During our latest stay in Sydney we decided to stay at the Four Points by Sheraton at Darling Harbour.
Updated 2016: Four Points by Sheraton is now the Hyatt Regency Sydney. Four Points by Sheraton is now located in Central Park Sydney.
Fortunately we had the GPS to guide us to the hotel which is situated in Sussex St in Sydney. Otherwise we may have been left driving aimlessly around trying to find a street in which to turn down. Sydney is full of one way streets that can prove to be exasperating to non-Sydneyites.
Anyway we finally found where we needed to be and we missed the hotel on the first pass and had to drive around the block to come back to it. We knew there was a bit of driveway to turn into and that there was a pub next door but we missed it all the same.
Better luck the second time round. We turned into the driveway, which was full, so we double parked, and the person in charge of the area came quickly over and told us what we needed to do as far as parking and check in was concerned. I went to check in while Paula waited in the car.
Check-In
The Check-in desk is around to the right as you come through the main door and it isn’t immediately visible. The young man who first greeted us had told me to continue on around past the restaurant and the concierge desk when we first arrived. As I approached the desk, a young man immediately called me over so there was no delay in checking in, everything was quick and easy, and the staff member was very pleasant.
I then went back to Paula who was waiting in the car. Our luggage had been taken by the porter while we went to park.
Parking
Parking is in Kent St, around the block from the hotel, and it is quite expensive at $40 per day, and that is with the hotel discount. We were given a couple of vouchers to use if we wanted to take the car out at any time. Fortunately the parking area is just a short walk across the road back to the hotel.
The Room
The entrance to the room contained a double wardrobe with sliding doors. On one side of the wardrobe is a safe. We were able to just fit at 15 inch laptop, two iPads and a Canon S95 camera in it. However, we did struggle to close the door and at one point the door stuck halfway and we had great difficulty moving things around to get the door open again. The safe requires a credit card to open and close it although there is no actual charge to use it.
We were in a twin room that included two single beds which were quite comfortable. There was only a bottom sheet and a doona – so no top sheet, something I am personally not comfortable with, I like two sheets on the bed, but it is just my personal preference. There were three pillows – one feather, one synthetic and one decorative. The two sleeping pillows were of different densities so it was easy to choose one that you would feel comfortable with.
There is a large double cupboard under the tv with a stocked mini-bar including a few different types of beer, Coke, Sprite, orange juice, water, milk, Tim Tams and a Kit Kat. In the top drawer were bottles of Johnnie Walker whisky, Jim Bean and vodka, plus Paracetamol, nuts, condom and lubricant, Pringles, peanuts, Beroca, a bottle of wine and wine bottle opener.
The second drawer down contained wine and beer glasses and the third drawer included ice bucket and complimentary tea, coffee and cups. The teas included a green tea and an English breakfast Dilmah tea.
The TV in the room is a Samsung flat screen. I’m not sure of the size but it looked quite large. However, it was placed to the side and not in the centreof the room in front of the beds, fortunately it swivelled so that we could turn it so that we could both see it quite easily from our beds.
The room also had a large desk with plenty of drawers. On the top of desk, towards the back, was an opening that contained a set of 6 plug outlets so there were plenty of spaces to charge cameras, ipads, laptops etc. This is one feature that I liked very much. We are always hunting around for plugs to charge things and usually end up having to reach behind cabinets or plug our chargers into the points in the bathroom.
On the desk was a phone and a rather modern looking lamp and over the desk was a large mirror. It also included a comfortable desk chair, ideal for sitting at to write up blog posts.
Lightning was adequate so a little dark but nothing out of the ordinary for a hotel room. The bathroom however was very well lit with a good lighting over the mirror for putting on makeup. There was also a separate shaving mirror.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was relatively small. It had bath and a shower over the bath and a toilet of course along with a single sink. The toiletries were replaced everyday and included shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bath soap and hand soap. The bathroom also had a telephone.
The one thing we found with the bathroom was that it was noisy. We could hear just about everything our neighbours were doing in the bathroom including taking a shower or running water into the bath and the toilet flushing. We could even hear them having a pee and taking the toilet paper off the roll. So I guess it is the same for them from their side of the wall.
We had booked a harbour view room through Expedia which gave us a view over the Aquarium end of Darling Harbour. The window in the room is one of the best we’ve seen for unobstructed views. It has two sets of drapes – one light set and one heavy set if you want to keep out the morning sun. We were happy with just drawing the light drapes overnight.
The air conditioning unit was easy to use for a change. Simply press up and down to get the right temperature and it worked quite well although it was a little slow to get up to the right temperature.
There is free WiFi internet in the lobby area and in the rooms it costs $12.50 per hour or $24.50 for 24 hours. We didn’t actually use it so I can’t comment on how quick it is.
Room Service
On our first night we were too tired to go out so we decided to order room service. We ordered the Garlic Bread for $10 and for our main meal the Thyme Rosemary and Garlic Braised Lamb Shank with Mash and Demi-Glaze which cost $37. For dessert we ordered a Pear and Almond Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream and Poire William Anglaise for $18. We also ordered a side order for $7 which was a Greek Salad with Marinated Feta and Sicilian Olives.
The meal was fine however for the price you can get so much better down at one of the restaurants along Darling Harbour which is only a few minutes walk away.
Our Overall View
We found the room comfortable, clean and inviting and would happily stay again despite the noise from the bathroom. What makes the Four Points Sydney hotel so good is the position which is minutes away from the hub of Darling Harbour. To get there you simply need to exit the hotel, turn immediately right (not go out onto the road area) and you will see a walkway between the Dundee Arms and the Hotel that takes you across the road via a walking bridge. The walkway isn’t suitable for people in wheelchairs or using strollers there are a lot of stairs.
We got an excellent deal for our stay at the Four Points by Sheraton at Darling Harbour on Expedia so our rating is based on the reduced rate.
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