Review: Park Hyatt Sydney Opera Deluxe Room

This Review of the Park Hyatt Sydney is from our recent Australia and New Zealand trip. For the prior Australia-related posts, including Etihad First Apartment to Sydney and Qantas First Class to Melbourne, please see:

TravelSort Clients enjoy these Virtuoso benefits when reserving the Park Hyatt Sydney:

Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability

Full breakfast for two daily in The Dining Room

$100 USD Equivalent Spa Services credit, to be utilized during stay (not combinable, no cash value if not redeemed in full)

Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability

Park Hyatt Sydney Location and Check-In

The Park Hyatt Sydney enjoys a great location at 7 Hickson Road in The Rocks historic area in Sydney's city center, right by Circular Quay and with a superb view of Sydney Opera House (if you select the right room or suite–more on that later).

It's just a 20-25 minute drive from the airport with no traffic, so soon after our flight from New Zealand landed we were in a taxi and at the hotel.

There was a room mixup when checking in, but eventually we were shown up to our Opera Deluxe Room on the 4th floor.

Opera Deluxe Room, Park Hyatt Sydney

The Park Hyatt Sydney curves around Circular Quay, and as a result, most Opera King Rooms have a narrower balcony than the rest of the room and only accommodate 2 guests, so they won't work for a family of three and can even feel a bit claustrophobic for two people.

City Harbour King Rooms are a bit larger and can accommodate three, but you won't see the Opera House so the views aren't as nice.

The solution is to reserve an Opera Deluxe Room, which is a spacious 75 square meters (over 800 square feet) which has beautiful Opera House views. Or, if you care more about space than views, reserve a City Harbour Deluxe Room of about the same size. If reserving via TravelSort with Virtuoso benefits, you may receive a complimentary Virtuoso upgrade to an Opera Deluxe Room, although this is based on availability on arrival.

We loved the views of the Sydney Opera House right from the room, as well as from the two balconies, a half moon Juliet stye balcony:

And from the larger balcony, with seating:

The open plan design was clever in terms of the bathroom, since with the sliding door open you could even see the Opera House from the bathroom. There was a soaking tub in addition to the spacious walk-in rain shower.

Bath products are Bergamote 22 by Le Labo in the rooms, although the Park Hyatt Sydney uses Aesop amenities for its suites (similar to Cathay Pacific First Class and the Park Hyatt Seoul).

The toilet was a separate room just off the entrance, and had a Japanese Toto washlet:

I thought the room could have done with slightly less furniture, since we ended up not using either the dining room or the sofa (well, apart from my son, who reveled in the bright morning sun while borrowing our sunglasses) but that's personal taste.

The King bed, as all Park Hyatt beds, was too firm for our taste, but no doubt appeals to those who like super firm beds.

There was a bar of locally made chocolate as a welcome amenity, although I didn't care all that much for it as we'd been a bit spoiled from the chocolates at Le Cinq in Paris and the amazing Bernachon Kalouga bars we'd bought at L'Etoile d'Or in Paris. A nice bottle of Australian Shiraz would have made a much better welcome amenity.

There was a Nespresso maker on the honor bar:

And neatly hidden away in the wooden drawers were Nespresso pods, tea bags, and a hot water kettle. I'm always happy to see a tea kettle to make hot water, since I don't drink coffee in the evenings and want to be able to make a cup of tea in the room without having to call room service or butler service just for a cup of hot water.

There was also a tea pot and cups that at first I thought were purely decorative, but my hotel contact assured me they were for guests' use–also a nice touch, and probably greatly appreciated by avid tea drinkers.

Park Hyatt Sydney Rooftop Pool, Spa and Fitness Center

The rooftop outdoor swimming pool, although heated, seemed a little cool during our late November (Australian spring) visit, but that didn't stop my husband and son from enjoying it. There is some noise from trains, so don't expect it to be perfectly quiet, but during our spring visit there were few people up there both times we visited. I imagine it's much more crowded however during the summer and holidays.

I was able to have a look at the spa during my site inspection, and it has a nice couples spa suite, including a dual rain shower:

The Fitness Center is on the 3rd floor, with plenty of treadmills and equipment considering the hotel's relatively small size of only 155 rooms and suites.

Park Hyatt Sydney Breakfast and Dining

I'll cover breakfast and dining at the Park Hyatt Sydney in a future post.

The Verdict

The Park Hyatt Sydney was an excellent experience for us, mainly because of its views and staying in an Opera Deluxe Room. Having seen the considerably smaller and rather dark City Harbour Deluxe Room and an Opera View Room, I wouldn't recommend either of them, particularly for a family of three (Opera View Rooms in any case do not allow more than 2 guests). Service was excellent from the Concierge Team and very good in The Dining Room, although less impressive in The Living Room. It was a little strange that a kid's amenity (a cute kangaroo stuffed animal, see photo below) was given at check-out rather than on arrival, but a nice gesture, all the same.

While this was a big hotel for us, coming from the small luxury lodges we stayed at in New Zealand, this is a small property compared to competitors such as the Shangri-La Sydney and Four Seasons Sydney, so in addition to its views, it will appeal to those seeking the benefits of a large hotel, such as a fitness center, spa, pool and restaurant, yet a more intimate scale.