For service, comfort, location, and amenities, this is one of the best hotels we've stayed in. Two short blocks to the Opera House. Full concierge service which was absolutely fantastic. Older hotel with upgraded rooms. Part of a small SE Asia chain named after the Sir Stamford Raffles of Singapore fame. Superb on-site dining, as well as an upscale classic mahogany fixtured English club bar. Stay out of touristy Darling Harbor. This place is only a down hill short walk to the the ferries and tour buses which will get your anywhere you want to go in the Sydney area. Can't recommend more highly!!!

Stayed at the Sir Stamford for 7 nights in March 2008. We were recommended by a good friend, who is also a travel agent. He had stayed here, a few years ago, when the hotel was owned by Ritz Carlton. We found the hotel to be delightful. It has more character than many hotels I have stayed in. Part of the hotel is in a heritage building, but has been sympathetically extended. The reception area is relatively small and opens up onto a comfortable lounge, which is beautifully furnished with period furniture, as is much of the hotel. There is always a huge disply of flowers in the lounge. There is a cosy bar, which serves good food...the portions were large. We only ate in the restaurant one evening, as there were so many other places to try! My husband had rack of lamb and I had fillet steak. They were both excellent. We had room 716, which was a deluxe, harbour view room. It actually looked out over the botanic gardens, with glimpses of the harbour, but not the bridge, as we were the wrong side of the hotel. While on our balcony and leaning out left, you could actually just see the opera house. This wasn't a problem, as it was only a two minute walk to circular quay and we were down there a lot! Macquerie Street is very busy but we had no noise from the road. Our room was very comfortable. 44 sq ft. King sized bed, Two seater sofa and easy chair. Coffee table, writing desk and two further chairs. Large wardrobe with proper coathangers...not the anti-theft ones! Trouser press, ironing board, iron, hair drier, fridge/mini-bar, TV, tea and coffee facilities. The bathroom was probably the best I've every experienced in a hotel. Huge, marble expanse, with large walk in shower, full size bath, twin basins and separate toilet. The room was serviced to a very high standard. Clean bedding and towels, daily. We had a problem with our shower on day two, (it wouldn't turn off) which we reported before going to breakfast. It had been fixed when we returned after breakfast. One of the biggest pluses, for us, was access to the Quay Lounge, on level three. It was a very relaxing place to be. We had our breakfast there every day and drinks and canapes each evening before dinner. There was also internet access there. There was an outdoor pool, but it was quite small. There was a terrace area aroung the pool but we never spent any time there. All the staff were very helpful and attentive. Nothing was too much trouble. It isn't cheap to stay at this hotel but we felt the location was superb and we were satisfied with all aspects of our stay.

This is a superb, elegant, oldy world hotel at a great location at Circular Quay, near to the Rocks. Expensive but value for money given the quality and location of this hotel. We booked online and got a good deal. Right from the friendly welcome from the staff on arrival, we had a great 2-day whistle-stop stay. Check-in was a breeze. Our heavy luggage was whisked up to our deluxe room by a friendly, customer-oriented (elderly) bellman who delighted in showing us all the 7th floor room’s facilities down to the splendid view of the harbour (and opera house), and the handy golf-size umbrella in the cupboard. The room was spacious with a lounge settee and chair, desk, broadband, and a large bathroom with two basins and appointed in Carrera marble. The bed was comfortable, large, and not too soft. Every time we passed a staff member, we received a friendly smile and solicitation. Even arranged late evening room cleaning while we went to dinner, after we forgot to take off the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door! We did not try the elegant restaurant for dinner – but breakfast offered good, wholesome, hot and cold food with a wide variety of choices, including good back bacon (not the cheap streaky/fatty stuff offered by US hotels). We also did not have time to use the swimming pool. In the 2 days we spent there, we visited the New South Wales Parliament (personalized tour, even though they had just closed!), the Barracks Museum (showing convict archaeology and history), St Mary’s Cathedral, and the outside of the Opera House (really one of the greatest twentieth century buildings in the world!) Had dinner outside at the East China restaurant on the Quay with a great view of the bridge at sunset. (Some of the best Chinese food we’ve had + a good wine list.) Second day (Good Friday) was overcast and cooler; we visited the grounds of Government House (the House was closed) and then did the tour of the Opera House (a must) and the ferry to Manly, enjoying great views of the Bridge and the Opera House on the way (Get a seat at the stern.) Manly is a favourite short-range destination for Sydney folks on holidays. At Manly, we visited Oceanworld to see the sharks and other exotic fish in a glass tunnel. Despite fearing it would be cheesy, it was a real eye opener, and not at all cheesy. (You can even don a diving suit and check out the fish on a more personal basis. We were told the sharks didn’t bite, but didn’t want to take the risk!) Back to Sydney, then spent a couple of hours just walking up and down George Street and around the Rocks. Wonderful. When you check out, do check your bill carefully to ensure you are not charged for the inclusive breakfast and broadband, if it’s supposed to be included in your package. The hotel sorted it out –eventually. One more tip: if you take the shuttle back to the airport, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time and confirm 24 hours in advance. The shuttle arrived at the hotel on time but after picking up other passengers and what seemed like a complete tour of Sydney, arrived at the airport half an hour late.

Despite booking for 5 nights, our stay at the Sir Stamford lasted less than 4 hours! We had asked for an early check-in (and had an email confirmation of the request) but when we arrived at 7am after an overnight flight we were told that no rooms were available and check-in was 3pm. We asked them to make a room available as soon as possible and the receptionist just looked at us and repeated "check in is 3pm". We said OK, we would wait in the Quay lounge (we were paying for the privilidge) but were told - no you can't use the lounge until tomorrow. When we asked why, the receptionist said "because lounge access doesn't start until the next morning after you check-in"!! On insisting that we were going to the lounge the receptionist made a call to the manager who graciously said that we could wait in the lounge! We sat in the windowless room and had coffee but after 3 hours and no news on the progress of the room, we went back to reception. A different clerk said that there was no such thing as priority cleaning and check in was still 3pm! He also said that he was going to charge my card not only 5 x $400 AUD upfront for our stay, but also $500 for "extras we might charge". Have you ever stayed in a hotel that charged you the entire cost of the stay plus extra before you've even checked in? I refused permission to make these charges and he very bluntly told me that this was company policy. I told him how rude I thought he was and his response was a very smarmy "thank you madame". In fact that's all he'd say to anything else I said! When it became clear that we could not check-in until we paid $2500 we decided to leave. I asked to see the manager and the rude clerk said "I am the manager and I have nothing more to say to you!" He then said "even if you leave I'm charging you for 1 night" (which he in fact did) - so it cost us $400 NOT to stay at the Sir Stamford! We went straight to the Shangri-La. checked into a really nice suite and had a fantastic 5 night stay at the lovely Shangri-La. Please don't book the Sir Stamford - I can't tell you what the rooms are like because all we saw was the lounge (which was old fashoned and windowless) but their customer service is non-existant and the staff are rude beyond belief. Also be prepared to have your card charged for the entire stay as soon as you check-in! Dreadful people, don't bother!