Bars and Nightclubs
Sydney West, Sydney

Hillside Hotel

273 Old Northen Rd, Castle Hill, NSW
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The great thing about the Hillside is its variable atmosphere, turn up on a Wednesday night and this place is the same, people around enjoying themselves, light music in the back ground, the feel of the place is just comfortable, you feel like you belong and the good news is that pizza you had on Saturday is now only five bucks, a different night of the week the menu offers a cheap priced meal, pizza on Wednesday's and it went down a treat. Saturday night offers up retro night in the form of music, DJ pumping out some tunes upstairs on the smallish dance floor or watch live sports down stairs in the court yard or fully facilitated TAB this place covers all basis.

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The Hillside Hotel Review

Review by Mary Ward

Take a wander around Castle Towers asking young people about the Hillside Hotel, and you’re bound to get a reaction. Everybody’s been there, and everybody knows exactly what they think about it. But whether they tell you it’s the best thing since sliced bread, a reasonable night out, or break down to you about missing the RSL, chances are that you’ll see them at Hillside anyway, because the Hillside Hotel has cemented its reputation as the Hills District’s Friday night out.

The Hillside Hotel is split up into three distinct areas. The first one you’ll see as you trot up those steps from the Terminus St. Council Carpark is the courtyard. It generally attracts the over-25’s, but you’ll probably end up spending some time out here throughout the night no matter how old you are. The live music that plays out here is first rate (and, no, I don’t know the band; I am definitely not cool enough to know the band.)

Then, there’s the inside bar area. Comfy booths and tables cover the floor in a layout that seems to change every time I go, but usually means that everyone who wants a seat gets one (before 9:30, anyway.) The kitchen serves comfort food until late, and the bar staff wouldn’t look out of place in any city club. Your standard mixed drink will set you back about $7.50. The $25 cocktail jugs, however, are definitely the way to go if you’ve come in a big group. They’re also the way to go if you’re just ordering for yourself on your birthday… or your dog’s birthday.

The upstairs area is the nightclub. It’s $5 to get up there. No, that’s not much, but, since it used to be free, Hillside patrons reserve their right to whinge about it. I don’t mind the entry fee - it was $10 before it was $5 - but I wish there was a periscope that you could use before you paid it to see if anything was actually going on up there, because there often isn’t. Once you get upstairs there’s a little dance floor, a pretty good DJ and a bar. If you’ve brought ‘those’ friends, they can take turns swinging off the pole.

If you’re heading upstairs, bring a crowd to make sure it’s worth your while; preferably a crowd whose sobriety isn’t exactly peaking (the crowd you just had the cocktail jugs with is ideal). This shouldn’t be hard if you’re from the area, since going to Hillside can sometimes feel like an episode of ‘This is Your Life.’

But my main gripe with the Hillside Hotel is that I want to feel a sense of local pride towards it, but there are just these little things that need to be fixed up to make it a great venue. The toilets look like a school change room, with a long lime-green tiled - Who was responsible for that? – corridor perfect for girls to slump against on the floor. There was a vending machine downstairs for a while, a move that made no sense when there was a bar ten steps away.

These are the things I will rant at you about if you run into me at Castle Towers and ask about the Hillside Hotel. So, I’ll see you Friday?



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A Second Review of the Hillside Hotel


By Shane Brien

Tucked away within the heart of Castle Hill is a watering hole if you didn't know the area you would probably be hard pressed to find if you were a passing customer looking for a quiet beverage.

You walk in and you can't help but feel welcomed into a place you would think was ready made for afternoon drinks in the sun, a large open courtyard with a laid back atmosphere a bit of background music thrown in for good measure this place is the perfect hangout for a couple drinks with a few good mates at the same time is sharp enough to take that date on if your after a good feed, few drinks and ability to hold a decent conversation without being interrupted by the surrounding environment.

My first experience of the Hillside was a Saturday afternoon, looking for afternoon drink, I walked in with a mate and set ourselves up in the middle of the courtyard and within minutes the sun bearing down we felt relaxed, knowing we made the right choice we walked up to the bar ordered a couple of beers and here's that part which I'm sure has happened to all of us, you just walked into a, hotel, it's impressive you walk to the bar and after hearing the price of the beer you understand why the place is like what it is, pleased to say the Hillside Hotel is not one of those places, a reasonable priced beer and with that success and without saying it we both know we have set up camp for the next few hours at least until the sun goes down. A few beers in it's time to order an afternoon snack, the menu is broad, from your starters of salt and pepper squid to a bowl of fries , salads to share right through to your mains of fish, steak or snitzel or if you like a pizza with your drink a wide range of pizzas, this is where the downside of the Hillside lies, the overpriced food but the smooth atmosphere around us soon seems to wipe away any hesitations to go without food, a chicken schnitzel with mushroom sauce and pizza later we were ready for our second session to take us into the evening.

The crowd growing around us, the atmosphere grows, the music seems to get that little bit louder it's hard not to feel like you're part of a family as you look left and right the people around you have been there for the last few hours with the same thing in mind, the sun, the drinks, the people.

The sun goes down and we leave, an unspoken promise we will be back, and we were.

The great thing about the Hillside is its variable atmosphere, turn up on a Wednesday night and this place is the same, people around enjoying themselves, light music in the back ground, the feel of the place is just comfortable, you feel like you belong and the good news is that pizza you had on Saturday is now only five bucks, a different night of the week the menu offers a cheap priced meal, pizza on Wednesday's and it went down a treat. Saturday night offers up retro night in the form of music, DJ pumping out some tunes upstairs on the smallish dance floor or watch live sports down stairs in the court yard or fully facilitated TAB this place covers all basis.

If you're lucky enough to find this place nestled away in Castle Hill I suggest you drop by and test the review yourself, most likely I'll be sitting in the courtyard myself enjoying this great hotel.

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