Historical Traveler Reviews of Intercontinental Hotels Sydney
Wonderful 5 Star experience
from Guruswife
My 9 yo daughter and I decided to have a girl's night away so I booked an online deal for a club city view room. I was very impressed and so was she.
Service (except maybe checkout..it was peak time) was fantastic and friendly. Staff at the Club floor were knowledgable and helpful. Rooms were well decorated and the view (even from our city room) was lovely. Breakfast was included in our rate and more than served the purpose.
All in all the hotel was one of the best 5 stars when it came to service. i would definitely stay there again. BTW the pool is now open!
In my top five hotels
from A TripAdvisor Member
If you are going to Sydney and you can stretch your budget this is the place to stay. I had a suite overlooking the harbour. It was out of this world.
Boths rooms were huge. The airconditioning was quick but amazingly effective.
The bathroom was the last word in luxury. Everything else in the hotel from the bed to the service were first class.
Well worth every penny. If your budget doesn't go that far (and mine doesn't all the time!) try the Crowne Plaza at Darling Harbour as my stay there was great as well.
Best in Sydney, with a view!
from A TripAdvisor Member
I've traveled to Australia for both business and with my family and found that the InterContinental Sydney offers the best for experience, location and value. The best location near the Opera House, (great for a show) and the Botanical Gardens for a jog - plus it was a quick walk to the Rocks area and Circular Quay for the harbor cruise.
The rooms had the fastest high speed connections I found with all kinds of cool gadgets, and a sliding window in the bathroom for a view of the water. The Botanical Garden rooms have the best cross of value for value with a great view (i.e. not paying for Harbor Bridge/Opera House view but still seeing the Sydney Harbor all the way out to the Headlands - it was great for seeing the regattas on the weekend)
I've made this my regular stop in Sydney. The staff even remembers my name...a novelty!
Great location, almost great hotel
from cagirl
Stayed here Xmas 2003 and Jan 2004. The best feature of the hotel is its location - a 5 minute walk from Circular Quay/Opera House from which you can catch any ferry, a 15 minute walk from the Rocks shopping/restaurant/bridge area, and across the street from the botanical gardens. The rooms are a good size, with a window from the bathroom to the main room and electronically controlled blinds. Our first room had a view of the harbor and gardens, the second room was an ugly city view. The rooms are furnished in a warm, modern, simplistic style. The hotel has several restaurants, a pool, and a gym. We only had breakfast one day and found it good, but overpriced. The staff at the hotel was mostly friendly and helpful, but the concierge seemed overwhelmed at times. The front desk was a bit stingy with upgrades and extending check-out times for the price we paid. The hotel gives you a bottle of champagne in your room if you are a returning guest. The gift shop had higher quality stuffed animals than we found elsewhere and they were on sale which made them a reasonable price. A fine hotel with good rooms and the best location in town, but hard to feel 100% about it for the price we paid.
Great location
from Johnny_ozflyer
Have stayed there twice in 2003 and love the location. Staff is always helpful. Breakfast is great but way too pricey.
I will stay there again.
Great location
from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed there before and after the Rugby world cup final. Superb location. Room a bit on the small side for the price but we only really slept in it. The window between bathroom and bedroom was a bit quirky.
I could watch TV while shaving but otherwise it stayed closed. Our room (2313) had great view of Botanic gardens and opera house. Only minor complaint was that the bar closed too early. When we got back after the rugby (about 11.30pm) the bar was closed and we were advised to use our mini-bar. Not what I expected of an up-market city centre hotel.
Luxury hotel refurbished with quirky features
from alanreynolds
We stayed 3 nights 15-18 Oct 2003. This hotel is within 100 yards of Circular Quay, the ferries and within 1/2 mile of Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Superb location. Both can be seen from 31st floor swimming pool. Refurbishment of hotel nearing completion. 24/24 7/7 business centre. Quirky features in rooms like power operated blinds and a window in bathroom to watch TV, However a door stop by wardrobe almost guaranteed to stub your bare toe and the rack of towels out of reach of anyone under 5foot 6 inch. Staff very friendly and helpful. We would stay again
Very good Inter-Continental Sydney
from A TripAdvisor Member
Amazing Hotel! Some of the rooms are currently being remodelled. The remodelled rooms are very nice. As the previous reviewer, some of the rooms do have cramped views. The higher floors don't have this issue.
However, when one can find these deluxe and superior rooms at around US$70-80 per night at a four-five star hotel, I'll take it and say thank you very much!! 3 minutes walk to Circular Quay (ferries and train), 4 minutes walk to the Opera House. I stayed there in mid-Sept 2003.
Great views, very poor value for money
from felipeordonez
The InterContinental enjoys one of the best sites in Sydney, and is located in a magnificent Victorian building, the former Colonial Treasury. At least the public areas are; the rooms are in a tower built on top of the old building. And the rooms are the hotel's great weak point. Those facing north and east have wonderful views of the harbour, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, literally quite breathtaking; those facing south and west have dreary "city" views. However, all the rooms are small (this is supposed to be 5-star), and the bathrooms very cramped indeed. They lack any feeling of being "special", which at these prices one would expect. There is a curious anonymity and almost don't-care attitude about the whole hotel: no doorman, very few flowers, slack housekeeping. The InterContinental just can't compete with illustrious neighbours like the Shangri-La, Park Hyatt, Radisson Plaza and the Four Seasons.
Cramped views
from A TripAdvisor Member
Great view of the harbour, but for the most expensive Hotel in Sydney you think you would get a bit more room. Spent my wedding night there and you couldn't swing a cat. Staff however were LOVELY and the breakfast was out of this world