Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

We stayed for a week at the very comfortable Shangri-La Sydney , prior to taking a cruise . We booked a Horizontal Club room which was very comfortable , had an amazing view over Darling Harbor & as I requested , on a high floor ( 32 ) . The room itself was huge ,fabulous bed and bedding , a great pillow menu , huge flat screen tv , fridge , water , coffee maker , big wardrobes , iron , board and a desk , as well as a comfy chair . Bathroom was again , large , separate shower cubicle , plenty of nice toiletries , bathrobes . The room was serviced twice a day , spotlessly clean and we slept fantastically in it ! Our room included Horizontal lounge access , this was on the 30th floor and afforded incredible views over Sydney Harbor and the Opera House and was a very comfortable place to spend a few hours relaxing ! Breakfast was very good , all the usual offerings , fresh fruit felt was a little ‘ dull , predominantly melon ( groan ) occasional strawberries , cherries and kiwi fruits . A selection of juices , pastries , cold meats etc , all very nice . One morning it was absolutely packed in the Lounge and we had to go to the main restaurant for breakfast, a lot more choice , but it was a chaotic experience , a long wait for a table , the atmosphere was ‘ canteen ‘ like and kids everywhere ! Afternoon tea was fairly basic , scones , cream and jam ,on one occasion a couple of slices of cake appeared , but it was again very pleasant . The evening cocktails were EXCELLENT! A nice choice of ice cold white , sparkling and rosé wines and beers , red wines , spirits and it all flowed very freely by the lovely attentive lounge staff . The food offerings were excellent , a lovely array of Mezé items, hummus , tzatziki, olives , sun dried tomatoes etc , cold meats , lovely cheese , a few hot items like gyozas , prawns , kebabs etc . It was all really good . Our thank to the wonderful staff in the lounge , you all looked after us fantastically ! The hotel itself is well located a short walk to The Rocks area , a short walk into the Bridge , great for all the ferries and bus routes too . It’s a bit of an uphill walk back to the e hotel , but you soon get used to it ! If you are sailing from the Overseas Passenger Terminal , it’s literally 8 minutes to walk to it ! We really enjoyed our stay , and should we ( hopefully) return to Sydney , we would definitely stay here once again ! Our thanks to the wonderful staff here !

Amazing views, great staff Super comfy rooms Walking distance to circular quay Bar pricey

This review is for the rooftop Blu Bar on the 36th floor only. Service was good, the drinks menu great and prices in the higher category. The views across the city are absolutely amazing. Definitely worth a visit.

We had been in touch with the hotel prior to our early morning arrival to request an early check in room which was ready for us when we got there. Check in was quick and efficient in spite of it being quite busy. The room was a good size with a nice bathroom and clean and functional. The view over the harbour was magnificent. The hotel is in a good position on The Rocks but a bit of a walk back uphill from Circular Quay. Breakfast was busy on some days, but the food selection was wide and constantly topped up so there were no shortages. There were delays in receiving coffee orders which was frustrating. The Blu Bar had a magnificent view with a good choice of drinks and snacks. Service was excellent. The pool was small and the seating area restricted, but it was very quiet when we were there and so fulfilled its purpose. Overall, the staff were attentive and polite and very helpful. We enjoyed our stay.

An amazing location with probably one of the most iconic views in the world from our room. The Horizon club was good too, great breakfasts and evening drinks and friendly, helpful staff. But many other aspects of our 4 night stay were disappointing. We arrived off an overnight flight and despite previously asking for early check in (for which we’d pay extra) nothing was available. These things happen, but we sat in the lobby for four hours and nobody came to check on us. At the third time of asking on progress, we were told we could wait in the Horizon lounge, which was much nicer. Why this wasn’t possible when we arrived, I don’t know. Staff were overwhelmed and seemed quite curt, not the service standard I’d previously experienced when in Hong Kong. Also room cleaning was very late one day. Room facilities ok but dated, pool completely overcrowded. Drinks in top floor bar took a long time to order and arrive. We did raise our check in issues through the travel agent but just got an answer back stating the hotel policy, which missed the point. We were due to stay with SL in Singapore on our return but have gone somewhere else off the back of this experience.