My Family (Married couple with 2 children ages 11 and 16) has had the pleasure of staying in this Randwick Duplex from January to June 2018. Overall, this is an excellent option for visiting faculty at UNSW and also worked very well for me at the Garvan Institute.
Features:
1) This is the top floor of a duplex. The owners live in the bottom flat. They are an amazingly helpful couple. They Picked us up from the Airport when we arrived, have accommodated every single request we have had, showed us around the area, lent us money when our ATM card wasn't working and have consistently gone out to their way to make our experience here better. When moving to a new place, this type of hospitality makes a huge difference in the quality of your stay. Really cannot thank them enough. Incredibly generous.
2) Location: It is right (1 block, 2 min walk) next to Randwick Junction, where there are multiple grocery stores and really everything else you need for daily living (including dentists, physicians, restaurants, bars, banks, etc, etc). Moreover, there are buses that run directly downtown and all over the city leaving from Randwick Junction all day- never more than a 5 min wait. About 30 min into the city center (15 or 20 to Garvan /HKCC/Victor Chang). We survived here just fine without a car. If you are at UNSW, the main hospital is literally across the street and the campus is a 5-10 min walk, depending on what part you need to reach. Great local movie theater and restaurant area (The Spot) is 2 blocks away.
3) Location #2: AND, it is a 15 minute downhill walk to Coogee Beach, which is amazing and gorgeous. We made this a regular part of our weekly routine and will miss the sunrises and sand here as much as anything.
4) The space: Beautiful old Victorian style apartment. Quite spacious. Very high ceilings with nice detailed accents. Wonderful windows from front bedroom, living room and Sunroom. Two decent sized bedrooms with comfortable and clean beds. Third bedroom is small but good for a kid or office. Nice formal dining room space on back of house and smaller but functional kitchen with dishwasher, stove, microwave and coffee maker. Two full bathrooms were a real advantage for us (2 daughters). Loads of movies and travel books for the local area on the bookshelves. All the bedding and towels and settings we needed for day-to-day life. We were comfortable here despite downsizing from 4BR 2.5 Ba 2500 sq foot home back in the States. Furnishings are more antique rather than modern but were functional.
5) Local public schools were conveniently located. Our girls were happy at the schools, though not as academically challenged as they were back at their home schools. Can be hard to get into neighboring (and actually very close) private or catholic schools without planning well in advance.
In sum, we were very happy here and would stay here again if we returned to Sydney. Thank you to our wonderful hosts, Peter and Debra, for everything!
Comments: Randwick