Review: Park Hyatt Sydney

The Park Hyatt Sydney remains a top-tier hotel with a superb location, excellent service, decadent breakfast, and pleasant accommodations.

Park Hyatt Sydney Review

With six years having elapsed since I first offered a review of the Park Hyatt Sydney, I figured it was time to check it out again on my recent trip to Australia. I only had one night, but that was more than enough to confirm that this hotel remains excellent.

Booking

With the paid rate over 1200AUD per night, it made a lot more sense to use 40,000 World of Hyatt points to secure my one-night stay (even with a weakened Australian Dollar).

Location

This hotel is located on the edge of Sydney Harbour (The Rocks) and is easily accessible by train (Circular Quay) or car. I was in no rush and took the train in from the airport. It’s a nice stroll from Circular Quay to the hotel.

Check-In

My Qantas flight landed at 7:00 am and I took a train from the airport to Circular Quay, arriving at the hotel at just after 8:30 am. The lobby remains as simple yet elegant as ever, with The Living Room (restaurant) offering coffee and tea (and food after 11:00 am).

The lovely Camille, who could not have been kinder, checked me in and informed me that my room was not ready, but I was welcome to use the hotel gym while I waited.

I did.

Gym + Spa

The gym features TechnoGym equipment as well as free weights and other calisthenics equipment. I enjoyed an intense workout that fueled me through the day (no nap for me).

After the workout, I sat in the steam room for 20 minutes, which is located inside the locker room (showers and lockers are also available…I left my bag in the locker until my room was ready).

Breakfast At The Dining Room by James Viles

After my workout, I asked if I could take my Globalist breakfast benefit immediately rather than in the morning, since my flight was leaving early. I was graciously obliged, a gesture I did not take for granted and greatly appreciated.

I love The Dining Room. Windows were opened looking out at the Sydney Opera House and it was a beautiful October spring day.

The coffee was excellent…as one would expect in Australia. I enjoyed two double-shot flat whites with breakfast which dampened my ambitions to find great coffee in Sydney later in the day.

Breakfast includes a buffet option (called the “breakfast table”) with cold items like fruit, bread and pastries, yogurt, cereals, and juice.

In addition, an a la carte menu offered a number of hot choices. As an aside, I am amazed that the price has remained 55AUD for over a decade. Where inflation, is your victory?

I enjoyed a bowl of berries with a warm, flaky croissant and a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice to start.

For my main course, I ordered a crab omelet with a side of smashed avocado, a glass of green juice, and more berries. The food was so flavorful and delicious.

After a decadent breakfast, my room was ready.

Room (King Deluxe)

Suite upgrades are notoriously difficult at this property (impossible using a confirmed suite upgrade award) and I did not score a suite. Nevertheless, room 19 (king deluxe) was spacious and had a partial view of the Opera House from the balcony. The room was perfect for my short-stay and included a large sitting area plus a plush bed and large bathroom.

The toilet was heated and with a bidet.

Shower amenities were from Le Labo (bulk dispensers in bathtub and shower) and there was also a wide range of amenities neatly arranged in beige boxes.

The mini-bar was well-stocked and a Nespresso coffee pod was available. I appreciated the bar also included a tea kettle, tableware, and a variety of glasses.

Welcome amenities included fruit and chocolate:

The closet was massive.

When I returned to the hotel in the evening, the bed was turned down and slippers were placed adjacent to it.

It was a lovely evening to sit on the balcony.

I made sure, however, not let any “many-legged locals” in:

Room Service

I do not like eating out when I am alone, so I ordered room service dinner in the room. The favorable exchange rate meant dinner was not even all that expensive considering the caliber of the hotel (about $40).

The lamb was fine…though I’ve had better.

Bar

The hotel bar opens at 5:00 pm and closes at 10:00 pm, except on Friday and Saturday, when it opens at noon and closes at 10:30 pm.

Pool

I did not have a chance to swim, but did briefly visit hte rooftop pool and hot tub. Cabanas are also available and the pool deck offers some amazing view of the harbor.

CONCLUSION

Before the sun rose, I walked back to Circular Quay to catch a train back to Sydney Airport. On the way, I watched a cruise ship pull in. It was a beautiful time of day.

I love this hotel. Just as the Park Hyatt Paris or Park Hyatt Milan are my go-to hotels without much additional thought, when I come to Sydney, I will stay here. It is my home away from home.

My original review, published on March 24, 2018, is below.

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Heralded as the premier property in the Park Hyatt portfolio, would the Park Hyatt Sydney live up to its reputation?

After arriving from Canberra by train, we checked into the property on a cold and rainy June evening. The hotel was sold out and we were assigned a Harbour View King. The base room at this hotel is “1 King Bed” which has a fairly disappointing view of Hickson Rd. I was thankful for the slight upgrade.

We used two Hyatt vouchers from Chase for this card, an excellent use of the credit card’s (prior) sign-up bonus. Nightly rates were over 800AUD (~616USD). Although we preferred separate beds, the only “base” room available at the hotel was with a king bed.

Unlike many Park Hyatt properties, we were not escorted up to our room.

Park Hyatt Sydney Guest Room

The room was comfortable: not huge, but reasonably spacious with a large table, two plush chairs, and a coffee table in addition to the bed.

The bathroom featured a separate tub, shower, WC and dual sinks.

The view of the harbour from our room was excellent and if you stuck your head out the window, you could also see the Opera House off to the left.

Park Hyatt Sydney Technical Issues

As I wrote about in an earlier post, our heater didn’t work. And it truly was cold in the room. While the hotel quickly sent maintenance up to fix the issue, the two engineers were unable to fix the problem.

Thank goodness for robes and warm comforters!

The following morning we were upgraded to a Harbour View Deluxe room, a very nice upgrade. That room will be the subject of a separate post.

> Read More: How I Scored an Amazing Upgrade at Park Hyatt Sydney

But I’ll add here that we had a problem in the new room as well: the keycard did not work. In fact, no keycards work. The engineers were summoned once again and ended up dismantling the door handle and putting in a new unit. That fixed the problem.

The hotel was quite apologetic and the upgrade for my second and third nights made the “inconveniences” worthwhile. Even so, I was surprised that we would run into technical issues in both rooms.

Park Hyatt Sydney Service

The front-desk staff was excellent. After the heater incident we were addressed by name by the front desk staff every time we went by. That’s service. And lest you think this was the red carpet treatment for a blogger, this stay was in June 2013 back when my blogging could only be classified as inactive. Service seemed genuine and always professional. Restaurant recommendations? No problem. Help with public transportation? Certainly.

And I expected nothing less from a hotel this expensive.

Park Hyatt Sydney Dining

Breakfast in the Dining Room

Breakfast was a delight not just for the food, but for the views of the harbor and Opera House. Enjoying a leisurely breakfast here each morning was not just a highlight, but the highlight of our stay.

The “Dining Room Breakfast” for 45AUD (free for Globalist members) included a buffet with cold items plus any  “item” from the a la carte menu. I was told that I was not limited to one item, but could have essentially whatever I wanted from the a la carte menu.

Over our stay we tried many different dishes and each one was amazing. In ranking my favorite hotel breakfasts in the world. this one comes out near the top.

Here’s a look at the breakfast menu (.pdf).

The Living Room

While we ate most our meals outside the hotel, we had one late-afternoon snack on our final day at The Living Room, the hotel’s bar and lounge.

We were not all that hungry so just ordered beef sliders.

The Bar

I also tried a Mai Tai, my favorite cocktail…it was excellent.

Park Hyatt Sydney Pool + Fitness + Spa

The heated rooftop pool boasts amazing views and was oddly deserted the one afternoon I visited, despite the full occupancy at the hotel. Cabanas are available and a small hot tub is as well.

The fitness center was on the small side, but still sufficiently equipped to encourage a great workout.

Spa treatments were too expensive to justify, but the facilities appeared very nice.

Park Hyatt Sydney Business Center

Wi-Fi is free and available throughout the hotel. If needed, however, a business center is available near the lobby.

Park Hyatt Sydney Location

The hotel’s prime location in the heart of Sydney is another selling point. You’re just a 10-minute walk from Circular Quay (museums, shopping, resultants, and Metro) and a few paces from Sydney’s Harbour Bridge. You’re within walking distance of the Opera House and Royal Botanic Gardens.

CONCLUSION

Expensive? Yes. Flawless stay? Nope. But in terms of aspirational hotels to use your points in, this property is difficult to beat.

Stay tuned for my review of the upgraded room.