyles. Yum.

https://www.doyles.com.au

@Robert, good to know. Thanks!

Thanks to all for your recommendations.

I am no expert on Australia, but I have been there twice. And I really liked the places we stayed in Melbourne and in Sydney, so I will pass them on.

My first visit to Oz was in 1998 as the “accompanying party” to a partner who had a scientific meeting there. The travel agent for the meeting booked us into a studio apartment with a view of Darling Harbour, and I really liked the place. It was a 2-level studio with the main bed up on the mezzanine, and a sofa bed in the living/dining area downstairs for the 2d bed. It was right above the Sydney aquarium and had floor-to-ceiling windows with the view. It felt a bit exposed but I realized there was no one who could see into the apartment! They do have washing machines. It is called Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour, and is listed on booking.com. Not a great rating (7.1); apparently some of the reviewers feel it is “dated”. Maybe it has not been refreshed since then? But the photos look fine. And the locations was great—-close to The Rocks and the CBD, plus the view over Darling Harbour. I had days to myself while my partner was at meetings and I really enjoyed walking around from here.

For Melbourne, a totally different option. My husband and I wanted to go to the Australian Open (tennis) in 2015, and I booked our flights and a Melbourne hotel during the 2014 Open—-before the actual dates for the 2105 Open had been announced. But we knew we would hit either the first or second week. As a consequence of our early booking, we got the 5-star Langham for the same price as the Travelodge next door. What a pleasure that was—-right on the river. Walkable to everything, including the tennis venue. I see some nights in late March (if that is when you will be there) are around 300 AUD, which is roughly 200 in US dollars. I didn’t check April. But you might have a look. This place was a real treat, not “luxurious” in a snooty way, just a very nice place that made us feel welcome and did everything right.