btonkid12345

214, Admiral's Suite bedroom and master bathroom:

Happy

Nice waterfront living! Reminds me some places we saw at Rose bay and Double Bay - 2 of our favorite neighborhoods in Sydney.

All right, you have convinced me to book Pier One. Unfortunately the reward availability is broken up for the 3 or 4 days we will be in Sydney. I should have booked something much earlier but I wasn't even sure we would keep the trip until now. So have to deal with the situation. Luckily we travel light with only rollers and moving from hotel to hotel at times seem to be the norm... lol.

Thanks for mentioning the package rates. Will check the pay rates that may open up availability.

btonkid12345

You won't regret it. It is truly an excellent boutique property and I think it should be part of The Luxury Collection.

By the way, somehow some chewing gum got all over my leather and ballistic nylon bags. The concierge coordinated to have it cleaned and they did an excellent job. There also was a brand of mints there that shared a name with a family member - they sent someone out to check flavor availability for me....truly excellent service.

I will never forget not being able to make breakfast my final morning, but they knew my drink order and the barista literally ran my preferred drink in a paper cup out to my Uber. They treat guests - but especially those with status - as real VIPs there.

Make sure to report back!

Happy

Will do!
Only able to book one night but would keep checking to hope additional days open up.

Duke787

+1 on Pier One. Stayed there for work last December -- fantastic hotel as long as you are familiar enough to know the location and are comfortable with it as your base for the visit.

Happy

Made 4 bookings of SPG properties from my Marriott log in, that depleted the point balance there. I dont want to merge account yet so I booked the Pier One on the one night it is available, using Point Advance feature. It is the only booking out of 5 bookings made tonight that I do not receive a confirmation email...

Is it now Marriott no longer generates a confirmation email when the e-cert is not ordered yet?
Several weeks ago I have made a 7 nights reservation at SkyCity Hong Kong on Point Advance. (waiting for the chaos to calm down some then to attach a Travel Package cert). I never receive a conformation email on that booking either.

kamchatsky

Given you have stayed in Sydney a few times already, then definitely try Pier One. You can always Uber your way around Sydney, and to various Chinese restaurants.

mingzie

I have to echo this a thousand times. It is not a benefit to HAVE TO ask lounge staff for a drink every time you need one - it is the most hassle I've ever had at a lounge. Who would have thought you can't even self serve some freaking soft drinks or a glass of water without getting eyed and flagged down. Lol.

I recommend to stay away from SOTP, but thats just my personal experience. Lounge is awkward and no freedom. You can give me all the prawns in the world, I'd still rather grab a water or coke from the fridge myself.

I also ran into an overcharge issue, no apology from the hotel and took days to fix and 'investigate'.

Happy

Checking everyday on the inventory finally paid off. Yesterday Pier One finally has 5 consecutive nights available for our dates, so I promptly made a 5th night free reservation.

Hope we would be happy there, as husband isn't sure on the various room formations within the same category. Being a PP I hope we would get some sort of an upgrade. But we will be there in Nov the high season and stay for 5 nights, so not very hopeful on the upgrade though.

Also hope the breakfast set up is as nice as everyone claims...

Happy

One more thing

I guess nobody really cares for the Marriott just behind the Circular Quay?

TripAdvisor reviews overwhelmingly raved about the location. I can understand that especially for the first visitors.

Rooms seem outdated. Lounge is at lower floor what I read. I am more interested in the quality of the lounge offerings. Reviews seem to be very mixed. But I gather it has not the same issue as at SOTP where you cannot self-serve even for water. That is quite unreasonable.

Happy

It is a brand mew hotel at the fringe of CBD, directly opposite the UTS and next to another university. Seems an excellent Cat 4 option. Husband prefers this location than the Pier One because his mind is all on his favorite Cantonese roast duck and seafood dishes restaurants that are probably within 10 to 15 min walking! I am very torn on this, especially with 40K difference on a 5th night free redemption.

SHLTP

I am going next week and will stay both Marriott and SOTP ovet next two weeks. Will report back

Happy

Thank You! Really appreciate it!

SHLTP

Checked in Marriott. They upgraded me to a nice suite with views of Opera House for 6 night stay. Happy. More modern than SH (but have not been since renovation) and smaller suites. Lounge was nicely appointed.

Overall happy I chose Marriott since family arriving soon and good for tourism.

will stay at SH in two weeks at end of trip.

Again my experiences in properry with Marriott has been good. But the IT is the muck up

shootermcgav1n

Friend of mine steered me to this thread and I'm loving the input as I'm debating btw these same properties for our visit next April. For those that's been to the Pier One, do Platinum members get breakfast included or no?