Q Station Sydney Harbour National Park 4성

A strange place! It was not in the small print that the toilet and shower room (separate rooms) were both at a distance from the bedroom, accessible with the same room key. Take a flashlight! Not very convenient if you need to get up in the night!! The room and all facilities were pretty outdated but comfortable enough (don't forget it was an old quarantine station!) Parking on site was a boon, lovely views.

Stay anywhere else! These are worse than school camp cabins, dirty, no ventilation, no air conditioning. It’s like a rough caravan park. They know they have geographically and historically pleasing elements on site so all service goes out the window, staff are very rude. The breakfast is lower quality than McDonald’s. Visit for a day, come for a tour but stay in Manly or somewhere much nicer.

The accommodation for this wonderful historic place should be excellent, but it wasn’t. Near City prices for a basic room with no bedside lights, no bath mat, and a telephone in the room (needed to request minibus transport to other locations in the large compound) with no dial tone - on informing Reception (having rung on my mobile), there was no apology - they seemed unconcerned. To add to the tranquillity, a groundsman started using a leaf blower outside the room around 8am on a Sunday. .This is amateur. It came to light later, anecdotally, that the daughter of a friend was married there but the entire family elected to stay in a less convenient location. Apparently, the mother of the bride had done her research. Q-Station should raise its game. A 2* rating is generous.

Way overpriced. No air-conditioning and no windows to open at night. No screen on French doors so can't leave door open. Overnight was extremely uncomfortable and highly claustrophobic. Front office staff make you feel like you are a burden. Shuttle bus staff are hit n miss. We went for what is called Sunset Session with Carnivale theme. What waste of money. No Carnivale to be seen just a DJ playing music. I can get that at any pub for free. Charcuterie hamper was perfect. Breakfast was a major dissapoinnent. Bacon was like leather. Mushrooms tough. Coffee was from a vending type machine - Not even a coffee machine. All in all not a nice weekend, especially for $500 Including Sunset Session for ONE night. Wouldn't recommend to anyone.

A friend of ours, told us about the ghost tour and history tour held at Q Station. They totally won us over and we had no hesitation and booked the two tours online as well as a two-night stay at Q Station. Unfortunately, most rooms were already booked out but there was one available with external bathroom – don’t like the idea but it was only for two nights and at least we still get to have a bathroom and it’s not a community share. I didn’t know that Q Station existed really and had to check whereabouts it’s located… North Head at Manly. There is a decent sized carpark when you arrive at reception. You need to park your car there, private cars are not given access to drive through, but they do have a free shuttle bus to take you back and forth on the premise as well as taking you to and from Manly CBD – check their timetable at reception or at information desk on-site. Reception is impressive - love the murals surrounding the building, very talented artist and captures the place really well. Q Station is a National Park and is heritage listed with historical significance / history attached to this site and it’s opened to the public. We were greeted by a super friendly Milan at reception, he beamed with confidence and professionalism and quickly checked us in, provided us a map of the area, highlighted the key areas of where we were staying, the café, Boilerhouse Kitchen and Bar restaurant and lastly organised a shuttle bus to take us to our accommodation. Again, the person driving the shuttle bus was super friendly and professional. Our accommodation was of decent size, considering it was once used for quarantining people – it’s not modern, but the room was very clean, had all the necessities you need (body wash / shampoo and conditioner, coffee/tea condiments and the necessary appliances, ceiling fans, ironing board / iron) to make our stay comfortable plus complimentary Wi-Fi and a television and I did like that personal touch in the lounge room - a welcome sign on the tele with your name on it (like on the cruise ship). The bathroom was spacious with a shower, a toilet and a washing basin with a side table to put your toiletries on. Here comes the ”but…”, the shower has no screen doors, hence the water literally goes everywhere and the tiles are rather slippery – either install screen doors or replace the tiles with other non-slippery tiles to prevent from slipping. Did I like the external bathroom? Not really. Considering the place is haunted, it’s not a pleasant feeling going outside, late at night, for a toilet break. My suggestion is, to call to book accommodation and be sure that your room has an ensuite bathroom. We have also paid extra for a full buffet breakfast at the ‘Views Restaurant’ – lovely display of hots and colds (Hot food: bacon, scramble, mushroom, grilled tomatoes, hashbrowns and DIY toast with spreads. Cold food: fruits, cereals, natural yoghurt, sweet mini pastries; mini chocolate and blueberry muffins and of course your teas/coffees, apple / orange juices, water – still / sparkling). It’s a National Park, the area is secluded and surrounded with beauty. Lots to do at Q Station and plenty to explore for free and if you want to know a bit about the place, go to the Visitor Centre and their heritage collection and artefacts – interesting read. A must do… you have to walk up and down the Funicular Stairway at least once – 234 steps! Not easy walking back up those stairs. Almost forgot, bring your swimmers, you pretty much have the Quarantine Beach to yourselves – not overcrowded, no need to go to Manly beach. The ladies at the Visitor Centre are super friendly, very helpful and always with a smile on their face. I really can’t say enough about the staff at Q Station – they are simply amazing and professional individuals. You’re not too far from Manly CBD. From Reception, it’s only a 15-minute walk or check the timetable to see when the next shuttle bus is ready to leave for Manly CBD. If you head the opposite direction, you will be heading towards ‘Fairfax Track’ and see spectacular views at Burragula Lookout and Yiningma Lookout – it’s a fair distance, I suggest to wear good walking shoes. Check-out was super easy and fast, we just handed our keys to reception and left. It’s amazing whoever was responsible for this project, changed a quarantine area into accommodation for people to stay… well thought out with comforts at your fingertips, not just for recreational purpose but to explore the beauty it has to offer - genius. I highly recommend Q Station for young and old, couples and families, well-located and conveniently close to the CBD, reasonably priced and perfect place to relax - it’s truly a sanctuary and most definitely a hidden gem!