Hotel Review: Moxy Sydney Airport is much more than a FIFO overnighter

Not only is Moxy Sydney Airport a supercool, budget-friendly airport hotel that makes life on the hop a whole lot more fun, it’s also become a popular hangout for locals from the city’s trendy inner-west. Karryon‘s SALLY Macmillan checks into a Sydney airport hotel that’s quickly become a favourite among travellers.

How refreshing to arrive late at night after a long flight at a hotel where you check in at the bar and are presented with a complimentary cocktail along with your room card. Stress melts away as we relax for a while in this welcoming, art-filled industrial-chic space before heading bedwards – if not for the jet lag we would have happily lingered longer.

Bar Moxy regularly hosts DJs and live music in the evenings and serves local brews from Newtown’s Young Henrys and spirits from Rosebery’s Archie Rose distillery. Within the soaring bar-lobby area, you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner at Moxy Kitchen & Bar and, as we discover the next morning, excellent coffee from Marrickville’s Double Roasters is served at Little Baxter. Moxy Pick-Ups is open 24/7 for snacks and drinks.

Room with a view

Our Moxy Queen Sleeper on the ninth floor is a cleverly designed, 17 sqm room with a floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks the airport. A quick look in the mirror reveals a colourful handwritten note scrawled on the glass – ‘Welcome back from your cruise!’ – very cute.

There’s no wasted space – you can hang clothes on pegs on the wall (and refresh them with the supplied steamer), put your suitcases on the foldable stand, use a foldable table if you need one – and the in-room basin maximises space in the shower. If you need extra towels or blankets, or you’re staying long enough to wash and iron clothes, head to Level 4 for the fully equipped self-service laundry. Another quirky touch: pick up the retro phone by the bed and you’ll hear a recorded bedtime story.

Accommodation in the hotel’s 301 rooms ranges from King and Queen rooms, Lofts with views of the runway or city skyline, to Family Quad Bunk and interconnecting rooms. They all include blackout blinds, soundproofing, a mini-fridge, a 55- inch smart TV, super-fast WiFi and custom artwork by local creatives.

Moxy Airport Hotel also offers rooms for day stays between 8am and 6pm from about $130; very useful for travellers arriving or departing from Sydney international and domestic airports at odd hours. Room rates include use of all the hotel’s facilities, plus shuttle services to and from the airport terminals.

Airport transfers and free parking

Apart from its distinctive look and vibe, Moxy Sydney Airport offers services above and beyond your average airport hotel. The  $12 per person shuttle service – in its signature pink minibuses – between the hotel, Sydney Airport’s domestic and international terminals and Mascot train station, operates every 20 minutes from 4.45am until 10.50pm.

As a regular traveller, I have unfortunately experienced the Sydney airport taxi rip-off trips that ruin many arrivals to Australia’s biggest city. Knowing you can book a guaranteed-price ride to and from the hotel and airport, or Mascot train station (saving the Airport Link train fare), is a huge bonus.

Moxy’s generous parking plan – ‘stay one night and park for five nights free’ – is another welcome inclusion. For cruisers driving into Sydney from the Central Coast, country NSW or interstate, this is a very budget-friendly way to stay within easy Uber distance of Circular Quay or White Bay cruise terminals and have your car securely parked undercover at the property. If you need more than five nights’ parking, additional daily rates start at $15 with weekly rates from $100, and the monthly rate is 20 per cent off weekly rates for extended stays.

Stylish spaces

Moxy Sydney Airport is the first of the Marriott-Bonvoy hotel group’s Moxy collection to open in Australia, joining 184 sister properties in the US, Asia and Europe. The Moxy brand is targeted at the Millennial and ‘young at heart’ market and facilities include a large, well-equipped 24-hour gym, free pink bikes for guests to use, and games such as giant Jenga and Skee-Ball in the lobby and a full-size table tennis table in the Record Room.

The hotel has five spacious meeting rooms, decorated in Moxy’s signature contemporary style and set up with state-of-the-art AV equipment, high-speed WiFi and writing walls. Custom catering is available for groups of up to 60 people. Other facilities include a gift shop in the lobby, dry cleaning and laundry services, luggage storage, lockers, an electric car charging station and roof garden plus the al fresco Moxy Terrace. All areas within the property, including the gym, are wheelchair accessible.

The writer was a guest of Moxy Sydney Airport.

For more information, visit Moxy Sydney Airport