Anderledy Lodge is part of Mary MacKillop Place, a small Catholic complex of buildings and bird-rich gardens just three blocks from the North Sydney rail station and minutes by train from the CBD.

I had a single room with shared bath. It had a firm bed, desk that faced the window, closet, ceiling fan, TV with a few channels, and, importantly for some, no air conditioning. Since it was on the second floor, the room was sometimes a little warm in spring. Happily, the window opened and the ceiling fan worked, though with a loud hum.

There were plenty of bathrooms down the hall, so I never had to wait. The super-clean bathrooms included shower gel and hair dryers. There was also a rather weary shared kitchenette with a mini-fridge, microwave, sink, and instant hot water.

The wireless internet access was slightly slow and purchased through vouchers (for example, A$5 for 100 megabytes). The system would log me off without warning every hour or so, which was... more