Sofitel Adelaide

[Anna]

The Sofitel Adelaide opened this week. It is a pretty hotel with lots of attractive decor. The staff are trying hard and the vibe is fresh and new.

I had a room on level 24 which is the highest level in the hotel. There are apartments higher up. The apartments have the balconies that you can see on the building's exterior. The hotel rooms don't have balconies, nor windows that open.

The most arresting features of my room were the bathtub plonked in what feels like the middle of the floor, and the view which the auto operated curtains open to reveal each time you enter. It's a good spot for watching aircraft arriving at and leaving from the airport, and the weather rolling in from the west.

The bathroom can be screened off using the sliding wooden doors. They need careful treatment to operate smoothly which I doubt makes them practical for a hotel.

The room had a not-particularly-intuitive TV and Android tablet, both of which I was able to make work but with a few false starts and no feeling I had mastered their operation. Toiletries are Balmain in family size bottles with pump dispensers. The minibar is quite well stocked and not terribly outrageously priced, by which I mean I have seen worse pricing. There is both a coffee machine and an electric jug. No mugs, only cups and saucers in two sizes. (Who drinks tea or coffee at home out of a cup using a saucer? Anyone? Bueller?). The vanity kit is inadequate and the tissue box was almost empty with no replacement anywhere I could find. 2 tiny cotton pads and 4 cotton buds just aren't enough, and that's from someone who wears minimal makeup. There was a notepad and a pretty pen which I souvenired.

I slept well enough in the very firm bed. There was a selection of different pillows. The room was quiet and the annoying blue light from the tablet charger was easily turned off. There are power points next to the bed on each side but only one that is not already occupied with hotel equipment eg the bedside lights, the phone and the tablet.

 

[Anna]

My room came with access to Clib Millésime which is gorgeous and the staff there are great. It is open all day, with afternoon tea which they call La Goutière served from 2-4pm and happy hour Apérochic from 5-7pm. Veuve NV is poured during happy hour as well as spirits and I think even some coughtails. The view is not great as the club is only on level 10 and faces east but the lovely décor makes up for the lack of a decent view. Breakfast is served in the restaurant not the club, but is complimentary for club-access rooms.

Photos from the club, including afternoon tea and evening canapés -

 

[Anna]

The indoor pool and the gym. There is an internal staircase between them. There is a steam room in the changing rooms.

 

[Anna]

The one aspect I was disappointed with was the restaurant Garçon Bleu. There was a litany of minor service errors from the clearly inexperienced staff which mounted up to become annoying. There is no à la carte at the moment (probably a blessing as I doubt the staff would cope). If you want dinner in the restaurant the offering is $120 for 3 courses with a glass of Veuve included. (It was a miserly half a glass at best, and it was also not nice compared to the Veuve they pour in the lounge).

I booked for 6pm so the restaurant was nearly empty when I arrived. The lift seemed mysteriously to know where I was going as soon as I placed my card on the reader, which was spooky. Despite it being early and fairly empty everyone was being seated close together in the same area and next to the walls not the windows. Most of the window tables remained empty but the staff thoughtfully seated later arrivals directly in the sightline of the earlier arrivals thus spoiling what view there is. The restaurant is on level 9 and faces west or north so the view is better than from the club, at least until a fat couple are plonked in the way.

I was given 2 nice leather folders, one of which held the menu which is already out of date on day 5 or 6 of the hotel being open and the other of which was empty but supposedly held the wine list.

The entrée choices were smoked salmon (which I'd just had in the club), Roquefort with accompaniments (which I'd just had in the club), or chicken liver pâté which was quite nice and served with small slices of brioche.

The main course choices were barramundi with fennel (fennel, yuk), lamb with brains (the menu says sweetbreads but when I asked them to hold the sweetbreads I was told the menu is wrong and it's served with brains), or a cauliflower dish. There are steaks available from $15-$50 extra cost, and side dishes also at extra cost. The bread and butter costs $25 The lamb came in 4 slices which were all cooked to a different point ranging from well done to bleeding, which was quite an achievement by the kitchen which I hope was on purpose. It had gone cold by the time I started the third slice, and I'm not a slow eater.

I was hassled twice to order my dessert, once when I placed my entree and main order and once when my main plate was being cleared. The menu was left on the table during the meal. Nobody enquired at any point whether I was happy with the food or needed anything. They did at least keep pouring water regularly.

Dessert choices were crème brûlée, Paris Brest or chocolate gateau. I had the Brest which was served very dark brown, almost burnt, and served with thin slices of unripe peach and something called cremeaux and caramelised milk. The predominant taste was cinnamon. It wasn't delicious but it wasn't awful. A bit meh. I didn't finish it.

There was a short wait before I was given the bill to sign and there was no pen in the folder to sign with so I had to fish a pen out of the bottom of my handbag. I didn't tip.

It's quite a shame because the restaurant is quite spacious and was by no means full but for some reason everyone was seated crammed together in the narrowest space, away from the open kitchen. Maybe the kitchen isn't quite operating smoothly yet? From what I overheard the residents of the apartments are being offered a deal to eat in the restaurant atm.

Hopefully the restaurant will improve once the staff settle in better.

Photos of tables and half-glass-pour of disappointing Veuve.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thaks for all that. Restaurant sounds very average. Do you know if its operated by the hotel (able to be charged to room), or a third party?

 

[Anna]

Thaks for all that. Restaurant sounds very average. Do you know if its operated by the hotel (able to be charged to room), or a third party?

I was able to charge it to my room, once I found a pen at the bottom of my bag to sign the bill

 

[Anna]

Breakfast report and gratuitous extra photo of the lounge with morning sun streaming in.

Breakfast in the restaurant is a full buffet, hot and cold food, and I couldn't think of anything I might have wanted that wasn't on offer. There was even a bowl of smashed avo I had some scrambled eggs with mushrooms and tomato jam, and Asian vegetarian dumplings. It was all yummy but again went cold quickly. EB tea is not served in teapots but is ready brewed and poured from thermos jugs like coffee would be. Practical and doesn't clutter up the table with chinaware. A refill of tea was offered promptly. I couldn't get a photo of the buffet without other guests, including the woman piling a plate with chocolate donuts and yelling to her partner she was taking them 'for later' They were going to seat me in the same narrow area as last night but I asked to sit in the more spacious area which was better for people watching and also for buffet access, not that I had room for more than one plate of breakfast after last night's indulgence.

Post automatically merged: Nov 14, 2021

Just found out the curtains operate on a movement sensor. If you're sitting still watching tv in your room the curtains will close whether you want them to or not

 

[jase05]

Thanks for that.
We haven’t had a chance to stay there yet but have a Prestige Suite booked for 2 nights in a fortnight. Keen to try it out

 

[Daver6]

Noticed an email from Accor Plus this morning which has this hotel listed on the red hot rooms rate for bookings until the end of December (or possibly Xmas). I think it was $191 roughly.

 

[Anna]

There are some interesting floor surfaces in this hotel. Ok maybe it's just me who thinks that sort of detail is interesting

 

[Anna]

A few light fittings and interesting views

Post automatically merged: Nov 14, 2021

Various public areas

 

[Anna]

Would I stay again? Yes, especially at a red hot room rate like $191 I would give dinner in the restaurant a miss and would save more room for the breakfast buffet which I could walk off on the stroll home.

I asked for housekeeping to replenish the tissues while I was at breakfast and they did. I like hotels that can attend to small requests like that promptly.

The location isn't too bad for the Convention Centre and not much further to the Festival Centre and the footbridge over the river to Adelaide Oval. Luckily Adelaide's CBD is not huge, so for dining options Peel St is a 5 minute walk east, Chinatown is a 15 minute walk south or Rundle St is a 15 minute walk east down the Rundle Mall shopping strip. The hotel is not far from the bus stop for the free 98 bus that circles the main city areas and North Adelaide, and which can drop you closer to the free city tram if you don't feel like walking to a tram stop.

Leaving out the teething problems in the restaurant, 10/10 from me.

 

[jase05]

Would I stay again? Yes, especially at a red hot room rate like $191 I would give dinner in the restaurant a miss and would save more room for the breakfast buffet which I could walk off on the stroll home.

I asked for housekeeping to replenish the tissues while I was at breakfast and they did. I like hotels that can attend to small requests like that promptly.

The location isn't too bad for the Convention Centre and not much further to the Festival Centre and the footbridge over the river to Adelaide Oval. Luckily Adelaide's CBD is not huge, so for dining options Peel St is a 5 minute walk east, Chinatown is a 15 minute walk south or Rundle St is a 15 minute walk east down the Rundle Mall shopping strip. The hotel is not far from the bus stop for the free 98 bus that circles the main city areas and North Adelaide, and which can drop you closer to the free city tram if you don't feel like walking to a tram stop.

Leaving out the teething problems in the restaurant, 10/10 from me.

Mrs Jase works about 100m away from it so coming into her peak period it might become our second home

 

[RooFlyer]

Just found out the curtains operate on a movement sensor. If you're sitting still watching tv in your room the curtains will close whether you want them to or not

The new-ish Crowne Plaza in Hobart had curtains that operate like that. A blind, and then curtains, both electric on sensors. You can't get the curtains to stay open when you are out - so drying something becomes more difficult.

 

[DC3]

Adelaide gets a Sofitel. Who would have thought.

Thanks for the review.