Sofitel Sydney Wentworth - good enough, but service not on par with Sofitel Melbourne
 

Introduction Just came back from a 2.5 week trip to Australia where I stayed only in Accor properties. The first stay was a 6 nights stay at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. I booked this stay about 2 months out and it included a redemption of 1 night on the Stay Plus voucher.So what I booked was:5 nights in a Jnr Suite and 1 night (Stay Plus) in a Prestige SuiteI emailed the hotel a week prior to my arrival and asked for a room at the end of the corridor with a bit of a view. This property is celebrating it's 50th anniversary so considered an "establishment" in Sydney and has towering buildings around it - needless to say, there are not many great views.Email correspondance was very efficient and what was surprising is that they confirmed in the email that I would be upgraded into a Presitige Suite for the whole stay - something I really appreciated. I have not come across any Accor property confirming an upgarde in advance. Check In As this was our first stay here, we walked up to the reception and checked in there. In fact all the paperwork was ready there and I was told that "they were expecting me". Check-in formalities were done within 5 mins and we went to our room. Room As requested we had the last room at the end of the coridor on the 14th floor. I think there were two more floors above us. The room is split into a large living room with a 3-seater sofa and two single seaters + a large writing table. It also has a toilet.The bedroom is not overly large but has the usual comfy Sofitel MyBed and a small bay window. General fit-out is mid 1990s. I bit pland but ok. They had prepared a roll-away bed for my daughter in the living room.Usual amenities are Nespressor machine (daily replenishment and if you ask for more cabsules they just bring you the whole stick of 10pc :D ), water. As per my previous stay at the Pullman Circular Quay, they gave me a form during check-in where I could chose from various welcome amenities or 500 points. We requested for the box of Valrhona Chocolate/Truffles - yum! Service Housekeeping was great and discreet. Turndown service provided every night with either some Sofitel chocolate or some "Sofitel Linen spray". They replenished the mineral water during turndown and were not stingy with that either (ie, even if you had not opened up the previous nights' bottles, they would still give you 2 bottles). I assume I could have asked for more if I had wanted to. Location Location in smack in the middle of the CBD. A 10min walk to Pitt Street Mall and I can assure you that my ladies were happy with its location.Only issue is that Sydney CBD really becomes a ghost town after 6pm. Lounge The lounge is big.But the number of people using the lounge is quite astonishing too. A lot more than what I experienced in the lounge in Melbourne.I do not know if all guests are Plat guests or if they have too many "Executive rooms". But it does get packed during breakfast.And maybe this is one of the reasons for my issue with this lounge, but I don't think that should be an excuse on their part:I find the service very impersonal. Breakfast comes accross like as though you were in a restaurant.- Coming in, the lounge staff sit at their desk with a sheet of paper and ask you for your room number (even on the 6th day).- You then walk in and look for a table yourself.- And then there is no more interaction. So if you want a coffee, you need to call out to an waiter or stop them and request what you want from them.This is in stark contrast to the Club Sofitel in Melbourne. Where already after the second day they recognise you and no longer ask for the room number. And even if they do ask you it is done in a "..oh by the way"-manner - AFTER having escorted you to your table and asking you for you drinks preferences.The lounge attendants (normally only 1 in Sydney) also does not get up from their chair to assist or communicate. They sit behind their table and if you want something, you go to them. They don't do their rounds and always seem pre-occupied with something or another.When I queried why they needed to write down room numbers every time, I was told it is for audit purposes as they need to know who is a Plat member and who has booked a Club/Executive room. Ummm....OK.The Club also serves an evening canape which is extremely limited compared to that of Melbourne. Where in Melbourne they also have a platter of chcolates in the late evening up to closing, the Club in Sydney has nothing out. Upon asking I was given two biscuits.Additionally to the service - there is no 'going out of the way' at all. I don't really expect it - but again I compare to the Club in Melbourne. In Melbourne they noticed my wife and daughter and approached both of them on the very first day and mentioned to my wife what she can and can't eat as we're muslim. On the second day they mentioned to my wife that they had prepared a dish with halal chicken so at least there was one meat dish she could have. We didn't ask for this - yet it was all proactively done on their side. My daughter picked a pasta dish and but didnt end up eating it. When they asked her why she said she preferred plain pasta with just parmesan (like what little kids do). Within 5 mins that was served to her. Again, we didn't ask for anything - it was just done.So I was lacking the personal touch here in Sydney. It was "just another lounge". Overall Most important to me is the room. And in that aspect we were happy.

The Sofitel is located smack bang in the middle of the business area of the CBD, no surprise its dead at night, the action moving to Chinatown, King St Wharf and Darling Harbour.

I stayed at the Sofitel last April, and won't be back, poor hygiene and service were a standout, something of a five star version of fawlty towers.

Hope you didn't look to closely at the air con

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowU...uth_Wales.html

We reached the same conclusion after this stay in 2014 and have since had two very pleasant stays at the Mercure. ;)

Aircon in the room was fine and everything was clean. It also worked fine.
Yoghurt was in its own chiller.

So from the hygiene part, all was ok.

But as you read above, I agree with your observation in TA that the lounge is a zoo.

Hmm, maybe they should not let Plats in...(we can't have it both ways folks) ;)

That's what I thought too. But then again we were in Melbourne on a busy weekend in March and it didn't come across like a zoo. I don't know where all those people came from. (maybe 50% of the rooms are exec rooms?)

but how many Plats were there ? Surely not that many.

Just a while ago all here whined that platinums don't get access to lounges in Australia and now when to do it's a bad again... By the way, did you take those pictures during the peak hours? For me, it doesn't look like a zoo. It would had been interesting to see how to real crowd looked like.

Of course not. That was at 12noon.
Put it this way. A zoo to me is when people are sitting on a couch near the entrance, leaning over a table that is 90% covered with Christmas decorations and eating their croissant with jam (while sharing the table with another person) - because no other table was available. It was like that.

All said, the completion of the Sofitel Darling Harbour couldn't come soon enough. Completion is slated for Sept 2017.

It should bring a new level of "Sofitel" to Sydney and so the Wentworth will either need to buck up or drop to a large MGallery or just be dropped by Accor all together.

We were there last week, so we might've been some of the people you saw crowding the lounge...

Like you, I found the people sat by the door to the lounge a bit odd. They didn't seem to do much except struggle to find our room on the list each time

However, the serving staff in the lounge we did find to be helpful. At breakfast they always came up shortly after sitting down to take tea/coffee orders. Ditto mid-afternoon. They also seemed good at helping anyone arriving a few minutes too late to get something, and were very pro-active in ensuring guests in the lounge were able to "load up" before the end of breakfast/happy hour/etc

Location wise, we found it perfect for touristy stuff. There were a handful of places open in the evening nearby, or it wasn't too far a walk / bus ride out to places with lots of good restaurants, for the evenings you didn't manage to eat enough in the lounge!

We were there in the first week of Dec :)
I did have a chat to a F&B maanger in the hotel during our stay. So that may have made the staff a tad more pro-active. I don't know.

Certainly of 5 breakfasts we had there, not once did someone come up to us and ask what we wanted. We always had to walk up to them or indicate to them that we needed something.
Yes, they were better in the afternoon - but it was also less crowded then.

My main question is simply: How can Melbourne get it so right and Sydney not really so.

Just checked out of this place this morning and found it hard to find any faults. 3 rooms booked all received early check in 9 am after cruise and late check out til 1 pm as requested today . Staff in lounge were plentiful at both breakfast and evening drinks time and not once did any of our glasses empty before we were asked if another drink was required ^ Hats off to them :-:

Thanks for everyone's reviews. I've booked a three night stay in July in a club room. I'll post my own reviews after my stay.

I was there 2 nights early April (upgraded to club room on 17F + executive lounge) and if you like live music, they turn some of the lounge space into a piano/singing corner on Fridays and Saturdays where you can make song requests or take the mic and sing alone the pianist. Quite fun!

But the lounge can't beat the free flow of champagne and oysters of Melbourne Sofitel!

Julien