Rates seem all over the board. May is really high but most of the year seems to be around 400AUD/250USD which is reasonable for a public rate. There are some good corporate rates especially right now due to low occupancy, probably due to poor reviews and being new. I haven't noticed anything that would warrant the surprisingly low reviews on the internet but haven't bothered to read them to see what the complaints are. If you have mobility issues and are trying to get into town, despite being close you will be waiting for a lot of elevators. The lobby is on the first floor and you have to take a single elevator to get out, but there are escalators that go up to it when you return to the hotel. Once you walk out there is a lot of construction going on if you turn right, so don't go that direction or you'll get stuck. I saw a lot of people go that way and get confused and have to walk back. You'll need to turn left and then walk along darling harbor until you find the overpass bridge to get into town - not fun in heels is what I was told We ubered alot but if you're not going far it would be a lot faster to walk anywhere in the evening due to the traffic. If you like the design of W it's not a bad property it's just not very convenient. It's more of a convention mega hotel - I think the largest in sydney now. Didn't see many families at all - mostly convention goers. They do close the pool at 6pm and turn it into more of a party bar area like a typical bar so locals did come in the evening but it's just not convenient to get to in high heels unless you drive in but it's a quite congested spot and you'd sometimes see drop offs backed up 10+ cars in the evening.

My only minor issue so far has been asking for late housekeeping as I'm working during the day. I asked them to come back at 4 or 5 and they never did two days in a row. I've had turndown show up once - so they are not consistent with that either. I just had them replace the bottled waters so don't know what the normal turndown service is supposed to be. I expect it at a new property but I could imagine these issues being annoying - especially if you were paying 900AUD and in a base room. I do agree the breakfast was very good - the closest comparison I can think of is Pier One but the W has a larger selection. We only had so many items on the table due to arriving right before breakfast ended that morning because I was in calls. They promptly shut down at 10:30am and I think 11am on weekends which is later than a lot of hotels here which is nice. If the price isn't too much more expensive than the HR it is a much nicer property - just less convenient to get to and no balconies or club. There are quite a lot of larger rooms/apartments so your chances of an upgrade are much better but that might change when occupancy is higher.