Background:
I needed to find a hotel to use as a base for my Christmas Stay in Sydney last year. Hilton Honors gives the 5th night free for award stays, and it came out to 132,000 points for my 5 night stay. At normal valuations Hilton points are worth about 1/2 a cent a point, so my 5 night stay turns out to be 660 USD (132 a night). Not bad, especially since cash rates were about 200 USD during my dates. Add the Diamond Status that I have from my Hilton Aspire Credit Card, it was a no brainer when factoring in the executive lounge access + breakfast. Of course, I had to miss out in staying at the famous Park Hyatt, but my World of Hyatt points wallet will thank me later. 🙂
Check In:
About 3 days before arrival, I checked on the Hilton app and was notified that I was upgraded to a King Executive Room.
I needed to fit 3, so I reserved in advance for a rollaway. Rollaways cost $75 AUD a night here. Unfortunately, the front desk was unaware about my request so the rollaway bed wasn’t ready when I arrived. A quick trip to the front desk resolved the issue. I would have preferred it to have been ready from the start especially when reserved in advance for 75 AUD, but at least it was delivered quickly after.
The Room at the Hilton Sydney:
The room was a standard size, a bit small but still offered a sofa and a large desk. It managed to squeeze in the rollaway bed. The desk managed to take up a ton of space.
The bathroom has a really compact sink and counter area but they managed to fit a standing shower and a separate tub. I’d probably prefer a larger sink area over the tub as I don’t really take baths.
The room was a bit noisy from the hallway, but room to room was fine minus the fact that the automatic blinds are noisy and you can hear others opening and closing the blinds pretty loudly. I also wish the room would have some USB outlets.
Views are typical city views, not bad from 35 floors up but don’t expect Harbour views as you’re gonna be blocked by many buildings.
Cleanliness was generally good, with the exception of a few towels.
Executive Lounge + Breakfast:
The executive lounge is pretty large, and can get really crowded during canapés from 6-8pm every night. They serve peel shrimp, and rotate nightly from egg rolls, potato bites, chicken skewers and chicken wings. And, plenty of alcohol! It was a bit too crowded for comfort unfortunately.
I tried breakfast at the executive lounge one morning and it was not bad, but the breakfast buffet at the restaurant downstairs has a much greater selection.
The breakfast in the Glass Brasserie restaurant was very nice with a good selection of cooked food and lots of pastries as well. But, it did have some spotty service and you could tell they were understaffed.
Service:
Housekeeping was good, and they were always so eager to clean the room before 11. On multiple occasions I would come back from breakfast and they would be outside and ask me when they could clean the room. I did find it a bit peculiar they would literally just wait outside my door…
Turndown service was nice, and they always left some Lindt chocolate 🙂
I did find it interesting that on the last night they had an incident in front of our neighbors room that was left like this for the day.
Side note: A pet peeve was that the elevators take forever at the hotel…
Amenities:
I didn’t have time to check out the amenities on site but there is a spa, salon and a large fitness center.
Location:
The hotel is in a great convenient location for exploring the city. Halfway between Sydney Central station and Circular Quay puts you at a central location to walk/train everywhere. The hotel is right on top of the shopping district, so it can be a bit crowded stepping outside.
The Verdict:
The Hilton Sydney offers a great location to explore Sydney for the first time, but nothing super fancy or stunning to write home about. For a good rate, I’d recommend the Hilton Sydney, but next time I visit I may try to stay elsewhere.
Happy travels,
Ty
Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
MY 2019 CHRISTMAS/NEW YEARS TRIP REPORT:
Check out the rest of my Asia + South Pacific 2019 Winter Trip here!
Hotel Reviews:
Renaissance Hong Kong Harbor View
AVANI Metropolis Residences Auckland
Hilton Sydney Executive Level
New Years’ at the Grand Hyatt Taipei
Lounge Reviews:
Qantas First Lounge at LAX
Oneworld Los Angeles Business Class Lounge
Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Terminal 2
Strata Lounge Auckland Airport
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge: The Pier
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge: The Wing
Airline Reviews:
How I Scored Cathay Pacific Business and First Using Alaska Miles
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class: Los Angeles to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific A350 Business Class: Hong Kong to Auckland
Virgin Australia Economy: Auckland to Sydney
China Airlines A350 Premium Economy: Sydney to Taipei
China Airlines 777 Premium Economy: Taipei to Los Angeles
Good accurate review. I’ve found the food selection in the Ex Club Dropping over the last few years and is a poor second to the competition from Accor (Wentworth and Sofitel)
Generally I’ve found it not competitive on price but has no competition within the Hilton Brand.
Agreed, and I wish there was more Hilton properties in Sydney. Thanks for reading!
Just curious, was the alcohol available all afternoon or only between 6-8pm?
Just 6-8 during the evening canapes. Thanks for reading!