The Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has all the luxuries one would expect from the brand. The premises are open and modern, with clean lines. And the well-trained staff, particularly the concierges, offer cheerful greetings and lots of assistance. If you want to stay in, you can always head to the coffee shop for a snack or to the Mode Kitchen and Bar for a gourmet meal. Although I didn’t try it myself, Grain Bar looked fun.
Décor: Luxury modern
Location: The Rocks
Room Size: Comfortably large, but not huge
Best amenity: the offer of showers in the spa upon arrival
Advantages: Excellent location, steps from the Circular Quay
Disadvantages: The ground floor event space can spill out into the lobby
Tip: Rates vary with season and length of stay. Be on the lookout for deals.
The Property and Location
From the front, the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney looks like many of the other high-rises in the area. Its location at the edge of The Rocks, an upscale neighborhood bordering on the Circular Quay, provides easy access to tourist attractions, the train, and the ferries. Because of this, you’ll get a slightly quieter street without sacrificing accessibility to the most popular sights.
In addition to the usual banquet and meeting rooms, the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has a spa and fitness center. Especially for American visitors who arrive in the morning after a grueling long haul flight, the spa becomes a godsend. Since your room will unlikely be ready upon your arrival, the staff offers you a key card to go in and take a shower . Make sure you pack everything you need, including a change of clothes, in a small bag for easy access.
The property has a restaurant (as noted above), two bars, 24-hour fitness center, and covered parking.
Because the Four Seasons is popular for weddings, proms, and business events, the crowds from the ground floor event space can spill into the lobby. We didn’t find it a problem, but some may.
The Room
We opted for a king-size room with a lesser-priced city view, although you can upgrade to a full- or partial-harbour view. Regardless of price point, we found that our room couldn’t have been more comfortable. After all, it’s the Four Seasons. Although we’ve been to many upscale hotels, especially of late, I still found the bed to be among the best I’ve ever encountered in a hotel.
I appreciated that the room included a desk, a small table, and additional seating beyond a desk chair. (World Oyster readers should know by now that only one chair in a room is a pet peeve of mine.)
Unfortunately — and this was my only disappointment in the room — the bathroom had only a single sink, with little room for cosmetics. It had both a bathtub and a separate shower, which made the bathroom seem small. That said, I loved the large, thick towels, even if housekeeping once left us more worn and rough towels. Of course, if I had wanted better towels, housekeeping would have delivered them without question if asked. (No, I’m not that hotel guest.)
All rooms come with complimentary WiFi, in-room safe, fluffy robes, and large screen TV.
Public Spaces
The Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has a spacious, airy lobby that opens up to the two floors above. Most of the seating is upholstered benches, without back support, and spaced far apart — not the ideal set-up for meeting people and catching up. If you want something more intimate, you may be out of luck, although one of the bars might do.
Housekeeping and Other Staff
The housekeeping staff kept our room clean and neat, always replacing the towels we asked for. They also do turn-down service, a perk I always love.
We interacted with the front-desk, spa, restaurant, and concierge staffs. All were uniformly excellent and attentive. The concierge was even able to obtain reservations for us at a restaurant we tried and failed to book online.
The Verdict
You get what you pay for. The Four Seasons Sydney Hotel offers luxury without stuffiness at a convenient location for tourists. Business visitors should check their meeting locations since some areas in the CBD and Darling Harbour may be farther than you’d like.
Debbie Lee Wesselmann
