Glittering in the reflected waters of Darling Harbour and with the style of French provenance, the Sofitel Darling Harbour offers a taste of European Luxury in Sydney’s waterfront entertainment quarter.
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Right on the shores of Sydney’s waterfront entertainment quarter, Sofitel Darling Harbour is perfectly positioned for a luxe Sydney getaway or – in our case – a romantic staycation.
Darling Harbour is packed with restaurants, bars and fun things to do — from bowling to one of the world’s biggest cinema screens, the aquarium and Wildlife World, not to mention an impressive weekly fireworks display over the water framed by the city and the historic Pyrmont Bridge.
Also within walking distance to the Sofitel Darling Harbour, you’ve got the ever-evolving dining scenes of Chinatown and Thai Town, King Street Wharf and Barangaroo.
But that’s if you even want to leave the comfort of your hotel room, a dilemma we certainly struggle with during our stay!
Where to Stay in Sydney — Sofitel Darling Harbour
Though it’s not the tallest hotel in Sydney (or even in the area for that matter), Sofitel Darling Harbour still has amazing views out over the city and way out to the west — a point that really stands up as the sun sets.
And it’s certainly worth booking a room as high as you can — above level 28 in particular — as this gives you access to Accor’s exclusive club service ‘Millesime’. But more about that later.
Inside our Superior Room
Compact but still very comfortable, especially for our two-night stay, our room is generously furnished and well designed. But it’s the extra features that elevate Sofitel’s rooms to the quality you expect from this internationally renowned hotel group.
The room has all the basics covered: bed, bathroom, table and chairs, but they’re all done with a bit of flex.
The bed is enormous and has a beautifully finished headboard and end-of-bed bench. The bedside furniture is generous and has multi-format power outlets as well as uncomplicated light switches. It might not sound like a big deal, but these last two points are actually so refreshing.
The bathroom not only has a high-powered shower with overhead and angled heads, it also has a beautiful deep-fill bath that looks through the sliding doors to the views of the city. My only gripe about the bathroom is the strongly opaque door to the toilet. More and more hotels seem to think that the greater the opportunity to see your partner on the throne, the more romantic/luxurious/modern the room. This needs to be addressed; any proximity to another human emptying themselves is none of these things!
One little treasure we discover in the bathroom that seems to have gone the way of the dodo in hotels is the amenity kit. Occasionally these days you might get the odd cotton bud or a shower cap, but not in the Sofitel Darling Harbour. Harking back to the good old days, this has to be one of the most comprehensive kits we’ve seen. Toothbrushes, combs, nail files, cotton pads and buds, and even a shaving kit — I’m impressed.
The table and chair in the room are comfortable and well-sized, and the second ‘chair’ is in fact a chase longue that you can recline on and enjoy the views through the entire wall of windows.
There are lots of other little details like the lovely lamps, the fabric textured wardrobe doors and the quaint vignette of old photos on the wall that add to the room’s style.
Mind you, the carpet pattern keeps making me think there’s an electrical cable laying across the floor.
As I’ve mentioned, the views here are outstanding, but there’s another bonus to being on floor 29: we get access to the Millesime club level.
Club Millesime Level, Sofitel Darling Harbour
Right up on the 35th level, Club Millesime — meaning ‘great vintage’ in French — takes up the whole top floor of the Sofitel and offers some of the best views of Sydney.
As well as a full reception (with its own secret stash of Champagne btw!), where you can check in and out without using the ground level concierge at all, there’s a dedicated kitchen here that opens three times a day starting with breakfast.
From 6.30am to 10.30am (11.00am on weekends and public holidays), the complimentary breakfast at Club Millesime offers a wonderful spread of pastries, croissants, in-house jams, fresh-from-the-comb honey and breakfast cereals.
There’s also a full spread of hot buffet options. The bacon is excellent here — a yardstick I mark all hotel breakfasts with. At your table, you can also order a small selection of a la carte items like eggs Benedict and avocado on toast.
Le Gouter and Apero Chic at Club Millesime
In the same way the Italians have aperitivo, le gouter is a traditional snack time in France, replicated in Club Millesime between 2.30pm and 4.30pm.
Sit and enjoy tasty sweets, sandwiches and snacks, as well as complimentary hot and soft drinks, while you sit back and take in the view.
As the afternoon leans into evening, Club Millesime offers Apera Chic, a kind of opener before dinner between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
There’s a wide selection of hot morsels available, including garlic prawns, and wagyu and cheese jalapeno spring rolls, you can build your own salad, grab a bit of cake or hit the cheese board. You can also order complimentary beers, wines, spirits and cocktails too.
It’s the perfect opportunity to relax and take in the sunset views over Sydney.
Other Bars And Facilities at Sofitel Darling Harbour
On Level 4 is the infinity pool and sun deck, open to all hotel guests. If you’re not in the mood for a swim, there’s still Le Rivage, the poolside bar (open Thurs-Sun 11am-6pm). And if you fancy something more active or pampering, the hotel gym is here too, right next door to the day spa.
On the ground floor just by reception is the lobby bar Esprit Noir, perfect for a quick drink before dinner and a great rendezvous point if you’re meeting up with friends.
Level 3 is home to the famed Champagne Bar, an elegant late-night venue with superfluous views, cocktails and French-style snacks, and a refined Champagne menu.
Here you can also have your bottle of Champagne ‘sabraged’ — a very cool way of opening the bottle with a swift strike of a sword. It’s a tradition that originated with Napoleon, a way of him celebrating victory in battle.
Perhaps most impressively, Sofitel Darling Harbour is home to one of the exclusive, elusive and very impressive Les Clef d’Or – the Golden Keys Concierge.
Recognisable by their golden crossed keys pin, these guys aren’t like regular concierge people, they’re like X-Men. They know everything that’s going on in the city, they can get you into sold-out shows, they know every bar, restaurant and hidden spot in the area, and they have fingers on every pulse beating.
We met a Golden Keys in Paris and his knowledge was incredible. You can read about it here.
Fine-dining at Sofitel Darling Habour — Atelier by Sofitel
The real crowning glory of Sofitel Darling Harbour, two-Hatted Atelier is an icon in French fine dining in Sydney.
On Level 3 and conveniently close to the Champagne Bar, Atelier sets the scene for a most romantic dinner, and the food and wine make it an occasion to remember. In fact, it feels more like the hotel was built around the restaurant than the other way around.
To get to the restaurant, you go past the kitchen and what seems to be a lot of empty seats, but this area is in fact where breakfast is served for hotel guests without access to the Club Millesime level.
It feels a bit strange going through such a big empty space, but once in the warm, salubrious inner sanctum of the restaurant proper, with its discrete bar and the city lights twinkling through the window, we settle in for a meal to remember.
The kitchen here has a few special tricks up its sleeve. There’s a cabinet specifically for dry ageing duck to superb effect. They also use a charcoal-fired Mibrasa oven for the steaks here, which acts as a combination grill and oven. This specialised Spanish oven sears, cooks and smokes all at the same time.
Needless to say: I’m excited.
In fact, you can read our full review of Atelier here!
Getting to Sofitel Darling Harbour
Being right next to the ICC and in the midst of one of Sydney’s major tourism drawcards means that Sofitel Darling Harbour is really well connected.
Of course, a taxi will bring you to the door, but there are public transport options too.
From Central or the city, the light rail is an easy option and drops you right outside the hotel.
Alternatively, you could walk in from the city across the historic Pyrmont Bridge — the world’s oldest surviving electronic swing bridge — and see Darling Harbour from all sides.
But the nicest way to get there is to catch an F4 ferry to Pyrmont Bay. From there you have the option of walking through Darling Harbour or go one stop on the light rail from Star Casino.
After all, a romantic stay in a hotel of this quality deserves an enjoyable journey to arrive by.
