Hilton Sydney

The hotel is situated in a convenient location (very close to the tram), the receptionist was very helpful upon my checking in. Even though I had to wait for a room, the handling process was smooth. The breakfast was good, but the staff was better. I was approached to ask if it was my first time having breakfast here and when I said yes, the staff gave me a clear instruction and offered to show me the food station. This was impressive.

We booked exec rooms with lounge access. The room was in poor state with blackout blinds that didn’t roll down. They were ripped and held together with tape. I didn’t discover they didn’t work until 11.30pm so had to endure a night with little sleep due to the brightness in the room. After a few attempts to fix the next day we were moved to another room which was much better all round. The lounge has a dress code which wasn’t mentioned in the booking info. I was chased into the lounge by a staff member who asked me to go change my shoes. I was wearing a conservative summer dress (loose fitting and knee length) with black leather sandals, so in no way casual or beach wear. However according to the dress code, they preferred me wearing my smart dress with running shoes (!). So that’s what I did, even though I looked ridiculous. I am not sure why I was picked on since others were wearing crocs, Birkenstocks, baseball caps, yoga clothes, hoodies… it’s not very welcoming way to treat a guest, especially if you’re going to be so inconsistent about it. And a bit odd in a city known for being laid back and relaxed. Clearly from the way people were dressed, no one actually wants a dress code in there anyway. A staff member in the lounge also accused my husband of trying to bring drinks out of the lounge. I have no idea why since he wasn’t anywhere near the door and was on his way to me at our table. Very odd attitude to customer service.

A very nice hotel with good customer service. Breakfast at the Glass Brassiere included full continental, omelette station, and a wide variety of cold food. Juice and machine coffee is also included, but barista coffee is extra. The first room we were allocated to had a lingering smell but the hotel staff was quick responsive to switch us rooms when we brought it to their attention. There is also a gym downstairs that you can use 24/7 but sauna access is only during gym manned hours. The only complaint is that the executive lounge is super busy during canape hour so you either had to wait or there was no seating. The crowd was louder and more social at Sydney Hilton compared to the Melbourne one. The food often ran out (especially the cake and some canapes). DIY cocktails was available during happy hour at the lounge so that was nice.

Fantastic dining experience at the Brasserie Glass wine bar; cosy atmosphere, floor to ceiling view of the entire Queen Victoria Building lit up in magnificence, interesting menu, and personable, attentive , and friendly service, from a professional F&B team who really know what they are doing. Easily one of the highlights of our exploratory tour of Sydney, second only to the open air dining at Circular Quay right between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We had high expectations for staying at Sydney Hilton because we’ve stayed at the hotel and other Hiltons on many occasions. It's in a great location and we were optimistic about the service we would receive. This was sadly one of the worst hotel experiences we have had in a number of years for the following reasons: • The first room we were in was a good quality room but the AC did not function. We tried to fix it for hours and finally at around 10:30pm called the Magic reception line. Finally, an engineer arrived and said the AC was not working properly and he tried to fix it but said it would take at least a couple of hours to reach 19 degrees which is the highest temperature to achieve restful sleep (especially in a small closed room). Ideal sleeping temperature is 18-19 degrees. The Duty Manager then gave us the option to move to another room but failed to mention that it was an inferior room. • We took this option (moving all our things, which were all set up, at 11:30 at night, with a huge event on the next day) assuming it would be a better room and that the AC would work. Instead, it was a far worse room with no bath, no black out blinds (!), no storage space for our large suitcases, poorer quality linen and pillows and various other amenities that were in the first room yet missing from the second. To be offered a sub-standard room is completely unacceptable but we could not handle moving again and the Duty Manager did not appear to care or listen when we noted all of these issues. He appeared very inexperienced in terms of good customer service. • By this stage we desperately needed to sleep but again the AC did not work. We tried repeatedly throughout the night, and the fan level kept dropping and the temperature never dropped below 21.5 degrees despite all our efforts to reach 19 degrees. It was also extremely noisy. This combined with the lack of blackout blinds led to us having a sleepless night. • Furthermore, the hotel is seriously understaffed. We called the MAGIC line on a few occasions and ended up hanging up after 15 mins or more wait time on at least 3 occasions. This is completely unsatisfactory. • In the morning we needed another key cut and again there were just 2 staff on thefront desk on a Sunday morning when people were checking out and needing other support. • Top sheets below the duvet should be supplied because the duvets are too hot to sleep under when AC is not working properly. And cotton, not synthetic, blankets should be available to guests on request. You only need 10 or so and this helps guests who get hot at night. • The lifts were slow and breakfast was sub-standard for a 5-star hotel, with very limited and poor quality gluten-free options, limited fresh fruit and no tamari/soy sauce and coriander, spring onions etc for the congee and numerous other issues. We ordered a simple herbal tea and cappuccino but after 15 mins did not receive them and had to leave for our event. • The only saving grace was a good meal and service at Glass lfor dinner. We hope that the hotel takes this feedback seriously and improves all of the above issues.