Checked in 2 days ago for a 5 night award stay. As a diamond, received an upgrade to an opera view room, though to see the opera from the room you have to be on the balcony or at the table in the room. Cannot see the opera from the bed or bath or anywhere else in the room other than the table. Clearly the least desirable "opera view" room in the hotel, as it is on the bend of the hotel between the other, more desireable opera view rooms (some with larger balconies) and the city/harbor view rooms. It appears that the opera house can even be seen from city/harbor view rooms by going out on the balcony and turning your head. Was disappointed not to receive a deluxe opera view room (they were available for our entire stay), but am making the best of it. Balcony is TINY, a semi-circle with a single small chair and a footstool -- really only a 1 person balcony, though a second can sit on the footstool (though not terribly comfortably). Biggest drawback to the room is the utter lack of drawer space -- only 2 tiny drawers and a few small shelves not already in use for minibar, magazines, etc. Would be fine if I was traveling alone on business, but difficult for a month long leisure trip with partner, thereby necessitating LOTS more luggage than usual and living out of the suitcase for a 5 day stay gets old.

Check in was without issues -- was shown to elevator and given instructions on how to reach room. Baggage arrived promptly (even the bags we had stored a week earlier with the bellman following a cruise and preceding a trip to Ayers Rock and Cairns.) A VERY nice bottle of Australian red wine was in the room upon our arrival and a turn down amenity of VERY nice truffles/bonbons arrived shortly after our arrival.

Booked a passport escapes package to include breakfast daily (which is meaningless, since already entitled to breakfast as diamond) and 3 dinners. I KNOW it isn't great points value, but wanted to book one before Hyatt does away with the package. Dinner is nice -- it is taken in The Dining Room and you get 3 courses off the a la carte menu. Can't use it for the tasting menu, but no other restrictions regarding what can and cannot be ordered. Dinner last night (3 courses each for 2 people) ran about $200 with wine by the glass (beverages not included in package) so value is about $150 - $160 per meal. As I said previously, NOT a great value for diamond members since breakfast is already comped, since the 35K Hyatt points equate to about $450 to $480 in value.) View of the opera house from The Dining Room is great

I'm here for another 3 nights, so please let me know if you want me to check something out while I am here or if I can answer any questions.

That's really terrible in any hotel; inexcusable in a top-tier hotel such as this.

Even if I'm just overnighting, I rely on drawers for the stuff I'll use. I absolutely detest rummaging around in a suitcase trying to find something.

Perhaps the butler can offer a solution ;):cool:

Thanks for the helpful report iamthehpt. I may be traveling to the hotel with my wife for the first time in late February and would appreciate any insights on how we might best approach the hotel in getting the best room possible using free nights, points, upgrades, etc. We are Diamond and Hyatt credit card members.

There seems to be a disturbing trend among hotels to do the minimum required by the brand's loyalty program. By no means is this a Hyatt issue alone; other brands are worse. But I would really like to see Hyatt senior management step in and remind hotels of their brand responsibilities before it goes any further.

I agree. It also seems to be that hotels are finding ways NOT to honor the stated benefits on award stays. As a diamond I believe I am entitled to the best available room excluding a suite. To me, that would be the deluxe opera view room NOT the regular (and small) regular opera view room (and the worst opera view room, at that). Obviously the Park Hyatt Sydney doesn't agree with my interpretation of best available room, since at least 2 deluxe opera view rooms were bookable at hyatt.com for my entire stay immediately after I checked in.

I have also noticed a few differences in the treatment of us (on an award stay) and those people who are staying on paid rates. For instance, everyone else who we have seen checking in has been escorted to their room, we were escorteed to the elevator. No big deal for me, since I can find my own room and figure our where the minibar is and how to operate the drapes. Just a noticeable (though not important) difference all the same. Bath amenities are also not replaced, despite shampoo and conditioner bottles running very low. Again, not a problem since we packed some from home.

Point Bonita Lighthouse, I'm not sure I am the best person to advise you about how to get a good room on an award stay at this hotel, since my room is definitely NOT a good one and I can't say that my stay has been special in any way. I'll ask at the front desk about the hotel's diamond upgrade policy and post here (or PM you) any information I recieve. Frankly, I don't think I would stay here again on points and I certainly would NEVER pay about $1000 US rack rate for the room in which I am staying.

I would ask the Front Desk manager to explain why I, as a Diamond, was given a room that is less desirable than better available rooms. And do so in a non-confrontational way. But I think some hotels hope no one will call them on some of their shenanigans.

Hi,

I would be really interested to hear your thoughts on the quality of the room.
Whilst the hotel appears to be quite overpriced, I am wondering whether the quality of the room would be miles better than say a Suite at a modern Australian Hilton Hotel, like in Sydney or Melbourne.

Cheers.

I can not speak from recent experience all as my stay was last March 2012 shortly after the reopening
Having said that the hotel historically to their credit has done an impressive job for elites when it comes time to assigning a preferred guest room.
If that has changed of course we would all like to hear about more experiences good or bad
Thanks

Basically, the PH is the only real luxury hotel in Sydney, at least according to the folks who know in the luxury hotel forum. Those people are down on the FS or the Observatory, for example.

Whether it's 'miles better' or not will probably in large part depend on how important a more luxurious hotel experience is to you personally. For me, it's a big deal; for you, maybe not.

Heading to Oz in Sept and was wanting to see if anybody has had any experience getting an upgrade as a humble platinum member?

Thanks in advance.

Just finishing up a two night stay here, using points.
From the moment the car door was opened to our checkout, we were made to feel special
We were given a room with a view of the Opera House. Not the deluxe Opera House room, but still lovely.I did ask if there was a deluxe available and was given a wishy washy answer. In hindsight, I could have pushed it. But I didn't. And our room is just fine!
Really, there isn't a 'bad' room at this hotel - just a 'not as good' room.
I can understand someone being disappointed with a small balcony though because, really, if you stay here you are staying for the view.
We were walked upstairs to our room to check in.
A bottle of red wine arrived not long after and after our dinner there was the box of chocolates with the welcome card.
Breakfast is different from previous stays.The fruit didn't seem to be as varied. But still lovely and fresh. The freshly made juice is just as good as what I make at home - pineapple, carrot , apple and ginger . Yum!
We had two dinners in the Dining Room. Both were good. The second night we had the 'tasting menu' and it was great!!! But that could also be due to the person describing everything AND the wine :) For what you get, I feel it was great value.
Staff here are great!!!
We had a problem with mosquitoes one night. About thirty were in the room. So they sent someone out to get bug spray.
Also had a fire alarm last night that seemed to go on and on and ON with various announcements - false alarm, but very disturbing!
This would be one of my favourite Hyatts in the world.
I have already booked it for our anniversary in December :)

Great to hear--looking forward to our stay later this year, and will be sure to chime in with our experiences as well--thanks to all for the recent feedback.

Asked at the front desk TWICE (two different people) about the diamond upgrade policy and got non-answers. BOTH times the staff insisted I give them my room number before they would answer my question. The first time, the person stated they upgrade diamonds to "the best available room except for suites." When I questioned her further as to whether that includes Opera View Deluxe rooms, she claimed she didn't know and repeated the "best available room except for suites" line. The second person I asked claimed he could not reveal the information because it was proprietary.

I agree with the above poster that the food and service in the dining room is very good. I can't say that my hotel experience was the same as his, because he appears to have one of the larger balconies. Either way, there WERE Deluxe Opera view rooms available for our stay AND the above poster's stay and neither of us got the Deluxe Opera View upgrade. Since Hyatt showed at least 2 DOV rooms available for rent for our stays (and Expedia showed at least EIGHT DOV rooms for our dates), it appears that the Diamond upgrade MAY be limited to an Opera View room unless he guest pitches a well-deserved fit (NOT done in my case since my partner is a "go along and get along and don't make waves kind of person.) In my opinion, the hotel is playing games with the terms and conditions of the Gold Passport program. Points bonita lighthouse, sorry I wasn't able to get you a more definite answer (or ANY answer, for that matter.)

The fire alarm shortly after midnight was disturbing, but I can't fault the hotel for that. My biggest concern with the alarm was the REPEATED statements that "an alarm in the hotel is going off, please stay where you are while we investigate." Granted, it was a false alarm, but if it had been a REAL alarm, would not it be better to evacuate the hotel immediately rather than telling guests to "stay where you are?" The additional time "while they investigate" could cost lives.

I generally prefer the modern Park Hyatt style to that of the more traditional Hiltons, Intercontinentals, etc. but I personally will choose a suite at a hotel other than the Park Hyatt on my next stay in Sydney. I will describe my room in detail so others can made the decision for themselves.

As previously mentioned my room is on a "bend" of the hotel, so one end is wider than the other, with the short end being the balcony. The bedroom/chair/table and chair/tv area is approximately 10 feet wide at the balcony end and about 14 feet wide at the bathroom end and is about 18 feet long. The balcony is a semicircle with a chair and footstool. It is VERY tiny. Next to the balcony sliding glass door is a single upholstered chair (probably 1/2 of a love seat, since only one side of the chair has an arm) with large mirror on the wall behind the chair. Next to the chair is a nightstand (no drawers) with alarm clock, then the king bed, then a lighted glass shelf unit. Along the other wall is a tv bench unit running nearly the length of the wall. A large flat screen tv is on top of the bench. There is also a drawer in the bench filled with magazines. Above the bench are two floating shelves with artwork (one a painting of kangaroos, the other a large photo of the Sydney Bridge.) No usable drawer space in the tv bench unit, but a suitcase can be opened on top of the bench. Next to the tv bench unit is a mirrored closet with minbar and glassware. Next to the minibar closet are two drawers filled with additional minibar items. In front of the tv bench unit near the balcony sliding glass door is a medium sized round table with 2 dining chairs without arms. A light hangs from the ceiling over the table. The room is well lit with many small halogen style recessed lights, including 2 reading lights over the bed and 2 lights under the large floating shelf over the tv bench unit.

Decor is brown and tan earthtones. Lots of wood.

The bathroom is large with a sliding wood door that can be opened to see into the room or closed for privacy. A bench runs the length of the bathroom area and is large enough to place an opened suitcase. First is the sink area, with double sinks and a large mirror. There is a shelf above the sinks and a drawer filled with toothbrushes, shaving kit, etc. Cubbies in the vanity hold washcloths and face towels. The tub and shower room is located through a glass door from the sink/vanity area. Good sized non-jetted tub with the shower next to it. The shower is NOT a separate shower with its own door, nor is it a combination tub/shower unit. The shower hangs from the ceiling next to the tub. A drain in the bath/shower floor serves its purpose. Shower consists of a rainshower in the ceiling (water pressure is NOT great) and a more standard mounted/hand held unit on the wall (MUCH better water pressure).

Separate toilet/water closet with sink and one of those high tech Japanese style combination toilet/bidet with heated toilet seat.

Closet area across from vanity. First section of the closet contains a small hanging rod. Also in this section is the iron and ironing board. Second area is a double doored area with hanging rod and shelf large enough to place a large suitcase on its side. Last section is a small single doored area with safe, two small drawers and 2 small shelves.

What type of room did you have? Was it an upgraded room since your are Hyatt Diamond?

I have a stay booked, and as a lowly Hyatt Platinum I realize I'm not worthy to even be spit upon, so I'm wondering if the room might be even worse. I already hate the idea of not having any drawers to unpack into. I could go to the Sydney Hilton and get free breakfast in their restaurant and a small room with two small drawers and a few shelves.