Sofitel Sydney Wentworth

Fabulous renovations and great new dining options. Spacious room looking onto the courtyard was a lovely upgrade. One of the best bathrooms with excellent lighting and love the floor to ceiling original marble, very special that it has been kept, I believe they are heritage. Disappointing that staff are not informed on the happenings at the hotel or details of special booking inclusions. I also don't like the self check in counter and would like to see more staff available in this area as well as in the restaurant at breakfast, definitely need additional baristas. Loved access to Virgin Active, such an excellent arrangement to be able to use these facilities.

For around the past 15 years I've stayed at a different Sofitel somewhere around the world for Christmas. This year I had received a lot of correspondence form Accor regarding the refurb of the Sofitel Wentworth so thought Christmas would be a good time to visit and have a look. I hadn't stayed here for around a decade so was excited to see what had changed because I had liked the positioning and had mixed stays in the past (reviews now deleted by trip advisor due to the relaunch. I've been Platinum with Accor for about 15 years and usually stay around 100 nights a year so I'm fairly familiar with Accor but I also stay at other brands and frequently travel to hotel opening that interest me. On check in at the Wentworth I was surprised to see a row of self check in machines much like the self checkin at supermarkets they do to save money that everybody hates. But no problem there was also a desk and it wasn't busy so i went there and began the checkin process. Fairly early on I asked for a 4pm check, as per my Platinum benefit, but was told she can only do 12pm and i would need to checkin at the club lounge to request that. So I went to the club lounge and same drill but was told they can only do 2pm and I'd need the manager for later. I request the manager and explain 4pm suited my plans and if 2pm I'd need to get another hotel but he held firm and said "the 4pm is only on availability". This is correct but I queried the availability because Christmas generally is one of the lowest occupancy days of the year. He confirmed occupancy was low at 72% so again I queried why no late checkout and it was explained to me their cleaning staff knock off at 4pm so they will basically never do late checkout and its poor planning and nothing to do with availability. I suggested 3pm as a compromise and that was possible but it was very discouraging and imo unprofessional start. Luckily from here things improved. I had a superior room and thought it was a good size and nice, concierge were helpful and i had no further issues. it was a long time since I've stayed but the only real change I noticed was the outdoor area, which seemed underutilized before now had a roof and bar area which i thought was good. Where the hotel really shone for me though was the club lounge. I recall Deepa was helpful but almost all the staff there seemed excellent especially the wait staff. Breakfast was nice, afternoon tea was great to have after walking around a little bit and evening canapes were also very good. For me without the lounge my stay would have been pretty average but with the lounge I had somewhere to go and relax. I had a very enjoyable stay.

Sofitel Wentworth offers a distinct charm compared to Sofitel Darling Harbour. It wouldn’t be fair to compare a 61-year-old heritage-listed hotel to a modern property. While the bathrooms and building floor space are limitations beyond control, they could continue on delivering service excellence, as that is well within their capability. Delta Rue and the Wentworth Bar provides quality food and service (breakfast excluded). Offering Accor Plus benefits is a significant advantage, especially during these challenging times for the hospitality industry.

Yeah this is well under five start. Incredibly understaffed and poorly renovated. Staff didn’t seem trained, the club lounge staff take forever and are for some reason unable to properly pour a glass of bubbles. If you’re still considering this as a hotel, take a second to consider this picture of my eggs benne. Just don’t stay here.

We have enjoyed our stays over many many years but regretfully have now scratched the Sydney Wentworth of our list. Spent millions on a renovation but seemed to forget that hospitality is about customer care and service. We stayed 4 days in December and 2 in January as Accor plus platinum members but there was no hotel restaurant open that honoured that status. Our January stay was worse in that room service did not answer after 9pm (nor did any other hotel service number) and the room "on line" ordering did not accept an order at 9.15pm because delivery would be after 10pm??? It seems that Hotel catering has been outsourced!! Really? Who was the bright spark who thought that's the way to reinforce and build on a 60 year legacy as an iconic Hotel venue. What a pity that the warm, efficient and friendly staff who try so hard to deliver a memorable stay are let down by what would appear to be bean counters whose understanding of what 5 star hotel ratings mean is zero!!