Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour

Great hotel and location. Can’t thank enough the team who work there. One thing is the great hotel and surroundings, but this is nothing without the entire team and their commitment. It’s like a family and home…I will be back

I’ve had few stays in Novotel before but I’ve never been disappointed until this time. We stayed for 2 days on winter time but woke 2 nights in a row as the room is too warm. On the first night, called an attendant and was told just to keep the centralised ventilation temperature on 20C. 2nd night, had to request for a fan at 4am. It was too warm to wake me up and my toddler was sweating and had to unzip his onesie for comfort. Upon check out, I advised the receptionist to have it checked.

Pros - good for families as there are attractions within walking distance Staff are great Not bad for the price Cons - Bathrooms are a little dated Place is run down Easily hear noise from other guests above and walking corridors

Apart from breakfast buffet, which was incredible, there's a lot I was sadly not impressed with. The room interior is very dated (particularly the bathrooms). The shower and bath taps were a nightmare to use, pure guessing game to figure out thd temperature. I was also very disappointed to find that, after being sold 'City Views' I got a view of a nasty apartment block. Definitely not what I had in mind! My room card kept playing up and I had to go and get it reloaded. The lifts couldn't cope with the number of guests. Needless to say, I will not be returning to Novotel on my next family trip to Sydney.

The hotel room was clean and comfortable. Amenities at the hotel we great and I noted it was child friendly, providing activities for kids and families. I would recommend staying at the Novotel Darling Harbour.

Overall we had an enjoyable experience. I just think quicker service on reception could be advantageous, as could more bins around the levels. The movie room for kids is good but would be nice if parents had access to tea and coffee.

Totally stunning views! Comfy room and large enough for a mum, dad and two young kids! Loved that our walk to Darling Harbour was quick and filled with amazing views.

Family friendly, great dining experience for the family. Quiet and safe with walking distance to city centre. Great spot.

Room was comfortable, however more attention to cleaning after previous customers would be better. There were kids stickers stuck on the furniture. The bathroom had broken tiles (poorly repaired with silicone) and floor tiles have gone drummy. Breakfast was good and the staff very helpful. We had an incident where money was missing from our room. It was there when we left for the day and not when we returned. When reported to hotel management they did a key lock review and ‘review of CCTV’ without finding anything. There is no explanation for the money going missing, so will remain for the police to review the footage independently. It definitely soured our experience.

I stayed at the Novotel Darling Harbour for 5 nights in January 2024. I used the breakfast vouchers each day and had dinner there once, as well as snacks during a happy hour. None of the food was good. Most of the staff was really unfriendly, especially the restaurant hostess. The pool is the smallest hotel pool I’ve ever seen. It’s smaller than some backyard pools. It’s also surrounded by turf and poor young kids were crying because the turf was burning their feet when they walked on it. There’s no shade or umbrellas anywhere near the pool, no bar/snack place to get drinks, and very limited seating. It was a really disappointing experience. I loved Sydney but the hotel stay was the worst part of my experience and would never stay here again.