Originally Posted by
pricesquire
Yep, I'd agree. I saw "before" pictures and, quite frankly, it looked like one of those places I'd refuse to stay at. Looked like the stereotypical "grandma's house" with "grandma's decor"...
I'm not claiming the hotel has somehow hit 'perfection', but the place has definitely hit it's stride.
For starters, cannot stress how well run the place is. Sonia, the GM, is present at ALL times - meeting guests, shaking hands, being accommodating, etc.
Staff is unreal. So, so friendly. TO be clear, the place suffers from the same service issues you'll see EVERYWHERE in Australia....but I couldn't escape that no matter where I was in that country.
The only part of the hotel I felt was kind of left as-is (ie, management cheaped out during the refurb) were the bathrooms. And by bathrooms, the only 'so so' ones I saw were the ones in the NON-suites.
I enjoyed my stay here. I'd go so far as to stay this is my 'home' in SYD.
Suites are reasonably priced by the by.....
I've just returned from a short stay at the Langham and thought I'd add one or two observations to pricesquire's excellent pictorial report
This hotel is back on my list.
. It's gorgeous.
I love the redesign! It is feminine and elegant in the way that the MO Paris is feminine and elegant (but in a more classic style). Even standard rooms are spacious and many have small balconies or at least opening windows.
We had interconnecting rooms with the older bathrooms (see pics of bathrooms with sandy-toned marble in pricesquire's photos). IIRC these are the original bathrooms with some cosmetic updates such as new mirrors etc. They might not look as fresh/modern as the newer bathroom suites but I can understand why they were retained in the refurb - they fit with the classic modern style of the hotel and I quite like that they were not pulled out for the sake of it. They also retained the solid wood fittings in the wardrobes and, again, I think this is entirely in keeping with the solid sense of quality that pervades after the refit.
The only place where I found service to be an issue was in the Kent Street Kitchen where there were all sorts of little service blunders. I found management presence in the hotel to be on a par with the Plaza-Athenee in Paris - a major positive point of difference from other Sydney hotels.
They have the best hotel breakfast I've ever had in Sydney with none of that infuriating "your eggs and caffe latte will be at an additional charge madam".
The only potential disadvantage continues to be the location - lovely and peaceful and very interesting historically, but a ten minute walk into the CBD. Prepare to take plenty of cabs and Ubers. That might suit your preferences or it might not. It would be a complete pain if you wanted to spend a lot of time in the eastern suburbs.
Note also that it looks to me as if those peaceful middle Harbour views will be built out by the Bangaroo development in a few years.