Sheraton on the Park, Sydney review: A classic grand hotel

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This was published 7 years ago

Sheraton on the Park, Sydney review: A classic grand hotel

By Craig Platt
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The location

Overlooking the city's Hyde Park, the Sheraton is in the heart of Sydney, just a block from the Pitt Street Mall and a short walk to Darling Harbour, the Town Hall and Martin Place. To the north the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens are about 10 minutes' walk.

The place

The Sheraton is a classic grand hotel – the large lobby, all dark marble and brass, opens onto a huge staircase. Up the stairs is the Feast Restaurant and the bar. High tea can be taken at the Galleria on the ground floor.

The hotel is completing a $40 million revamp that has seen a new look and feel rolled out to rooms and leisure areas. There are 558 rooms across 22 levels. The gym and pool are on the top floor, the latter enclosed but with floor-to-ceiling windows and a skylight that offers an outdoor feel and great views as you swim.

The Sheraton Club Lounge on level 21, for guests staying in "Club" rooms, offers great views across the city and a good place to work or enjoy breakfast. The hotel has won a series of awards for its conference and business facilities, with 15 meeting rooms and a ballroom that can accommodate up to 900 guests.

The room

My renovated Executive Club Suite features new flooring, carpets and wallpaper along with additional features such as chaise lounges and walk-in robes. The 70-square-metre space is split into a large living area with L-shaped couch, desk and liquor cabinet/minibar, a separate bedroom with king-sized bed and a bathroom of black marble with a deep tub. The designs from Sydney-based Joseph Pang introduce subtle green and grey tones to the rooms, with stained oak furnishings and new leather bedheads. With business travellers in mind, the rooms are not short of outlets, with two powerpoints and two USB charging ports above both bedside tables (no dragging out the table to access that outlet by the floor).

The food

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Bring your stomach empty if you're planning to eat at Feast, where the main attraction is the extensive seafood buffet. A never-ending supply of oysters, crab, lobster, mussels, bugs, prawns, fish and more is on offer. There are also plenty of salads, vegetables, cheese, soup and a decent selection of meats if you're done with eating seafood. Everything tastes fresh and it's pretty much impossible to try everything, as much as you may want to.

Feast also offers a buffet breakfast, as does the executive club, though the latter's is more limited in its selection.

Stepping out

The "park" part of the Sheraton's name refers to Hyde Park, opposite the hotel and the oldest park in Australia. On the far side of the park you'll find some other key parts of Australian history, including the Hyde Park Barracks Museum – a UNESCO World Heritage site that played a key role in Britain's settlement of Australia. Built in 1819, the barracks housed thousands of convict workers over several decades. The museum now tells the story of convict-era Sydney.

Essentials

Rooms at the Sheraton on the Park start from $279 a night, with suites from from $499. See sheratonontheparksydney.com.

The verdict

While it may be an award-winner with business travellers, the Sheraton on the Park's location and comforts make it equally attractive to leisure visitors seeking a luxurious stay.

Highlight

The hotel has been modernised without losing any of its grand charm.

Lowlight

Like several of the major hotel chains, the Sheraton still insists on charging for Wi-Fi in your room, unless you're a member of the hotel's loyalty scheme (which is free to join).

The writer stayed as a guest of Sheraton on the Park Sydney.

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