You couldn’t ask for more show-stopping views of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks – the city’s Opera House and its Harbour Bridge – than those on offer at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. From its prime location diagonally across from Circular Quay, the property looks out over Australia’s most photogenic urbanity while pampering guests in a lap of luxury the Canadian mega-brand is globally renowned for.
If we’d asked you to guess where the world’s biggest Four Seasons by room count was, would you have guessed Sydney? Probably not. And yet, that’s exactly where it is: boasting an impressive 531 rooms, the property was first built in 1982 and rebranded as the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney in 2002. Since then, multiple renovations have made staying here an affair that’s worthy of the hospitality giant’s reputation. Some of the building’s original features have nonetheless remained more or less the same – the grand and light-flooded atrium, for one, which welcomes guests into the belly of the beauty (it’s certainly no beast!).
A hundred or so paintings and sculptures made in Australia adorn the lobby and the second and third floors, connected to the open space via a sweeping staircase. Guests can access the Endota Spa here, complete with treatment rooms, a sauna, a steam room, and the adjoining outdoor pool – the largest hotel outdoor pool in town – alongside a whirlpool and a spacious sundeck where one day during our stay, we witnessed a number of new arrivals from Italy order club sandwiches and espresso martinis from the pool-side Cabana, presumably to declare war on their jet-lag. With its apple green loungers and parasols, this part of the hotel feels rather bold, although we’d imagine the spa (which we didn’t try) hits a calmer note.
So do the elegant rooms and suites at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, and we very much enjoyed stepping into our 53 sqm/570 sqft Full Harbour Suite, which featured a comfortable lounge area and all sorts of welcome amenities across its open layout – think CODAGE Paris toiletries, Bose speakers, a pair of binoculars to study the city from the 29th floor, twice-daily housekeeping and a beautifully arranged selection of crudités and freshly made dips upon checking in. Large windows, meanwhile, showcase the aforementioned, extraordinary views that meant that each morning we awoke in our kingsize bed, we were immediately greeted by the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, both to our left: there’s quite possibly no greater way to wake up in the city (and yes, going to bed in the evenings was equally special).
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Sophisticate | SYD | GMT +11 |
| While you’re Out There |
| With Sydney’s world-famous Opera House in sight of our room, we couldn’t resist taking a trip to the iconic building – though while attending a performance here is one thing, joining an official tour of the site’s fascinating history and architecture is another. We booked ours with Cultural Attractions of Australia, a collective of 19 landmark attractions across the country, that offers nearly 40 VIP experiences to take you behind the scenes and provide meaningful encounters with the countless facets that continue to shape cultural Australia. Our tour was great fun, and we even got a rare glimpse at the National Ballett practising on stage, before being treated to a tasty lunch at the House Canteen. What’s not to love? |
Our favourite feature of the room, however, wasn’t within the room itself, but three floors up: here, at Lounge 32, guests staying in Club Rooms, Club Suites or Signature Suites, get exclusive access to added-value benefits ranging from private check-in and check-out to a dedicated concierge, canapés and an open bar in the evenings. Perhaps most importantly, Lounge 32 also doubles as a more intimate and relaxed breakfast venue than that in the ground-floor lobby, making it another example of just why we love a hotel-in-a-hotel concept, especially if it’s done so beautifully. That said, as vegans, we found breakfast options to be rather basic and clearly an afterthought. It wasn’t our first time being disappointed by the plant-based foods on offer at a Four Seasons property, either. Our guess is as good as yours as to why a hotel company with a particularly large North American following lags behind (some) competing brands when it comes to catering to dietaries.
Fortunately, dinner at the downstairs Mode Kitchen & Bar was more to our liking. Although we can’t speak for how well the restaurant’s regular menu caters to veggies, the team prepared an off-menu, plant-based four-course meal especially for us, and this was certainly very tasty, demonstrating that the hotel can deliver on vegan food when it wants to. Those looking for a vibrant dining experience will find it here, too, as the 2017-renovated and very stylish Mode is popular among Sydneysiders. So is Grain, on the other side of the lobby, where guests mingle among locals over twice-weekly live music and expertly crafted ‘Epic’ cocktails.
There’s no sugarcoating that the facade and the foyer at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney are a little dated. It’s testament to the fact that the brand was among the first international players in its league to move into the Harbour City, a decision that’s secured it its second-to-none location. We personally didn’t mind the public area’s slightly tired aesthetics so much, especially seeing the property’s rooms and suites have been kept updated throughout the years, and we longed for nothing during our stay. In any case, a big refurbishment is on the horizon at the time of writing, and we have no doubt that this will put a new, more contemporary complexion on what’s otherwise a very handsome hotel.
No review of the Four Seasons would be complete without a mention of its wonderful team, either. Guests in search of can’t-do-enough-for-you service are guaranteed to find it here, and we rather enjoyed our many interactions with staff, who not only assisted us at every turn, but also happily engaged in friendly banter (and, on one occasion, the great Australian debate on whether Vegemite is superior to Marmite – we won’t share our personal opinion here, for fear of controversy!). More than anything else perhaps, the level of service at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney is just what makes it an excellent base to explore the city from. Paired with the magnificent views and the exclusive Lounge 32, it’s easy to see why this long-established, five-star address continues to be among the Harbour City’s most popular places to stay.
Photography courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
