Amazing new Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour

100   Recommended

Room 3404 , Club Double
October 23, 2017 by
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Room 3404

Club Double

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room

Stats
Room
Club Double

I stayed here for 2 nights last week - and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

The hotel was only a week into it's opening, and it wasn't perfect, and they are still working some things out, but this hotel will be my new Go To hotel in Sydney.

When booking, I had issues with the Accor Website - I have Accor Plus membership and the publicly available price on the website was cheaper than the Accor Plus price, but I called the hotel and they were able to get me a members rate which was appreciated.

2 days before check in, they called me to confirm I was coming, and wanted to know if I had any specific requests. I enquired about a room upgrade and lounge access and any other Accor Platinum Perks, and was advised I'd be getting an upgrade and lounge access. (I had booked a standard room).

Check in was very easy in the foyer, and we were quickly on our way to the room, and then to the lounge for afternoon tea.


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The lounge was on the top floor - 35 - and had magnificent views across Darling Harbour and Sydney.


The lounge at night time was very full - and on Saturday night it was standing room only. Probably one of my main criticisms of the hotel is that they haven't built the lounge big enough as it is very crowded if the hotel is full (Saturday night it was over booked apparently). 

But there was a great selection of wines, spirits and canapés, and the service was very efficient.

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Unfortunately there was no 'Platinum Welcome Amenity' as you would expect at a Sofitel (we had spent the previous 2 nights at the Mercure Goulburn and received a welcome amenity there) but one of the staff members did make mention to me that they were still working on that happening.

We did receive 2 drink vouchers but I forgot to use them!!

I didn't get the usual welcome letter until late on the last night. I don't know if this is one of those things that they were still getting up and running or they just forgot - but both my rooms got this letter later Saturday night with 2 more drink vouchers - but as we only found the letter on Sunday morning before checking out (it was slipped under the door) we couldn't use the drink vouchers.

Location

The location for me was perfect - we were there for leisure and not business, so Darling Harbour suited really well. It is metres from the International Convention and Exhibition Centre and also the Shopping Mall at DH, and views over the harbour.

Room

We were upgraded to a Club Room on the 34th Floor, and I was really happy with what we got. (I requested a room with 2 double beds as we had our kids with us). I had also booked a room for my In-Laws and they were also upgraded to the Club floor and were given lounge access as well. Very happy with that.

The room was really nicely done. I felt like it was a modern version of the Sofitel Wentworth - it felt like a Sofitel with that French Luxury, but it was modern and fresh.

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One annoying thing in the room at night are the light switches. They must have sensors in them and light up if they think someone is trying to turn them on. Really good if you are looking for the light switch in the middle of the night, but I had a light switch right next to the bed and every time I rolled over the light switch lit up and woke me up. I had to try and cover it so I didn’t keep getting this light in my eyes. Not sure how they fix that but a bit of a design fail on the light switches next to the bed. 

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Beds didn't necessarily feel like the normal Sofitel beds - they were a lot harder - but they were still comfy. 

The pillows weren't great - either rock hard or very soft - but the pillow menu hadn't made it to the room yet so I'm not sure if there were other pillows you could choose from (when we rang up for alternative pillows we just asked for firm ones and were sent rocks!!)
 

Service

Service at the hotel was exceptional. Everyone was very friendly, and still had that 'new hotel opening buzz'. The lounge staff were exceptional - not overbearing but available for service when needed.

Pool

The pool was great - quite busy when we were there but really nice area with a bar behind it. 

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Gym

As for the gym, it was basic but enough. Nothing mind blowing about it, but if you wanted to do a workout, you could. I used it on the Saturday morning and had a good workout although if you wanted to do anything more than a few weights, you'd need to go find a proper gym. Only let down here was there was no water in the Gym, so not sure if they had run out (although I was there at 7am) or just haven't gotten around to adding it yet.

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Dining

For breakfast, we were told that we had a choice of either having it in the lounge or in the restaurant on the 3rd floor. Both mornings we had it down in the restaurant.

It was ok - not mind blowing - but there was a good selection of hot and cold foods - cereals, breads, bacon etc - what you come to expect in an Australian hotel. Service was very good, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was great. (I forgot to take photos though).

Only challenge I had with the restaurant was that I was charged $80 per person for breakfast both mornings (Because I had Club Lounge Access, breakfast should have been free). These charges were subsequently removed, however on check out, I was advised that we were not entitled to have breakfast in the restaurant - only in the lounge. This is one of the little teething issues the hotel is having as I had about 5 staff (including Club Lounge staff) tell me that we can choose which place to have breakfast in as someone with lounge access, but there are obviously some staff that feel differently about it.

Having said that, there is no way I'd pay $80 to have breakfast in the restaurant - that is massively overpriced and no worth it.
 

Overall

Overall, I absolutely loved this hotel. I was pretty forgiving for some of the little things they missed as it had only been open for a week, but if I’m paying $400 a night next time, I may not be as forgiving. 

Having said that, I have already booked our next stay.

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