How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[kangarooflyer88]

Seems this hotel is becoming a little more generous with their upgrades. Or perhaps realising that the Jones Bay view rooms are just a construction site and no one is falling for that as an improvement?

A couple things are going on I suspect. First, there is the aforementioned construction which does obstruct the view a little bit. Second, there is the fact that there is another Sofitel nearby namely the Wentworth that was recently renovated. While I haven't stayed there post renovation, I suspect it may now be better than the Darling Harbour in terms of amenities (both in room and elsewhere). Third, new hotels are in Darling Harbour that offer a better view and better amenities (the W comes to mind). Now yes, it is true the W has been open for over a year now, however, the revenue department at Sofitel probably could not fully appreciate the impact this hotel had on their bottom line for several months of activity. Now that they've seen the impact caused by the W, it's likely that they adjusted their pricing accordingly. Indeed, a quick look at the Accor site shows many days where you can book the Sofitel Darling Harbour for as little as $283/night on an Accor+ rate. This is a surprisingly low amount for summer travel season which suggests that demand has slumped. Anecdotally, the lounge seemed less rammed than when I was there back in February.

So let's combine all of these factors together. You've got a loyal Accor+Platinum member staying at the hotel, demand is diminished and there is construction blocking views. What would you do?

 

[MARTINE]

Property: Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Superior Room, 1 King Sized Bed
Room upgraded/type: Yes, Luxury Corner Room
Rate: Accor+ StayPlus Free Night
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Late Check out to 1 PM granted
Welcome drink: Yes (didn't use)
Welcome gift: 2 bottles of sparkling water & 1 bottle of wine
Recommended: Yes, particularly if you need to stay near Darling Harbour, have Platinum status and see a nice Accor+ rate (recently I've seen this property go for under $300/night).

Stayed here this past Sunday December 29th as part of my mini-holiday to take full advantage of the Accor+ free night benefit as the free night expires in August and I won't have much opportunity aside from now to use it on a good booking (I consider this property to represent a good booking opportunity).

The Accor app offered the option to check-in via the app and receive a digital key card for the room. I tried that option, but ended up having to go to the executive lounge to complete check-in. As an aside, Platinums and above get access to Accor lounges globally regardless of room type booked (one of the benefits of holding Platinum status). As others pointed out, you need to be badged in to the elevator by staff to go up to the top floor. However, I decided to press my luck and rode the elevator up to the top (always nice when there is someone in the lounge who calls up the elevator for you like that). Check in was prompt, and I was informed that we were upgraded to a Luxury room (a first for me staying at a Sofitel, much less using a free night certificate). However, the room wasn't ready (we arrived around 1:30PM). I inquired if we could hang out in the lounge whilst we wait for the room to become available and they obliged. At the time there was some cookies and drinks I got whilst I waited.

As for the room, I'll let the photos speak for themselves:
View attachment 423144
View attachment 423145
View attachment 423146

Very nice room with tons of windows and a decent view over the harbour. What I enjoy about this Sofitel specifically is they provide both a tub and a shower. I think that's a far more sensible option than the Shubs found in many hotels. 99% of the time I prefer taking a nice shower, but having that option to relax in a dedicated tub is nice to have.

The lounge is open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM and provides the following gastronomic events every day:

• Breakfast: Monday to Friday from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM and Weekends from 6:30 AM to 11 AM
• Afternoon Tea: 3 to 5 PM
• Pre-Dinner Drinks & Canapes: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Breakfast consisted of a combination of buffet featuring a number of hot and cold breakfast options like eggs, sausage, fruits, spreads, breads, etc. There was also an a-la carte menu you could order from:
View attachment 423147

I went with the eggs benedict and found it was good.

The pre-dinner canapés were also good:
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It should be noted that to my knowledge the Sofitel restaurant is not open for lunch. Consequently, my partner and I ended up settling for the nearby Novotel on Darling Harbour where we could use our 50% Accor Plus discount to get a pizza and a chicken burger for $28. I inquired about charging the food back to our Sofitel room (so that our free night was recognized as a stay for the purposes of status) but was advised that the Sofitel is run by a different company than the Novotel/ibis on Darling Harbour, so wasn't possible:
View attachment 423149
One downside that should be noted is that of the construction occurring in Darling Harbour, particularly near the Sofitel, Novotel and ibis properties. Ironically, it would seem that the ibis might now offer the best view of the harbour amongst the 3 hotels given the lack of cranes in its vicinity:
View attachment 423150

As a final note, I requested late check out at the front desk the night before we checked out. Reception asked what time I'd like to check out and I inquired about a 1 PM check out and that was no problem (which made me think of how far I could push that request). In any event, I was happy to get that late checkout particularly given reports that Sofitel might be a bit tight on handing out much of a late checkout.

-RooFlyer88

Glad you had a much better experience than my Fawlty Towers stay here in May.

 

[bits]

Property: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Base room, king
Room upgraded/type: Yes, Luxury King (these have the external balcony, good if you want fresh air or smoke)
Rate: Accor+ StayPlus Free Night certificate + $50. Stayed 3-4 Jan 2025
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: via status
Early check in/late out: Room ready at 1130am. Latest Check out granted for 1 PM
Welcome drink: Yes, app voucher available to use throughout the property. Used it at Wentworth Bar, which is the central courtyard area.
Welcome gift: Two bottles of water bedside on arrival. Queried this with lounge, they said oh probably housekeeping hasn't done the rounds yet, might come later in the day. Mid arvo housekeeping delivers 1 bottle house wine and a box of chocolates saying this is your welcome amenity.
Recommended: Depends.

There's two entries. The front one which leads to a small lobby, that can get crowded, where the first thing you see is a bank of self check in kiosks (bit tacky if you ask me, 5* hotel you want to be greeted by a friendly face, not a machine). The back entry from Bligh St is bare but probably the one most people will use.

Those with lounge access just head straight to level 5 for lounge check in. Open access to this level as the main restaurant, Delta Rue, and Wentworth Bar are here.

Note: Tilda and Tilda Bar are on ground floor, but these are third party operators so no Accor dining benefits apply here.

Lounge is renovated, very spacious, and has its own whiskey bar set up, plus a Velvet room that opens up when required. Food in the lounge is very good (focus on quality over quantity). Afternoon tea had a good selection of sweets, and exotic fruits: lychees, mango, cherries, dragon fruit. Evening drinks has fast drinks service, and good selection of meaty items: roast pork belly carved by the chef, served with potatoes, Carrots, mushroom and gravy (full dinner if you ask me); Peking duck pancakes and fried chicken tacos (taco shells unfortunately had started to soften). I would rate the lounge food offering here better than Sofitel Darling Harbour.

Room: renovated cosmetically but underwhelming. No changes structurally. Main issue is bathrooms weren't renovated, so are still tiny (with shallow, short shub that you can't stretch out in).

Breakfast: A bit of a let down. Breakfast offering in the lounge is basically the same as the main restaurant, you can go to either. Eggs ordered a la carte in the lounge. It's not plated as nicely as Darling Harbour, and the hollandaise sauce on my Benedict arrived cold. Main restaurant wasn't that busy, food offering not as extensive as Darling Harbour. The breakfast highlight (or supposed highlight) was the banh mi station for DIY banh mi...no pate available, and the bread was brioche bun rather than baguette..so not a real banh mi (wouldn't even call it fake banh mi). The "beef broth" next to it was more like bak kut teh (was hoping for beef pho).

TLDR: Only go to Wentworth if the price is right (say 250-300, and must be cheaper than Darling Harbour), have lounge access, and you don't care about having a good bath. If you value a nice bathroom, just go to Darling Harbour, if the price premium isn't too much.