Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

We stayed in a Horizon Sydney Harbour Suite on the 34th floor. The harbour views were spectacular, and the suite felt spacious and luxurious. We loved the overall atmosphere of the hotel, although there were a few aspects of the room and service that didn’t quite match what we expected from a premium suite. Before arriving, we advised reception that we would be early. We were told the hotel did not appear particularly busy, so an early check-in might be possible, although we understood that this could not be guaranteed. When we arrived, the room wasn’t ready, and we were told that staff would check when it was likely to become available and send us a text message. We went out for lunch, but when we returned, the room was still not ready and we had not received an update. We waited in the Horizon Club, where staff said they would follow it up, but we needed to ask several times for further information. Eventually, we were told that they couldn’t provide a timeframe because they had to wait for the system to show that the room was ready. The wait itself wasn’t the main issue; it was the limited communication and the lack of a timeframe or other options while we waited. More proactive communication would have made the experience much smoother, particularly given the room category we had booked. There were also several relatively minor issues with the suite. The bath wasn’t quite clean when we arrived, although the hotel arranged for it to be cleaned after we mentioned it. The pillows we had requested when booking were not initially supplied, and we needed to follow this up twice before receiving them. One of the reading lights above the bed was very dim, while the other was quite bright. There was also a broken power-point fixture next to the bathroom mirror. The shower head was fairly narrow and provided only average water pressure, which was a little unexpected in a suite of this standard. One night, after we had gone to bed, we heard a persistent dripping sound coming from around one of the bedroom windows. It continued for approximately 45 minutes, although we couldn’t see any water or signs of dampness. It had been a misty day, so we weren’t sure whether that was related. We reported it to reception the following morning and were told someone would look into it, although we weren’t advised whether it was inspected or what may have caused it. The Horizon Club food and drinks were excellent. My partner considered the food some of the best he has experienced at a hotel, and the scrambled eggs were particularly good. We also used the spa near the pool, although the jets seemed unusually strong and caused water to splash up into our faces, which made it a little difficult to relax. Despite being on the 34th floor, some city noise was still audible, particularly emergency vehicles and car horns, but there wasn’t much general traffic noise. The floor itself was also fairly quiet, apart from occasionally hearing other guests’ doors closing. The hotel is well located for exploring central Sydney. One thing to be mindful of when arriving with luggage is that the walk from Circular Quay Station involves a very steep uphill climb. Wynyard Station is substantially less hilly and may be the easier option with bags. I was also a little surprised that there didn’t appear to be a gift shop on-site, nor could I find one mentioned on the hotel’s website. Overall, we loved the suite, the incredible views, the Horizon Club food and the atmosphere of the hotel. We enjoyed our stay, but felt that the communication, cleanliness, maintenance and attention to detail could have been better considering the room category and price.

Early check in available on arrival, good value in Lounge access with great views. Staff all friendly and helpful, will be back.

Front counter staff are poorly trained.

Excellent service, old world charm & impeccable focus on details makes this hotel one of the best in Sydney. Pool & Spa facilities were good.

Booked a harbor view room. Spent 4 days looking at buildings. The only view was from a narrow corner window if walked up ro it and peered at an angle. Absolute rip off.