Short review
Value for money: 3/5
Services: 3/5
Bedroom: 3.5/5
Sleep quality: 3/5
Bathroom: 4/5
Facilities and amenities: 4.5/5
Pros
- Excellent location in the centre of Sydney
- Good amenities in the room
Cons
- Room temperature control didn’t work properly
- Expensive parking
- Mediocre breakfast
Long review
My family and I stayed 3 nights in the Novotel Darling Square in the centre of Sydney. A couple of days before we arrived, I checked the availability of on-site parking online. I was not surprised to find out that the hotel does not have any parking facility. The hotel website states that car parking is available nearby at Wilsons Darling Square (on Zollner Circuit). The discounted rate is $46 for 24 hours per exit, which is shockingly expensive. I searched online and found several Wilsons Parking buildings around the hotel. It only costed me between $20-30 per night, which was significantly cheaper than the hotel discounted rate.
The hotel only has a small space for cars to drop off or pick up people in front of the lobby. Upon arriving there, I dropped my wife, our 10-month old daughter (Josie) and our luggage off in the lobby and then I parked my car in Wilsons Parking about 5 minutes away from the hotel. The lobby is quite small although the space was used efficiently so it didn’t feel tight. I noticed that the floor plan of the hotel is quite narrow due to its constrained site. Check-in process was quick because they were ready for my arrival. I received the usual welcome pack associated with my LeClub Accor Hotels status.
Our room was the Deluxe King Room located on the top floor (level 8). The room type is the largest one at 24 sqm according to the hotel website, which is not that spacious. The room interior adopted a sleek contemporary design. USB outlets are scattered around the room, which were handy for us to charge our devices. There was a seat and a small round table near the window and a work area in one corner. I liked the modern feel of the bathroom, although perhaps a bathroom is not a literal accurate description since it does not have a bath, but only a shower. Overall, the amenities in the room and bathroom were very good. These included a coffee machine which should be appreciated by coffee lovers (I don’t drink coffee though).
The best thing about the room was the view. The room window is facing the Chinese Garden of Friendship, a serene Chinese garden which you will not expect to be found in the centre of Sydney. Behind it, we could see the famous Darling Harbour. One evening we could enjoy a firework show in Darling Harbour from our room.
In contrast, the worst thing about the room was the air conditioning system. Somehow it didn’t work properly so the room was rather warm throughout our stay. The system always automatically switched to heating even though we set the temperature at 19 Celsius and I was sure that the room temperature was not even close to 19. One night I was woken up because the room was too warm and I had to lower the temperature (I set it at 23 originally, which should be a comfortable temperature based on previous experiences).
The hotel also has a gym and a swimming pool. Both are rather small, but adequate for getting a bit of exercise when needed.
The location of the hotel is very strategic as it is located near many attractions. The Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour, China Town, Paddy’s Market, and the Powerhouse Museum are within walking distance from the hotel. Even the Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, and the Central Station are not that far away. There are many eating places and shopping malls nearby as expected.
Now let’s review the services delivered by the hotel. Breakfast was disappointing, particularly for a nearly $300 per night that I had to fork out. All the dishes were the same everyday except for one dish. They only served English breakfast as expected in Australian hotels and even that the options were rather limited. The bread was hard and didn’t taste nice. I had many better breakfast experiences in much cheaper hotels. To make it worse, there was a hotel staff in the breakfast area one morning who was trying to engage us in a conversation. She was rather untactful made an assumption that we came from a certain country, which personally always annoys me.
The mediocre service continued in the room. One day we were rather annoyed to find out that our room was not made up even after we have been away since morning and were back to the room at 3 pm. Although soon a staff actually came to make up the room, it was still inconvenience for us as we had to go out for a while. On another day, they forgot to provide bottled water in the room, while didn’t do a good job in cleaning the bathroom.
Overall, I expected much more from this hotel. Its location was pretty much the only saving grace, which technically had nothing to do with the hotel itself. Breakfast was less than enjoyable. The flawed air conditioning system made the room too warm. The hotel staff were not consistent in delivering required services. Most likely, I will not stay in this hotel again.
