The Sofitel Darling Harbour sits in one of Sydney’s best locations. It’s a high-rise building that offers excellent views of the greater Sydney area, especially if you’re lucky to get a room on one of the upper floors. Currently, an even higher building is being built right next door. However, that hasn’t impacted the views from the hotel that much.

Location

I’ve just arrived in Sydney Central Station, coming from the Blue Mountains. I just follow the signs to the stop for light rail trains and hop on the tram standing there that is just about to depart. It’s just a short ride of about ten minutes from Central Station to the Sofitel at Darling Harbour. The stop is Convention and you can just tap on and off on the tram with your credit card.

Reception & Staff

I approach the concierge’s desk and explain to him that I’d like to go up to the 35th floor for Diamond Member check-in. He checks my name against his list, welcomes me back to the Sofitel and escorts me to the lift, where he then uses his badge to release the lift to take me up to the top floor.

When I arrive on the 35th floor, I’m seen to immediately by a friendly young lady. While she checks me in, she tells me she’s been to Switzerland and lived there when she was studying at the Swiss hotel school. She also informs me that my room is ready, even though it’s only just gone 13h30 and I’m still 90 minutes early for the official check-in time. While we chat, her colleague comes to ask if I’d like a glass of Champagne or a sparkling water.

Club Millésime Prestige Suite

I’m staying in a Club Millésime Prestige Suite on the 34th floor, one floor below the Club Millésime Lounge on the 35th floor, where I just checked in. The room opens into a large living and dining room area, with a large oval table that sits four, and a good size desk between the dining area and the living room. As it’s a corner suite, the living room looks out over Darling Harbour, whereas the other windows look out towards the southern suburbs and, rather conveniently, the airport. When departures are to the North, I can watch the aircraft climbing out and making either a left or a right turn to avoid the city. They’re a bit too far away to photograph, though.

The bedroom is off to the right of the entrance and separated from the living room with heavy sliding doors. The bed is a wide king with a firm mattress and lovely, fluffy pillows.

The bathroom leads off from the bedroom and is separated by another set of sliding doors. It’s huge and features twin wash basins, a stand alone bath, and twin showers. And, I must say, the showers score highly on the Knight of Malta shower test. Pressure is good, temperature control is responsive and there is absolutely zero spillage – even after a fairly long shower. The cosmetics are by Diptyque and there’s a full set of bathroom amenities.

Amenities

The room amenities are good. When the young lady checked me in, she handed me two boxes with three small pralines with the keys. When I enter the room there’s a welcome note, a bottle of red wine and a small box with three further chocolates. In addition, the hotel provides plenty of bottled still water.

There’s a kettle and a good selection of TWG teas to choose from. Like most of the other places I’ve stayed at on this trip, there’s also a Nespresso machine. However, in this case it’s one of those Vertuo machines, which are, quite frankly, useless. I used to have one like it at home. However, after the first one broke down after only about two months and I was sent a new replacement that lasted even shorter, I decided to go back to my trusted Bialetti… So, I guess the temperamental machine in my suite is a bit of a trip down memory lane. Apparently, the technology has not improved much.

The suites also get a nightly turn down service, during which the bed is prepared for the night, the room is generally tidied and things like water, tea, or coffee are replenished. As part of the turn down service, housekeeping with take out the kettle and place it on the credenza with tea cups and bags of camomile tea.

Club Millésime on 35th

The Club Millésime Lounge is located on the hotel’s top floor at level 35. In the Asia Pacific region, Diamond members have complimentary breakfast included in their rate daily, and not just at the weekends, as is the case in Europe, for example. For me, this means that I can either have breakfast at the main restaurant on the third floor, or up in the lounge. They serve breakfast from 06h30 to 10h30, afternoon tea from 14h30 to 16h30, and then canapés and finger food from 17h30 to 19h30 in the lounge. The selection of different dishes and the sheer amount of food that is served in the lounge is quite impressive, and the service is excellent.

Conclusion – The Sofitel Darling Harbour

You know how you sometimes book a hotel you’ve stayed at previously, and then worry that perhaps you built it up into something grander than it actually was in your mind? That is definitely not the Sofitel Darling Harbour. This is now my third stay, and I must say I greatly enjoyed it as much as I did on the two previous occasions. I’m aware that, being a Diamond Member, my experience may be quite different to that of a person staying here without any status or the privilege of an upgrade to a suite. Nonetheless, this is, I think, a very well run hotel with the kind of service standard one usually can only expect to find at hotels in Asia. And the location on Darling Harbour is just great!