Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour

We came here to stay for four nights, firstly no friendly welcome Secondly no proper darling harbour view(but we paid for it) then I requested to change my room but previous room was bigger than current one, still no option given for refund no house keeping first day and second day till I asked them to do, Middle lift was dirty(or sticky floor)for more than half day No water in room, when I requested nothing came till one hour and requested again at last water bottle came. No dinner option available from Monday to Wednesday in hotel’s restaurant Standard of sofitel is not as other 5stars hotels Not recommended What a waste of money

We spent 2 nights with a great room overlooking Darling Harbour. With Platinum Accor membership it was great to enjoy the club on the 35th floor. The service and room was great, Parking is expensive at $84 a night but if you consider the alternatives and we did not want to do public transport at the moment this was an acceptable option.

I arrived from Perth to meet my sister who had had to leave before I got there as she got a covid positive test. The staff could not have been more helpful, they changed me to another room, organised for phone chargers I didn’t have and were generally so kind and caring - hats off to the lovely Sam on reception who was absolutely gorgeous and caring. The rooms are beautiful and the beds ao comfortable, a Nespresso machine is always welcome and the bathroom amenities are Balmain so you want to take a long shower to enjoy them all! As a single traveller I went to the Champagne Bar and had a beautiful view of the harbour and light to enjoy a glass of bubbles and a light dinner all without leaving the hotel. The hotel has everything on the doorstep, walk to the city and Circular Quay and definitely walk to Darling Square that has great places to eat and bars.

We were extremely disappointed with our 2 night stay here recently. The hotel premises is excellent and so is the quality of food, but staying at several Sofitel hotels around the world before, we have been used to much much better service, and recognition of our elite status as a Diamond member. Our frustration started before our arrival where our email for requests during our stay was left unanswered. We are always impressed with a Sofitel check-in, and the willingness to consider rooms that may be more suitable. We have ALWAYS been offered upgrades due to our status or advised if this was not possible due to inventory constraints. This was not the case here, and no the hotel was not at full occupancy. Despite multiple higher category rooms being available to book online for our stay dates, we were not offered an upgrade as a diamond member. Forget being offered an upgrade, we were not even acknowledged as being a diamond member or advised of our benefits. All we got was “I can see you are a member”. We had booked a family package with 2 rooms but were given club access to only one room. The reception as well as the club lounge failed to understand that the booking was for one room but split to 2 rooms as part of package and we were supposed to be getting lounge access for all guests. I can understand that at times there are difficulties with staff not understanding benefits, but here we were made to feel like ignorant ultra low class individuals with statements like “no u don’t get lounge for all guests and we can’t do anything about it”. When I asked the club lounge manager to contact me in the morning, despite his shift starting at 9am, I was contacted at 12.45pm by when we had missed the lounge breakfast and could not plan for afternoon tea. We were not given drink vouchers for being members, something we have got from Ibis and Novotel in the group wherever we stayed. We were not passed over a package which was left for us in the club lounge. We had to ask for it. When we arrived, the bell desk outside the hotel saw us come out of the taxi and get our bags out - we were in plain sight but we were not offered help. Even when we lugged our two luggage’s to them they didn’t seem interested in taking them until we asked. As diamond members we get 4pm checkout. When we asked, we were told it can’t be beyond 12pm. Again, the hotel was not anywhere close to full occupancy. On bargaining, we got a 2pm checkout for one room but we should not be pleading for our rights. The Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney, the Sofitel Obelisk and Palm in Dubai, the Sofitel Mumbai, the Sofitel Singapore and more - these are properties that leave a lingering positive impression. This property on the other hand, was a lingering disappointment.

Recently stayed at the Sofitel Hotel in Sydney (Darling Harbor) for a couple of days. Ended up staying at three separate hotels (Sofitel, Shangri-la, and Four Seasons) due to late booking arrangements on our end. The location of this hotel is great. We were given a partial view of the harbor which was really pretty in the evening. The hotel room was clean and the beds were especially comfy. I honestly didn’t want to get up. The bathroom was spacious and I appreciated the rain shower…a major plus as I love to relax after a long day sightseeing. Breakfast was delicious and the staff were very friendly and attentive. Couldn’t make reservations for dinner and ended up ordering room service which was excellent. Husband stated that it was the best pizza he ever had. I ate the pumpkin ravioli and must say it was absolutely delicious. Kudos to the Chef! As mentioned earlier, the location was good. The hotel is conveniently located next to an indoor mall which had quite a few fast food restaurants to choose from. My daughter and I got our nails done while the boys swam in the hotel infinity pool (too cold for us girls). We also walked over for late night snacks/desserts during our stay. Overall a very pleasant stay! Would definitely return again when staying in Darling Harbor!