The worst check in experience ever. Cons: -I didn't receive I booked, apparently "group reservations" have a priority and they guarantee rooms for them, not for my reservation. Ended up with a different view from the one I booked which is very disappointing. -Got into my room 2 hours past check in time, had to wait 2 hrs in a temporary room which is upsetting that I my check in time got pushed for 2hrs so I lost 2hrs of the day. -Very unhelpful check in staff, the person who checked me in was rushing us so much, made me feel like im taking her time. Every question I had wasn't answered but I was referred to ask a concierge (ex: does a hotel have a spa and what are the spa facilities? apparently that's a question for a concierge). I wasn't even asked if I was IGH rewards member to input my rewards number. Pro: location is great The whole check in and room switch process made me disappointed, I wished I booked a different hotel, there are plenty of them with a better view, location and amenities. But mostly important the fact that I was treated as an inconvenience made me feel not welcomed there. read more

High expectations met with average results. We were told this is supposed to be the best hotel in all of Australia, but after our stay we are slightly disappointed. Everything started with the check-in process - we arrived a bit early but had booked a club level room and had hoped they could accomodate us early. Coming from such a long flight, we weren't feeling fresh and not wearing 'business casual' as the club level lounge dictates, so we weren't exactly given a warm welcome and it seemed like they thought we didn't belong. After finally proving we DID have club level access, we were told our room, located on Club level 29 was still occupied but they occupants had an 11 am checkout. We waited, and 11 am came around - the occupants were still in the room. Another hour passed and they were still occupying the room. We were told we could either switch our room to a lower NOT club level room on floor 20 or wait an unknown amount of time for the occupants of our floor 29 room to leave. We had just got off our 15 hour flight from the US so we decided to switch rooms because all we wanted to do was shower. The staff at the Club level check-in offered us a bottle of champagne and lunch on them as an apology. We were fine with this. When we finally got into our room, our luggage was not there. We waited for about 30 minutes before I walked back upstairs to let them know. It turns out 2 different departments thought the other department had taken care of it, when in reality neither one did. If I didn't go up and ask about, we would never have gotten our luggage. Later on our welcome gift finally arrived as well as a bottle of wine. It was not champagne but it was fine. We were never given the free lunch and still wondered why offer us that if they weren't going to go through with it. But the morning had been so long and confusing that I did not want to complain once again about something. Our stay since then had been fine, the club level amenities are great, and the wait staff is friendly. As a five star hotel I was overall disappointed. The initial check-in process seemed to leave a lingering cloud over our entire stay. While the staff did their best to make up for the mix-up, it seems we were short changed from going from a Club level room to a lower level room with a bottle of wine as a compensation. I also wish they had followed through with the free lunch. read more

Wife and I enjoyed our stay in this great hotel in Sydney. The architecture in the interior atrium is beautiful. Every morning try the breakfast buffet, the selection is great and everything is done wonderfully. The rooms are clean and a nice retreat after touring the city. The porters and the valet services are excellent and very friendly in getting you to your destination. A must try! read more

The hotel might benefit from some renovations. The location is very good. Did not eat in their Restaurant.

Very clean and spacious room. Hotel has fine dining and is near everything on the Harbour. It is also within walking distance to the Sydney Opera House. Room service is exceptional and front desk staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. I didn't like how noisy the room could get because we were facing the Harbour and traffic. Overall, lovely experience. read more

See all

Good sleep with quiet room on 10 Floor. Room service on time and good dinner. Steamed jasmine rice and steamed veges available as side dishes. Heeeaalthy! Pool was small with great views of harbor bridge from 31 floor. Swam the 60 circle rounds undisturbed on a Friday evening. Fitnestastic!! compact & tidy on 31 Floor. Breakfast a la carte was served very well in the opera cafe. Company paid so it was a good deal. read more

InterContinental Sydney - The lobby all chrismassy - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Sydney, NSW

This review is for 3.5 stars I came here as a part of a business trip a couple weeks ago. I was generally impressed with the level of service - the room service and turn down service was consistently pleasant and the amenities were nice. The room was spacious, with the bathroom being just a tad small. I arrived on Easter Sunday and was greeted by a chocolate bunny and bottle of wine - not sure if this was arranged per my business meeting or a hotel perk, but it was a pleasant surprise after a long haul flight. From a location perspective,this also cannot be beat. This is conveniently located in the Central Business District, with a two block walk directly to Circular Quay (ferry rides galore!), the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and the Rocks. The Intercontinental Club Lounge has one of the best hotel views I've ever witnessed. With a clear view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, it was just breathtaking. The complimentary food and drink was also very nice. There were a couple of things that bumped this down to 3.5 stars rather than 4: - The club lounge service was surprisingly hectic, even at times where there were not many people. The waiters and waitresses were not organized the most efficiently, with things being forgotten, or several people checking on you after you had already ordered things. - Our room had two twin beds pushed together to make a king. Apparently this is a thing that can be done, but I had never seen this before, especially in a room where you're being billed 400+ AUD/night. - The elevators were perhaps the most annoying feature of the hotel. It was touch screen with restricted floor access based only on your elevator key. For the first half of the stay, I thought you had to insert key and then select floor; turns out the key itself is sufficient. But you must insert your key in the right way, and sometimes it would work, other times it would be glitchy. If you are with other people who might be on another floor, there is no easy way for you to go to a different floor. We also had the pleasure of staying in this hotel at the same time another special visitor visited Sydney, who came with a fleet of Secret Service and other officials. Not sure how much that contributed to our experience, but I know other guests were displaced from their rooms without notice, and hopefully given some form of compensation. read more

See all

Really lovely hotel! We stayed in a room with club access, definitely worth using up some credit card points to upgrade! The club lounge has an outstanding view of the Opera House and bridge, free wifi, free alcohol from 5-7pm, and really high quality food. Breakfast was outstanding. The staff was also outstanding, friendly and helpful without being overbearing. The room itself was relatively large for a basic city hotel room. Comfortable bed, nice large bathroom, and a cute window seat area. The highlight for me was the deep, long tub, and all the toiletries provided. Since our luggage took forever to arrive, we were grateful to find a toothbrush and razor in the drawer by the sink! I also enjoyed the bath salts (the soaking kind, not the MDPV zombie-face-eating kind). The shower was really lovely as well, a big rain-type head with enough power to thoroughly rinse. Everything was clean and well maintained. The flower arrangements in the public areas were modern but stylish, and just slightly scented the air with lilies. I am only docking a star because they contributed to our lost luggage shenanigans, which eventually required us making three local calls at $1 a piece and spending over an hour on the phone. Finally, 32+ hours after we checked in, and eight hours after the airline first attempted to drop it off, our luggage made it to our room. It's amazing that United Airlines, Air Canada, and the Intercontinental Sydney could ALL manage to f*#& up such a basic task as getting two suitcases to their final destination in a timely fashion. read more

All very nice. Good valet. Easy check in. Good size room. I only decided to book on Friday as we were going to the theatre and I didn't feel like driving home. The room rate was a good deal. I'd book again if the need arrives. read more

We booked with Expedia. We picked this hotel based on the "breath taking roof top patio." What they do not tell you is you have to pay to use it! On top of having to pay for it, it was booked through our stay so we couldn't use it anyways. In fact everything is itemized with ridiculous pricing. Entry has no pedestrian access Overrated It's now a year later and I am still frustrated that I didn't pick a better place!!!!! read more

I'd love to review this hotel but unfortunately I'm too busy throwing up and dealing with a migraine because of the lobby smell. Smells like a man with no self awareness or ability to smell. It made my eyes water for 10 minutes after I left! Their excuse is it's their brand scent. Really worth triggering guests migraines and panic attacks. Their solution was to cancel my booking.... During vivid, when there's not a single hotel open in the area. I was booked here for work because of the location and nature of work. That's not a solution. The breakfast area also reeks of cheap cologne, which is baffling, as restaurants should smell like food. read more

A first rate hotel and great views from the upper floors and the top floor club. You can go out on the balcony of the club and see the bridge bay and opera house. Great food particularly the breakfast buffet read more

The housekeeping service is really inconsistent and it kept getting worse with each passing day we stayed here. They need to really train they staff better, because despite the high lodging price tag, the service here really lacks the western world service skills/level. read more

All I have to say is that there were blood on the shower curtain, and to make it up, they gave us a bottle of wine, which we don't drink, and some fruits that had fungi all over. Other than that, it was a really nice hotel and it was only a block away from the circular quay, which was very convenient. The area gets really quiet after hours so you may have to venture out a bit for late night activities. read more

Of the two Intercontinental Hotels in Sydney this property is billed as the better of the two. I can't say I agree. I booked a Double City View room using 55k IHG points. I arrived to the hotel a little after noon to check in. As a "Spire Ambassador" checking in early has never been an issue. I asked if there was a similar room available that I could check into right away. I was told that there was in fact a similar room available for check in however it had a harbor view and there would be a $50 upgrade fee. I was a bit confused as I have never once paid for an upgrade. As a "Spire Ambassador" I have been given an upgrade of some kind on EVERY stay I have had at any Intercontinental Hotel I've stayed in over the last several years. Now I understand that because I used points the hotel isn't required to upgrade my room. (An awful policy in my opinion.) However in the past I have been offered an upgrade in ever other instance involving a reward reservation. In this case I would have had basically the same exact room, the difference being the new room would have had a view of the harbor. I asked the woman checking me in if she could double check the upgrade charge with a manager, which she did and confirmed that the manager would not upgrade the room. I neglected to mention that I had phoned the hotel a day prior to inform them of my early check in and I was assured that a room would be available. I made the front desk agent aware of this.. still no. When I did check into my room I was far from impressed. First, the beds are on wheels and literally move around. I had to shove a bag against the wheel to prevent the bed from moving around. The bathrooms are in desperate need of an upgrade and the water pressure is awful. I should also mention that I never received my Ambassador amenity. No bottled water, no fresh fruit, no welcome letter. All standard items in any other Intercontinental. I stay at Intercontinental Hotels whenever possible as they usually provide a unique cross between a business hotel and something more laid back. This Intercontinental is one I will not be staying at again in the future. The Intercontinental Double Bay may be a few minutes outside of the CBD, however it a much nicer property. The staff at the Double Bay location are also much more willing to go the extra mile to keep guests happy. read more

This is a pricey hotel and it needs some updating. Air conditioner is on all the time and the room never cools down. You have to call for ice. Why do so many places do that now? Wifi is only available through payment. Fancy hotel can't even provide that??? Ugh! Cafe on ground floor is okay, but you have to go to them for service. The hotel doesn't have any of the different fancy pillows they advertise in the room. Won't use this hotel again. There have to be better options out there. JF read more

I love 5 star hotels for the bathrobes. There is nothing like putting on one of those cosy white monsters to pad around on plush carpet. As a loyal IHG member and having a weekend of events booked during the silly season I took the chance to use my Dining Rewards voucher to stay at the Intercontinental for the first time since my mother's 50th birthday some years ago. As I recall then it was disappointingly twee and floral - with bedspreads and shiny covers, no less. Now it has kicked up a notch with cosy doonas. I had intended to spend my first night with a bottle of wine and some in house movies. However, upon checking in, I noticed that a hair salon was labelled on one of the lift buttons. I chanced my luck and was fortunate to be fitted in for a quick blowdry before it closed (thanks, Joelene!), then into my airy room. I thought Platinum IHG membership might afford me a room with a view, but alas my window looked straight onto a generic building on Bridge street. The bath however - and spotlessly clean tub and drain were, too - was glorious. No time to try out my bathrobe, as in eager to anticipation to begin my nights of 5 star luxury I had not eaten all day. Into Cafe Opera with the dinner buffet. I felt like a child again, but a child with a flute of sparkling wine and a glass of pinot noir (hey, it's almost Christmas). And what a Christmas treat (which I will go into in a separate review) it was, with the highlights being the roast meats and the frozen Greek yoghurt. With my Dining Rewards discount, the alcohol paid for itself. The bed wasn't as firm as my Utopian ideal, but it must have been good for me, as I slept like a baby who sleeps the night through without crying out for mama's boobs. Racing all over the city the next day, I returned to for a quick dinner and decided to take advantage of room service. I love room service, because luxury hotels know that the classics is what travellers want. You know how Caesar salad is vaguely out of fashion? It's a California classic that has alas been superseded in recent in local Italian takeaway by rocket and parmesan or blue cheese and pears. But not in hotels. I ordered a Caesar salad and that other hotel stalwart, a club sandwich. Like the dinner buffet, the club sandwich reminds me of staying in hotels with my parents as a child. The service was great. I have a severe intolerance to the proteins in cooked egg yolk. I am used to most waitstaff rolling their eyes or panicking at the anticipated reaction from the chef (hey, this *is* Sydney). But, I requested my salad be stripped of the poached egg and the sandwich sub a fried egg white for the whole egg. The man who took my order was so great that he rang back to check if I could handle mayonnaise and Caesar dressing, which were made with raw yolk (yes, I could and did). Salad was perfect with crispy pancetta and slabs of toasted, crunchy garlic bread and the sandwich (with chips or salad? Chips, natch) was lovely, though the chicken breast was a touch thick and kept falling out of the bread layers. Chips were surprisingly great - crunchy outside, firm, soft potato inside and *hot*. One 4-hour sleep later, due to my high alcohol consumption the night before, I needed to clear my head and so after an early morning Berocca I shrugged on my bathrobe and staggered to the pool area. In the blissfully cool ladies change room I turned on the sauna to heat up for my eventual entrance. The view from the window was a heart racing view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the water in the pool was refreshingly brisk. And chlorinated. I wish - how I wish - it were salt-water or or a mineral pool, which would soft on the skin and hair and kinder on my bloodshot eyes. Back in the change room, I showered the smell of bleach off and headed to the sauna. Good thing I took two towels as I needed to keep warm. The thermometer in the sauna informed me that a solid 20 minutes of heating had the temperature up to a middling 30 degrees. Sweat? My feet didn't even dry! On closer inspection only one of the heat lamps were working and the hot rocks were cool. I was sorely disappointed as I limped back to my room, out of my bathroom and into something less comfortable before making my way to breakfast. This, at least, was super yum. In the entrance was a juicer complete with platters of vegetables. A freshly squeezed cucumber juice and a long black is just what a girl needs post hangover. The fried egg whites, crispy bacon, spiralled pork sausage, steamed greens, bio yoghurt and fruit did the tick as well. There were a sorry lack of mangos and berries. All in all, a solid stay. The major negatives were the view (I am *so* over sandstone), the berry and summer fruit scarce breakfast, the chlorinated pool and the steamless sauna, but like Arnie, I will be back. (Funds depending.) read more

The hotel is nice but I had my sunglasses stolen from my backpack by the bellhop/hotel porter on the first day of my nine day stay. When i notified the staff, they did nothing to help. My wife had purchased me new Ray-Bans for the trip and I hadn't gotten to use it before it got stolen. It kinda put a damper on my whole trip. The sunglasses were only with $90 US dollars but I expected more from such an expensive hotel. This was the first time in my life I had ever gotten stolen from a any hotel. You suck InterContinental hotel!!! I hope the thief gets caught before he ruins other people's vacations by stealing their stuff!! read more

I don't have one bad thing to say about this hotel. The location is the best, period. We had two rooms: mine had an awesome downtown view and my parents had an unbelievable view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The staff are as good as it gets. They're helpful, personable, friendly, and they take the time to get to know you. I don't think I passed one staff member without them greeting me in some way - it was borderline annoying, but not quite. As an avid world traveller, I strongly suggest this room if you don't mind the price tag. read more

This is a satisfactory hotel, which the the rooms are perfectly designed. But just after I checked in, the staff gave me a bottle of wine which I wouldn't drink. And there was blood on one towel. But despite that, it's was good. It's pretty near to the Sydney Opera House. I went get a drink there.!! read more

Worst lift in the world 10 min wait everytime. Makes you rethink about going out

This hotel doesn't really fit the Intercontinental service image. Terrible wait times for room service, and forgot simple things like our drink orders. Requested water with our meal and they forgot that too. Pretty lame. Rooms are nice with excellent views. Slowest elevator on the planet. Nice health and fitness room. Small pool advertised as rooftop, but actually enclosed on the 31st floor. Best views of the city are found in the pool area. Needs to train staff better, management not very responsive either. If you are looking for the type of service found in most Intercontinental Hotels, you'll be very disappointed. read more

Was a very mediocre hotel with a terrible taxi stand. Leaving for a flight called downstairs 1 hour ahead for a van, but when arriving downstairs was told they never actually called for one to be there. Thus, a van never came and we ended up taking an uber. The hotel itself is quite pretty and all else is quite average; However, if you ever want to take a cab somewhere this hotel is the absolute worst. read more

Front desk staff was inefficient at check in had to return three times to get things straightened out, first they said we would be on the 31st floor were on the 11th(late check in) second they said we had free WiFi but had to return to get the password and third they said we could use the club but it was closed that evening. The breakfast in the club was free and was alright. Rooms were nicely appointed and the porters were wonderful. Also, an upgrade to club level is well worth it, just for the view of the harbor. read more

I had the pleasure to stay here on our vacation from California to lovely Sydney. Let me start by saying that this place is not cheap (in fact a lot of things in Australia are expensive), but the view, the location, the service, all made up for the price. The Hotel is literally in the heart of the main tourist area, being just a minute walk to the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, along with the ferrys/boats, which are a great way to get around the city to places such as Manly. I would definitely recommend this Hotel to stay at. read more