Royal Hotel Sydney

The second I set eyes on the proprietor of this hotel (it is an old house) I sensed that trouble may be lurking in my near future. This turned out to be true. Her manner upon greeting me was theatrical and somewhat girlish such that I felt some discomfort. She insisted on some rules, specifically the importance of removing one’s shoes at the front door and the importance of keeping the front door locked at all times. My wife and I were happy to oblige with these stipulations. There were limited normal owner-guest interactions for the rest of the evening. The next morning I stepped out of our room into the corridor where I ran into the owner. I said good morning and then saw that she was (or had been) crying and her face was flushed with anger. She shouted some garbled sentences, which I think were meant to indicate that her rules had not been followed, but I couldn’t really understand. I asked her what was wrong. More shouting and then she disappeared up a flight of stairs. I was stunned. I went outside to our car to tell my wife what had happened and that we leave immediately. However, more was to come. The owner was now marching towards our car, shouting a truly foul-mouthed series of allegations about us not following her rules. At this point, given her hostility and her proximity to my wife, I thought about calling the police. However, thankfully she turned around and marched back to her hotel while screaming that we had to leave now. There must be a medical name for personalities where histrionics are a main feature? Some kind of a disorder?

I was a very late arrival - after midnight, and the owner of the hotel was very accommodating. It's an old hotel (perhaps 100 years old) with all the features of an old property - wooden staircase, high ceilings etc. There is a basic small room with shared bathrooms and parking on-site. Happy to recommend this property.

The Royal Hotel is an experience that everyone should indulge in. The place is teeming with history and class, and adds a touch of the golden age of travel to most modern mundane holidays! Will be coming back again and again! Ps Carmen Spino is a wonderful host.