Introduction

The very first time I visited Adelaide in the late nineties, my sister and I stayed at the Hilton on Victoria Square. When I started planning for this trip, I did consider staying there again for old times’ sake. But as Heraclitus reminds us, a man cannot step into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man. So, I decide to keep my fond memories of that first visit to Australia with my sister locked away and well preserved in the recesses of my mind. This time, I’ll be staying at the Sofitel Adelaide, which didn’t even exist back then.

Location

The Sofitel is located on Currie Street, close to the pedestrianised Rundle Mall, and just a few blocks away from Victoria Square. The centre of Adelaide is rather compact, so that most places are in easy walking distance to each other.

Check-In

I arrive at the hotel at around 18h30. The young lady at check-in seems a bit vague and not so sure of what she’s doing, to be honest, but eventually, I’m checked in. I hand her my Swiss passport at her request. She takes it and asks me where in Australia I’m from, which seems a bit of an odd question given that she’s still holding my obviously not Australian passport. But whatever, maybe the poor woman has had a long day.

Staff & Service

The staff are all rather young. They’re friendly enough, but like the young lady at reception, they have a propensity to ask odd questions that I’m honestly struggling to figure out. At breakfast, the waitress askes me what I’d like to drink. I tell her I’d like a sparkling water and a cappuccino, to which she inquires if I’d also like a coffee. The next morning, I ask for a green tea, and she inquires if I’d like a coffee with that as well. In the lounge in the early evening I ask for another green tea, and the waitress asks me if I’d like that with milk. Before I can even answer, though, she asks me, “that would be weird, right?”. So, instead she asks me, “would you maybe also like a coffee?”. Ehm… At afternoon tea, another waitress comes to ask what I’d like to drink. I tell her I’ll have the Darjeeling on the menu, and she asks me what that is exactly. I think, in short, what it comes down to is that the staff are nice but badly or not trained at all. I suspect they’ve been trained to ask questions as a way of showing their interest in their guests. But, obviously, they have not been taught how to ask good questions – or at least avoid the really dumb ones…

Luxury Room with City View

I’m staying in a room on the 19th floor facing downtown. Frankly, the view is okay, but nothing to write home about. Basically, the view is of a bunch of office buildings.

However, the room itself is nicely furnished. Everything still looks new, and there are hardly any signs of wear and tear, even though the hotel opened in 2021.

There is a long bench that runs the full length of the floor to ceiling window. I think it’s rather a nice idea and it’s quite comfortable. It’s just a shame that there isn’t really much to see outside. The red chandelier is inop, by the way.

The bathroom features a walk-in shower that is effortlessly a 10/10 on the Knight of Malta scale: good pressure, easy temperature control, and absolutely no spillage whatsoever. Well done! The main feature of the bathroom is an oddly shaped bathtub right in the middle of the room. I’m not sure who the interior designer thought would be using this bath, but it certainly wasn’t somebody my size, unless, of course, you’re supposed to sit there in an inch of tepid water in the foetal position listening to depressing Sylvia Plath poetry.

Amenities

On the credenza there’s a machine for Nespresso style coffee capsules. I’ve never head of the brand, but the coffee is rather good. There’s also a kettle and a wide selection of Dilmah teas. Inside the credenza is also a fully stocked bar. According to the app, the room should have bathrobes and slippers. The bathrobes are nice and soft, but there are no slippers.

When I arrive in the room, there’s a bottle of wine, a plate of fresh fruit and a welcome note waiting for me.

Club Millésime Lounge

The Club Millésime Lounge is located on the tenth floor. Breakfast is served here from 07h00 onwards. It’s rather a nice lounge. Most of the seating is in the dining area. However, there is also a corner with a large sofa and armchairs if you prefer to lounge about.

The breakfast in the lounge is nice. There is a buffet and additional hot egg dishes can be ordered from the staff who are, despite their weird questions, very helpful.

Le Garçon Bleu Restaurant

The main restaurant is Le Garçon Bleu on the ninth floor. Breakfast is served here from 07h00 in the mornings. The restaurant is quite large and, accordingly, so’s the buffet. It’s spread out over three areas in the restaurant.

Afternoon Tea at Le Garçon Bleu

On weekends, Le Garçon Bleu serves afternoon tea. The setting is perhaps a bit unusual, mainly because there are only very few patrons dispersed around the enormous restaurant. You kind of feel like you shouldn’t really be there.

The afternoon tea is served on a three tier étagère. The food is well prepared. Especially the scones are quite unusual. They‘re rather moist and have the consistency and flavour of a tea cake, rather than scones.

Conclusion

The Sofitel Adelaide is a bit of a mixed bag. The room was certainly nice. I liked the design and the appearance of the hotel. The location of the hotel in the city centre near Rundle Mall is convenient. The weakest point, though, were the staff. All of them were friendly, nice, and eager. But their apparent lack of any proper training I found problematic, mainly because half the time I felt like I was missing the point of their questions.