Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

Overall, I really didn’t like it at all. Compared to other hotels from the same chain, this one is truly quite poor. Generally, Shangri-La is a very luxurious brand, and all the places we’ve visited before have always looked amazing and very upscale. But here we were really disappointed. The room was very ordinary, with quite worn-out furniture. The windows couldn’t be opened at all. In fact, they didn’t have any rooms with opening windows, which was quite irritating. The check-in process also felt like a low-budget hotel in Las Vegas — huge queues, a very small lobby, extremely cramped. Another thing I didn’t like was You had to wait an awful long time just to get a table at breakfast , again very crowded and tight. The breakfast itself was good — there was a wide variety of food and I liked that — but the massive queues you had to stand in really ruined the experience. Everywhere was extremely cold because of the air conditioning. It was cold outside, but inside the rooms it was even colder. Another big disappointment was the pool — very small and narrow. There was strong wind coming from everywhere, almost like gusts or mini storms around the pool area. It was impossible to relax or stay there comfortably.the food was the only good thing and the stay.They have amazing tomato soup and staff is super polite and friendly. Overall, I really can’t say the hotel is anything special. Before this, we stayed at the Park Hyatt, and that room was many times better — nicer view, a balcony that could actually be opened. Compared to that, everything here was just awful, honestly. I would definitely never stay at this hotel again.

We spent the weekend celebrating my mother’s birthday and booked a Harbour Bridge view room. The hotel is perfectly located in The Rocks. The room was very large for a Sydney hotel, exactly what you’d expect from a luxury property. The service was true 5-star from start to finish. At check-in, the front desk asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. When I mentioned it was my mother’s birthday and that we had dinner booked at Aria, I was genuinely surprised that they organised a birthday cake and a bottle of white wine! It was an absolutely beautiful and thoughtful gesture that made the weekend even more special. A truly memorable stay.

This is not a 5-star resort—frankly, it’s nowhere close. At best, this is a 2.5–3 star hotel, and expectations should be set accordingly. We arrived with the understanding that early check-in might not be available, which was fine. However, the hotel explicitly promises a 3:00 PM check-in, and even that was not honored. When we walked into the lobby, it was chaotic and disorganized, with an overwhelming amount of luggage piled everywhere. It immediately felt unmanaged and stressful. We were told we could wait at the hotel’s “restaurant,” but what we found instead were guests lounging and sleeping in chairs—clearly others who were also waiting well past check-in time. We had to check back with the front desk multiple times before finally receiving our room around 4:00 PM. The hotel itself is very outdated. The hallway carpet—carried straight into the rooms—is honestly horrific. The room décor is tired and worn, and everything feels overdue for renovation. While it’s true that you can see Sydney Harbour, the view alone should not sway your decision. If you plan to be out exploring the city (as most people do), the view is hardly a reason to tolerate the rest of the experience. Once we finally got to the room, we were greeted with a rather sad plate of four pieces of fruit. Later, after returning to the room, another identical plate appeared—an odd and underwhelming gesture rather than a welcome. The bathroom is also outdated and poorly designed. Water leaks from underneath the sink and spills onto your feet. The clock in the room has an incredibly annoying ticking sound, the carpet feels oddly sticky, and the bathroom products are poor quality—the shampoo leaves your hair coated, and the body wash leaves a film on your skin. Overall, this is not the property to stay at in Sydney. We genuinely wished we had chosen somewhere else. We’re only here for one night—if it were longer, we absolutely would have moved hotels. I would not recommend this hotel and would suggest looking elsewhere.

This hotel should not be marketed as a 5-star property — and it does not belong in Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. As an Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts booking, noon check-in is a published benefit (subject to availability). Despite this, our room was not ready at noon — and more importantly, was still not available at the hotel’s stated 3:00 PM check-in time. We ultimately did not receive our room until 4:00 PM. Check-in was chaotic and poorly managed, with long waits, confusion, and no sense of urgency or prioritization. For a property positioned as luxury — and included in FHR — this level of operational execution is unacceptable. The rooms and bathrooms are outdated and tired, with worn finishes and fixtures that feel far past their prime. Nothing about the room experience reflected luxury or recent investment, and the bathroom in particular felt closer to a mid-range business hotel than a premium offering. Yes, the views are beautiful — but they are doing all the work here. Service execution, room quality, and overall experience fall well short of what a 5-star or FHR designation should represent. At best, this is a 4-star hotel trading on location, not quality. Sydney has far better hotels that genuinely deliver luxury. This one does not.

The hotel was excellent. The only problem is it's accessibility from the train station. If you have big suitcases, getting there by taxi or uber is the best choice. Online it shows a 8 minute walk from the train station to the hotel, but what it does not tell you is that walk is an uphill walk with several steps to climb to get there. So with big luggage that can be a challenge. Otherwise it was very good.