Urgent advice needed - prebook hotel for tonight or walk-in? (Sydney airport)

[Jurahn]

Well, as the thread title says ... cutting a very long story short, got an update phone call in the early hours from my brother confirming that my mother has had a massive stroke and things are not looking good. I've booked a flight to SYD this afternoon and will have to stay in Sydney overnight before driving down to the far South Coast tomorrow (my night vision isn't good, so OK to drive in the city but not down the Princes Highway at night). So now have to look at a hotel for tonight, rental car, and sort out stuff for work etc before I go (although the rental car is a bit of a problem as I don't know how long I'll be over there). I won't be getting into SYD until 10.20pm, so want to stay somewhere very near the airport (maybe looking at Stamford) - am I better price-wise to prebook a hotel for tonight or would it be better to do a walk-in? Are there still the "accommodation walls" at the airport where you can contact the hotels for available rooms? Not that I wouldn't pay what I had to of course, but as others who've been in this situation are no doubt aware, these last-minute trips can end up costing an absolute fortune and I unfortunately have to take that into consideration given that we've just had some huge expenses relating to the house in the past couple of weeks (burst pipes, replacement of stuffed hot water service etc) so the finances are already taking a hammering. Any advice would be very welcome, thanks.

 

[Quickstatus]

Well, as the thread title says ... cutting a very long story short, got an update phone call in the early hours from my brother confirming that my mother has had a massive stroke and things are not looking good. I've booked a flight to SYD this afternoon and will have to stay in Sydney overnight before driving down to the far South Coast tomorrow (my night vision isn't good, so OK to drive in the city but not down the Princes Highway at night). So now have to look at a hotel for tonight, rental car, and sort out stuff for work etc before I go (although the rental car is a bit of a problem as I don't know how long I'll be over there). I won't be getting into SYD until 10.20pm, so want to stay somewhere very near the airport (maybe looking at Stamford) - am I better price-wise to prebook a hotel for tonight or would it be better to do a walk-in? Are there still the "accommodation walls" at the airport where you can contact the hotels for available rooms? Not that I wouldn't pay what I had to of course, but as others who've been in this situation are no doubt aware, these last-minute trips can end up costing an absolute fortune and I unfortunately have to take that into consideration given that we've just had some huge expenses relating to the house in the past couple of weeks (burst pipes, replacement of stuffed hot water service etc) so the finances are already taking a hammering. Any advice would be very welcome, thanks.

Sorry to hear....

I think online prebooking is the cheapest for most hotels in general. I believe this is because when you are online there is competition. When you walkup there is no competition as you are more likely to accept the fare rather than walk down the road especially just before midnight.

Re rental vehicles, I would book for longer then return early. Just check the early return policy - normally they will just recalculate the booking for the period of actual booking. Extending a booking can be more problematic if they need the vehicle for the extension period.

 

[anat0l]

Very sorry to hear about your mother. Best to you and your family.

I just jumped onto lastminute.com.au and the hotel prices don't seem too unreasonable. For example, $99 for ibis budget at Sydney Airport (near T2/T3, next to the Krispy Kream and McDonalds). For around the Sydney Airport area, it's hard to get better than that most of the time. I don't think walk ups will make a huge difference in this regard. I guess as far as last minute arrangements go, it's not the worst hotel situation you could face right now financially.

The Stamford is going for about $199 when I last checked. Of course, with the chain hotels, you may always get a better rate if you go to their own chain website rather than a general hotel site.

There are some slightly cheaper places (besides backpackers, of course), though be careful - if you are arriving late at night, you may need to contact the property in advance in case they don't have a 24 hour reception.

I don't know about the "accommodation walls", but it still comes back to the argument of whether you're still going to get a better deal, or the uncertainty is worth any potential amount that would be saved.

If you have some points in various hotel programmes, maybe you can cash some of those in.

 

[Jurahn]

Thanks for your posts and kind wishes.

Anat0l - Yes, I saw the price at the Ibis but unfortunately I had a pretty horrendous experience at that hotel a few years ago - here's a tip, don't ever get extremely ill (food poisoning) when travelling by yourself and staying at a budget hotel ... assistance of any kind is pretty much non-existent!! I think I might look at the Stamford - it's $189 on their website for tonight at the moment (when I checked about 15 minutes ago), and I stayed there last year for a night, the room was quite large and comfortable and booking directly with them includes Wifi (so I can keep in touch with everyone on both coasts tonight) so that might be the better option. I'm pretty sure they have 24-hour reception, but will check - and as you say, I guess uncertainty is the last thing I need getting into Sydney late at night. I'm Gold with Hilton now (thanks to the Velocity status upgrade) but no points and am a member with Rydges, but don't have any points with either.

Quickstatus - thanks for the suggestion with the rental car, I was thinking along those lines as well. I might just book it until next Mon/Tues and then discuss the situation when I pick the car up tomorrow.

 

[russ]

Pre book because your time in Sydney is better spent with your mother than trying to save $100

 

[Quickstatus]

I dont think there is any benefit to starting the car rental period tomorrow morning. Your return will almost certainly be later in the day than the pickup time and so will be within the 24 hour period.

 

[Jurahn]

I dont think there is any benefit to starting the car rental period tomorrow morning. Your return will almost certainly be later in the day than the pickup time and so will be within the 24 hour period.

Sorry, not quite sure what you mean? I won't be able to start the rental period tonight as I may well arrive too late to "pick the car up" as it were (if the flight is delayed, as the Thrifty desk closes at 11pm I think) and I wouldn't want to take it out of their carpark anyway as I'd have to pay for parking, and I will need to get on the road tomorrow morning to get down the South Coast ASAP - yes, the return time will definitely be later in the day than the pickup time but unfortunately there's not really a lot of choice in the situation , unless there's something I'm missing? (which would hardly be surprising as my brain isn't functioning properly at all at the moment).

 

[Quickstatus]

Sorry, not quite sure what you mean? I won't be able to start the rental period tonight as I may well arrive too late to "pick the car up" as it were (if the flight is delayed, as the Thrifty desk closes at 11pm I think) and I wouldn't want to take it out of their carpark anyway as I'd have to pay for parking, and I will need to get on the road tomorrow morning to get down the South Coast ASAP - yes, the return time will definitely be later in the day than the pickup time but unfortunately there's not really a lot of choice in the situation , unless there's something I'm missing? (which would hardly be surprising as my brain isn't functioning properly at all at the moment).

If you pickup car tonight at 11pm and drop off the next day at 11am then its 2 days of rental and you can get to hotel earlier and depart for the south coast ASAP (dont have to wait for hotel shuttle)
If you pickup car at 8 am then drop off the next day at 11am, then its also 2 days but you have to go back to counter tomorrow am to get car.





Not a biggie, if you arrive on time and before Thrifty closes You might like to see if they can give you the car tonight. If not pickup tomorrow. Just leave the reservation as is

 

[Jurahn]

If you pickup car tonight at 11pm and drop off the next day at 11am then its 2 days of rental and you can get to hotel earlier and depart for the south coast ASAP (dont have to wait for hotel shuttle)
If you pickup car at 8 am then drop off the next day at 11am, then its also 2 days but you have to go back to counter tomorrow am to get car.



Not a biggie

Oh I see, thanks for clarifying that. I don't know if I could cope with the car thing tonight, I'll probably just want to get to the hotel. Wouldn't be waiting for the hotel shuttle anyway, when I've stayed at the Stamford I've just walked there from the domestic terminal and back again, so would have no problem going back and getting the car tomorrow anyway. I will probably be over for at least a week, so will need the car for at least that long anyway,

 

[parsonstrish]

Thinking of you, all the best, I can relate.

 

[ric_melb]

Sorry to hear your news. Hope all goes well with your planning and travel.
My advice is to stay at the Stamford. The rate isn't bad, and you already have walked there before, and stayed there and liked it.
Better to be in familiar surroundings in a comfortable room, before you drive tomorrow. Hotel has 24 hours check in and 24 hour front desk.

 

[Jurahn]

Thinking of you, all the best, I can relate.

Thank you, much appreciated. I'm now sitting in a room at the Stamford at Sydney airport, having a much-needed cup of tea -I received A phone call from my brother just before we reached Perth airport, he was in tears (which is something that NEVER happens) and saying that Mum was now unresponsive, so of course I was extremely distressed during check-in and the flight. Whilst the check-in experience was definitely less than stellar with an older lady who seemed to be on her first day on the job, she constantly had to get help with everything from the other staff member at the Priority check-in desks and didn't seem to know how to go through the process at all - I could barely even think straight so having to practically help her myself with every step of checking me in was the last thing I needed (Mr Jurahn had to take over), and then a very long wait for my bag in SYD as it wasn't tagged priority (which didn't even occur to me at the time) but the VA flight attendants in J were faultless, couldn't have asked for better.

They constantly checked on me, brought me chocolate, cups of tea, bottles of water, and provided lots of hugs and comfort as well. I was absolutely staggered when two different crew members told me they were on their days off after the flight and offered to drive me straight down to the south coast tonight. I was absolutely overwhelmed by their kindness and such a generous offer - it's not as if it's a short trip, 4-5 hours down the (horror or horrors) Princes Highway, which is a b*tch of a drive at the best of times. I declined with grateful thanks, as I'd already booked the rental car for pickup tomorrow (and managed to completely stuff up the pick up time I selected, so had to go to the Thrifty counter (in the multi-storey unfortunately) to fix that before tomorrow. The female crew member caught up with me at the baggage carousel and insisted that they were more than happy to get in the car right now and drive me there, and such kindness just sent me off into floods of tears again. She gave me more hugs and her mobile number and said to call her if there was anything at all I needed. I will be writing to VA to commend the crew members, that was going way above and beyond the call of duty.

I rang the hospital when I got to the Stamford - mum is still unresponsive, heavily sedated and unfortunately has the terrible breathing "rattle" that people at end-stage often develop, which of course is extremely upsetting for Dad, as he (like many people) tends to think of the "movie-type" life endings where it's all calm and peaceful and someone just slips away quietly. The reality is often very different and can be pretty bloody awful. It doesn't help of course that Dad is in denial about Mum's condition (and has been for some time about her health in general) and isn't happy when there's any reference to palliative care, which is what they've commenced for Mum now. I don't know whether I'll get there in time, will just have to see what tomorrow brings.

Sorry to go so OT, I'm sitting here desperately tired but wondering if I'll sleep at all, so keep trying to do things to distract myself. Time for a bath I think and then at least try to sleep.

 

[Quickstatus]

Very sorry to hear and wont care if off topic or not

The VA Cabin crew sounds just amazing. Great news of humanity that should not go untold.

Thank you for keeping us posted. Please stay in touch during this time.

Here is where you can write to VA:
http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/help/contact-us/feedback/

Virgin Australia is an authenticated company rep who lurks in these parts from time to time:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/members/virgin-australia.html


Obviously their twitter or facebook page will reach a wider audience.
https://www.facebook.com/virginaustralia

 

[Jurahn]

Sorry to hear your news. Hope all goes well with your planning and travel.
My advice is to stay at the Stamford. The rate isn't bad, and you already have walked there before, and stayed there and liked it.
Better to be in familiar surroundings in a comfortable room, before you drive tomorrow. Hotel has 24 hours check in and 24 hour front desk.

And excellent advice it is too - it is certainly a relief to be here, as you said, in a comfortable room in familiar surroundings. The staff were very nice (as I was in quite a state after ringing the hospital after we landed), but it was also a huge relief just to be able to trundle my bag 10 minutes or so up the road. The line for taxis was horrendous and the traffic around the airport as I was walking up here (about 10:45pm) was even more nightmarish than usual, so thank goodness for the sound advice here that helped me make up my mind, as I was really not functioning well at all earlier today, especially in the decision-making area.

 

[Jurahn]

Very sorry to hear and wont care if off topic or not

The VA Cabin crew sounds just amazing. Great news of humanity that should not go untold.

Thank you for keeping us posted. Please stay in touch during this time.

Here is where you can write to VA:
Complaints and Compliments Form | Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia is an authenticated company rep who lurks in these parts from time to time:
View Profile: Virgin Australia - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community


Obviously their twitter or facebook page will reach a wider audience.
https://www.facebook.com/virginaustralia

Thank you Quickstatus and thanks for the VA contact details - I'll definitely be contacting VA and praising their staff to the skies once all this is, sadly, over. That they would offer to come straight off their day's work and drive a complete stranger hundreds of kilometres in what would effectively be the middle of the night and then have to turn around and drive all that way home again was just astounding, and brought me completely undone - such a truly unselfish offer. BTW, I booked a Flexi fare today for this flight and upgraded with points - maybe I should post this in the VA thread about "different treatment as an upgrade customer"

Thank you to everyone in this thread for their kind words and I will stay in touch as and when I can, as I'm not sure what (if any) internet access I'll have over the next week or so.

 

[Deena]

I am so sorry to hear about your Mum.

Such wonderful caring crew on your flight.

My thoughts to you and your loved ones at such a sad time.

 

[drewbles]

If you pickup car tonight at 11pm and drop off the next day at 11am then its 2 days of rental and you can get to hotel earlier and depart for the south coast ASAP (dont have to wait for hotel shuttle)
If you pickup car at 8 am then drop off the next day at 11am, then its also 2 days but you have to go back to counter tomorrow am to get car.



Not a biggie, if you arrive on time and before Thrifty closes You might like to see if they can give you the car tonight. If not pickup tomorrow. Just leave the reservation as is

With which rental company? Every car i've ever rented has been on a 24 hour basis (ie, pickup at 10pm on one day, drop off at 10am on the next = 12 hours). I've used Thrifty/Avis/Hertz/Budget in Australia, and Europcar/National when overseas (and sometimes Alamo).

I've not seen a rental car company work on calendar days (just car parks and the like).

My thoughts are with the OP. I had to travel with QF for a family funeral, and I was a bit of a mess having not slept for a few days. The crew in my case were also sensational. Sometimes airlines get things very right, it's just a shame such tragic events trigger it.

 

[Quickstatus]

Typo :
rent at 8am return at 11am next day = 2 days
rent at 11pm (ie night before) and return next day = 2 days

 

[drewbles]

Typo :
rent at 8am return at 11am next day = 2 days
rent at 11pm (ie night before) and return next day = 2 days

Which company though? All of the ones i've had work on a 24 hour 'day' not a calendar day. If you exceed 24 hours, they charge by the hour until it reaches the daily charge (which is typically only a few hours anyway so it's largely moot). In the first case most places would be 1 day plus three hours.

 

[Jurahn]

I just wanted to quickly update this thread - I was able to make it to the hospital in time, arriving late Monday afternoon, but sadly Mum passed away a few hours later. She was still mostly unresponsive when I arrived, but when I squeezed her hand, she opened her eyes slightly, so I'm hoping she knew I was there, at least for a moment anyway. Later on, she sank into unconsciousness and thankfully her final passing was relatively peaceful.