We booked a Spa Suite from Wotif.com for one night. On check-in we were told we had been upgraded to a Honeymoon suite My husband thought this was odd as he had booked the most expensive suite in the hotel (the rack rate being $4500 p/nt) . When we got to the room, we were a bit disappointed to find that the room was of average size, there wasn't a separate living area and there was no spa (as described on the booking website). The room was on the 32nd floor and did have a good view of the harbour. My husband wasn't too happy because he had booked a spa suite and as far as we were concerned the room they had given us didn't even compare and most definitely wasn't a suite. We complained and were told by the receptionist that the spa suite had been leaking and they offered us a complimentary bowl of fruit as compensation! Returning to the room my husband was still not happy at the outcome so went back to reception and asked to speak to the duty manager who then advised that they were just getting a spa suite ready for us, my husband queried how could they be getting a spa suite ready when we had previously been told it was leaking or had been water damaged!! The service we received was terrible and we feel that if we hadn't complained we would have been stuck with the inferior room whilst paying for a suite. So in the end we got the spa suite we had booked but feel that maybe we were downgraded because we had booked from a discounted website. We would not stay here again and as we live in Sydney we would not recommend to any of our friends to stay here. It was a disappointing start to a special night for us.

Attended a conference at this hotel, so I did not pay with my own money. Would never return to do so, at their price. The hotel and room was nice, and we had a very nice view although we did not book the opera house view. I found the walk to the harbour area acceptable. The hotel was full and could not cope with the pressure at breakfast time - we had to wait for a table several times. But the breakfast was really good, although being from northern Europe I would have liked more cheese and ham, and darker bread, for my sandwiches. I do not appreciate sweet jam in the morning. The elevators had not enough capacity, the waiting time was sometimes unacceptable. The gym was nice as was the in-house pool. The system was out of order when we checked out, so they e-mailed the invoice - which turned out to be incorrect. I e-mailed them back and they returned promptly with an excuse and a promise to credit my card.

We stayed at this hotel for three nights in December 2007 in a Grand Harbour View Suite with Club lounge privileges. I see from other reviews that the service can be a bit iffy at this hotel but in our experience it was fine. The views were excellent from the room and from the Club lounge. We enjoyed the food and the short walk to the harbour was not a hassle for us. In all a pleasant enough place to stay. Not as luxurious as other Hotels we have stayed at but the views are magnificent.

I stayed at the Shangri La in Sydney in late February. I emailed the hotel before I arrived, requesting a room on a lower floor. When I got to the hotel I was told that my room was not ready as I had arrived prior to their official check in time. I came back later, and was told that my room was still not ready - this was after check in time. I came back even later, and was given keys to a room near the top floor. I queried this, as I requested a lower floor room, but they said there was no record of this being requested. I gave the reception clerk the name of the person who recorded this request and the date I was emailed, but it made no difference to them. Eventually they found me a room on a middle floor. They told me that someone would phone me in my room to explain why my requested was responded to, but not recorded. I never received this phone call.

The room itself had a view of the Opera House, and was sufficient in size. I was, however, disappointed to find stains all over the scatter cushions, bed head and valance. The toiletries in the bathroom were cheap and nasty. There was a lovely bath in the room, but no bubble bath/oil. I phoned housekeeping, but they said they didn't have any. This is not what one expects in a 5 star hotel.

The location is a bit out of the way from the main Rocks/Sydney Harbour area. You either have to walk up/down the hill, or get a taxi. As a single female I did not feel safe walking back to the hotel at night.

The staff in reception and in the lobby were not at all friendly. I got no "hellos" when entering the hotel, let alone offers to take my shopping to my room.

I filled in the survey card when leaving, and to be fair, management did write back to me. They told me that they had run out of their usual toiletries when I stayed there.

To summarise, there are better located hotels (eg. Marriott), and I am sure there are hotels offering better service and cleaner facilities. I will not return to the Shangri La Sydney.