Hilton Sydney

this hotel has a wonderful location - its right in the center of town and just a few blocks walk to the harbour and the opera house .i gave it a 4 star rating because i think for 400.00 you sould get more (bigger rooms etc) so maybe its a 5 star but for the value i gave it a 4 star. i stayed on the 41 floor and the views of the city were priceless .my room had a nice contemporary decor. they also left some fruit and water.health club was nice and had a nice heated pool and gym with all the trimming .the executive lounge was really nice and offered complimentary food and drinks.they do offer a business center with a-z services.i hope you are not bringing your car because the valet was 58.00 a night and self parking was 46 or 47 a night. transportation from Sydney airport was very easy as the train dropped you off 1 block from the Hilton.all in all its a nice Hilton and central to everything.

This is a typical business class Hilton. It is in a great location, and superb decor, good food. However, for the price, it isn't anything spectacular. The room is a typical business hotel room, but smaller.

Executive lounge is small, and tends to get crowded. But does have an above average selection of food in the morning and evening.

After a makeover costing $200 million dollars and taking two and a half years to complete, you would think that the five star Hilton Sydney would be a little slice of luxury heaven in the middle of the city.

Think again. I paid $290 on a Sunday night for a 'Deluxe' room (how hotels can call their standard room a deluxe is another story). My room was right next to the lifts. The air-conditioning was incredibly noisy for a system that shouldn't be any more than two years old. While the sleeping area of the room more or less resembled the representations made on the Hilton website, the bathroom clearly had been left out of the renovation plans (and the website). In fact, the bathroom looked like it had been preserved as a memory of the original Hilton decor, i.e. old and tired.

Granted, the exterior is impressive and the common areas of the hotel such as the lobby and the various bars and lounges are lovely. The breakfast buffet was delicious, albeit rather expensive. But none of this makes up for the fact that the room I had was grossly overpriced for what it was.

If it wasn't for the fact that I checked into my room so late at night (1am), I would have checked right out again and gone down the block to the Swissotel which, despite being 'only' a four star hotel, has just as nice rooms (and nicer bathrooms!) and was about $100 cheaper than the Hilton and included breakfast. Or across the road and up one block to the Grace Hotel, around the same price as the Swissotel.

It's pretty clear that the Hilton is targeting people who put everything on corporate plastic and I say let them have it. There are quite a number of other CBD hotels offering much better value for my money. I won't be staying at the Hilton Sydney again. Unless somone else is paying for it! Even then, I'd probably suggest spending the money better elsewhere.

Re-opened in last 2005 early 2006, after a $200 million dollar face-lift. The Hilton is now an incredible hotel to stay at and be seen.

In 2006 the hotel won the following accolades:

Best Re-Developed Hotel

Best New Hotel

Zeta Bar - Bar of the Year (Australian Hotels Association)

Zeta Bar - Cocktail List of the Year (6th Annual Bar Awards)

Zeta Bar - Best Bar Presentation and Service (National AHA Awards)

Zeta Bar - Best New Bar (ALIA Awards)

All you can say is WOW! And if you don't have semi deep pockets or if you are not traveling in the off season you wallet may be saying the same thing as well.

The Hilton Sydney has 3 bars and 2 restaraunts.

Zeta Bar - Pricey, Pricey, Pricey. However, one of the top bars in Sydney even though it is at a hotel. I guess when I state one of the top bars I do mean if you want to pay a lot of money for good drinks and mix with the beautiful well-to-do people then this is the place for you. Very posh seating and large outdoor balcony add to the already cool enviroment!

Marble Bar - Finally had a chance to make it down to Marble Bar. It is just beautiful. Incredicble high arching cielings, marble dark wood, open and airy, yet tastefully old. The bartended said Friday and Saturday nights there is a 1-2 hour wait to get in. We are going to get there early on Friday to check the scene out. Look for a seperate review specifically for this bar.

All in all this hotel is incredible!