What was once an iconic hotel in the heart of Circular Quay is now a run down icon that has been cast aside. The hotel is past its used by date. Thread bare carpets great you in the main lobby accompanied by the overpowering scent being pumped in to cover the underlying smell of damp. I had room 704. A partial view of Circular Quay but that was the only redeeming feature of the room. The bathroom had a cracked vanity sink, a toilet seat from the Bunnings discount line and paint bubbling on the ceiling. The room itself hadn’t seems dusting cloth since pre COVID. Lampshades were stained and mismatched. The walls showed water leaks. The air conditioner vent was black with dirt and the ceiling above black from sort escaping the wheezing air con. No minion bar was provided. The world’s worst instant coffee and, as with the lamps, mismatched glasses. Once a proud old dame is now a rundown street tramp. It’s not worth the money. Do yourself a favour and scratch this old girl off your list of great places to stay in Sydney.

Three night stay booked through a booking site and an five minute walk from Circular Quay station, across the road from Botanic Gardens. Really easy, friendly check in for my Superior room. The room was on the City side of the hotel and unfortunately, there was extensive building works on a high rise opposite leading to the room being noisy. On phoning reception, a member of staff immediately looked at the available options and upgraded my stay to a Deluxe room with a harbour view. The room was spacious & quiet, bed comfortable and all the usual amenities available including great WIFI for video meetings. There is a fridge available and you can pre order mini bar requirements. I used the hotel pool, which was clean and maintained at 24 degrees - the outdoor area is a really good space. The menu in the bar area has options available for most and eating my evening meal there on two occasions, the food was delicious. Breakfast was pretty standard but substantial with lots of options - hot and cold - available. The decor throughout the hotel is a little dated but the location, service and staff all excellent. I would definitely return as thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing stay in the heart of the city.

This was unfortunately a mixed bag. When we originally booked the room we only booked for one night. Due to some travel changes, we needed another night. To change the reservation - we needed to call. Instead I just booked a second night. When we got to the hotel they told us the second night is not a problem and they will combine the two reservations. They also mentioned we were upgraded to the suite on the top floor - Great! Six hours later we get back to the hotel, chased down by the door man, and told by the maanger that while we were upgraded for the first night, to keep the upgrade for the second night we would need to pay an extra $100. At the time I thought that was fine - in hindsight it seemed unprofessional for a 5 star hotel, it was their mistake and they should have eaten the loss. Ultimately not the end of the world, but not great. The room itself was a bit outdated, but comfortable. Probably not worth the extra $100. Fast forward to the morning of our departure. When we arrived, we were advised breakfast was included in our stay, again - that's wonderful. The first day no issues, the second day we were told breakfast was not included for us. When I asked why it was included for the first day and not the second the answer was I don't know and would you like to pay for it instead? It's probably related to that second day reservation but to just say "I don't know" seems extremely unprofessional! We did not feel it was worth it and decided to order our Uber to head to the airport. When our Uber arrived, the doorman and person in reception watched us going back and forth with our 4 bags and neither made an effort to help us carry the bags or load the car. All of this would maybe be ok if this doesn't wasn't advertised as a 5 star hotel where you just expect better. The staff was not 5 star quality and the hotel was a bit outdated - although based on other reviews there are renovations coming The location was great, the room was comfortable and the breakfast was fine. But the oddity of the service took away from that, and at these prices we would not stay here again and look at the abundance of other 5 star options in Sydney

The hotel was once a lovely old hotel, but let down by people, but more of that later. The hotel is clean and I have no complaints about that side. My wife has some accessibility issues and access in and out of the hotel each time, requires assistance and that was often provided by other patrons as well as myself. There are two steps off Macquarie Street and often the automated doors would close before you managed to get in the doors. I had taken two small bags in and I was told that I could access the hotel from the basement garage below the hotel. Advice was one thing, but trying to access the hotel from B4, yes, level B4 the elevator wasn’t working, nor B3, I walked with armfuls and a suit case up to the street, and in the front door. Assistance? None provided On checking in, I was reminded part of the package I had ordered included a bottle of wine! That was to be delivered at about 4pm, or shortly afterwards. I went back to reception on the second day of our five day stay, to remind them of the bottle of wine that was to be delivered. I was told that staff had obviously missed it and apologised. The wine was never delivered. Breakfasts were pretty low level, though coffee if you ordered it was ok at $5 a coffee. There was a selection of products for your menu, but quality wasn’t to the standards the hotel once sought to provide. On checking out I reminded Reception that I was to have a bottle of wine delivered to the room for our consumption and that it hadn’t arrived. When wine is delivered, there is a cost to the delivery of course, the time of the person. Failure to deliver the wine had a double bonus to the hotel. I have paid for this wine and they wanted me to carry out a bottle and bring it home, totally missing the point it was to be consumed in our room and balcony. Just something more to bring home. I have been unable to claim back that cost of wine and delivery to the room. This hotel has a TripAdvisor rating between the elevator doors at ground level but it is historical and well above the value reflected here.

As regular guests at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay in the past, we are sad to hear that the doors to this outstanding Hotel are set to close in the near future for redevelopment. We have many fond memories of our stays at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay and as a past Stamford Senator's Club member, we were happy to stay recently for four nights before and after a cruise from Circular Quay. The hotel itself is starting to show its age, but it is still a fine grand hotel, although in need of some TLC. We missed the dining room not being open for evening meals, as it was a pleasant location for fine dining, although the Whisky Bar is open for meals in the evening, the menu is somewhat limited. On the first nights of our stay, we were upgraded at an extra cost to a grand suite, which included separate lounge room, separate bedroom and dressing room, with nice views to the botanic gardens, harbour bridge and opera house. Although there are a few chips here and there, the room itself was very clean along with the bathroom with all the necessary amenities, slippers, dressing gown and a nice comfortable bed. On both occasions, we were welcomed by Ahmed Aboutaleb, the front office manager. On our return visit, we had another nice room with great harbour bridge views. Here again, everything was clean and tidy and we enjoyed the comfort of the room. So this looks like our last stay at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay, as they do not seem to be taking forward bookings for later in the year, but we have our memories of the outstanding stays we had at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay and the friendly and helpful staff.