W Hotels has just opened its biggest ever property, in Sydney, Australia.
In this post:
Details of the new W Hotel Sydney
The W Hotel Sydney is now open, and is located within The Ribbon, a dramatic curved structure designed by Australian architect firm Hassell. The property is located at Darling Harbour, steps from Sydney’s International Convention Centre.
Here’s how George Fleck, VP and Global Brand Leader for W Hotels, describes the concept of the hotel (gosh, who actually comes up with these quotes?):
“W Sydney marks our W Hotels brand’s triumphant return to Sydney, a long-awaited addition to our robust portfolio in Australia, following our recent debuts in Melbourne and Brisbane. W Sydney will cultivate a new cultural and social hub in the vibrant Darling Harbour precinct. It is the perfect canvas for a non-conformist approach to the luxury hospitality landscape with W’s bold and energetic ‘Whatever/Whenever’ service ethos, dynamic design, and immersive programming as we celebrate Sydney through a new lens.”
The hotel describes itself as “a beacon of bold design.” I won’t even try to paraphrase this, so here’s what the hotel claims:
Its exceptional interiors are designed by London-based Bowler James Brindley, who conceived W Sydney through the authenticity of the city’s history, spirit, and lore; from the marine-inspired rooms and suites to the distinctive restaurant and bars. At the heart of the hotel’s design story is ‘the larrikin,’ a quintessentially Australian character whose strong spirit informs and inspires the hotel’s luxe yet unconventional interiors.
From the moment guests step past the W sign, inspired by the Australian flower Waratah, they are on a design-led journey. The copper-clad entry pays homage to subterranean Sydney and its disused railway tunnels, and an illuminated vertical promenade sweeps guests up into Living Room, a vivid blue space that reinvents the conventions of a traditional lobby by turning it into a social hub. Embracing a ‘Future Noir’ theme, Living Room is punctuated by an electric blue circular bar and nest-like seating that reference the Australian Bowerbird, a larrikin of the bird world. W Sydney’s 588 guestrooms, including 162 exceptional suites, draw inspiration from the hotel’s harbourside location and nearby beaches, exuding marine-chic in their nautical white and navy-blue palette and undulating walls that echo the sails of yachts in the marina below. Bathrooms are rendered in deep oceanic blue and walk-in wardrobes feature a burst of graphic, inflorescent red and pink Waratah flowers for a playful touch.
As is standard for W Hotels, there’s a big focus on food and beverage outlets. The hotel has four dining and bar venues, comprised of:
- BTWN is the hotel’s signature restaurant, featuring modern Australian cuisine; at night, this turns into 2AM: dessertbar (okay, a dessert bar sounds kind of awesome!)
- Living Room is the hotel’s lobby bar, and has an Asian focus, with sake, soju, and Asian small bites
- 29/30 is a two-level bar with uninterrupted harbor views
- WET DECK is the hotel’s pool bar, serving food and drinks all day
As you’d expect from a W Hotel, there’s also a spa and gym. The hotel also has a 30 meter open air infinity pool. The decor of the pool deck is described as being reminiscent of what you’d find on a superyacht (I’m curious what super yacht this was inspired by?).
I don’t understand the W Hotel Sydney’s pricing
Sydney is an interesting hotel market. The Park Hyatt Sydney is by far the best and most expensive property in town. Right beneath that is the Capella Sydney, where rates are regularly just under 700 AUD per night. Other than that, rates drop a lot. For example, the Shangri-La Sydney and Four Seasons Sydney regularly go for 450 AUD per night.
My expectation was that the W Hotel Sydney would at best be trying to charge Four Seasons and Shangri-La rates during off-peak periods, especially given the number of rooms to sell. But that’s not the case.
At least as of now, the hotel seems to have rates typically starting at over 750 AUD per night, so it’s priced higher than the Capella Sydney. I’m just confused. I mean, let’s be realistic, this is a convention mega-hotel. I can appreciate that high rates can be charged during major conventions, but that’s just the standard year-round pricing?
What’s the possible explanation here?
- The hotel’s sales department is the world’s most optimistic, and they’ll soon get a reality check
- The hotel is trying to skim the market with these rates for the general public and only sell a small percentage of rooms this way; then the hotel may try to sell rooms at much bigger discounts in blocks (especially for conventions), and through consolidators
The W Hotel brand just isn’t for me
If you ask me, the W Hotel brand was cool about 15 years ago, but the brand has failed to evolve. To hear this hotel described as a “cultural hub,” and to say that it’s “the perfect canvas for a non-conformist approach to the luxury hospitality landscape” seems a bit much. Dude, this is a nearly 600 room hotel at a convention center.
Can anyone tell me with a straight face that all of the hotel’s outlets don’t look like they belong on cruise ships? Which, no offense to cruise ships, but they offer the opposite of a local experience, since they cruise all over the world. That’s the opposite of offering a sense of place.
I don’t want to totally rag on lifestyle hotel brands, because there are some good ones out there. Kimpton has done a great job creating hotels that are good social hubs, all while offering some charm and character. Similarly, Marriott has some good Autograph Collection and Luxury Collection properties, which offer charm and often good dining outlets.
But to me, W Hotels are about as cookie cutter as your typical Marriott or Sheraton, just with less comfortable furniture. I think I’m just aging out of the target market for the brand. There are some new W Hotels that look pretty nice, like the W Rome, but that’s because they seem to deviate from the W design ethos a bit, rather than conform to it.
Bottom line
The 588-room W Hotel Sydney has finally opened, and adds quite a bit of capacity to the Sydney hotel market. The hotel has a cool exterior design, but otherwise looks to me like a pretty typical W Hotel. I’m curious to see how rates at the property evolve, since they seem highly optimistic to me…
What do you make of the W Hotel Sydney?
Went for a walk through the new W hotel today 25 Dec 2023. It's a spectacular, gorgeous hotel. Xmas day buffet was to die for! Hefty price as well - $250aud pp.
Sydney Crown Towers is the only fair comparison it terms quality in Sydney. The suites at Crown Towers now seem like a bargain compare to W Sydney.
My W experience in Melbourne has put me off the brand.
I’ve stayed at several W Hotels and every one of them had terrible lighting in the bathrooms, very dark and moody. Even the “hip and trendy” have to be able to see enough to put on make up, shave, put in contact lenses, etc.
Seems like you have a beef with W Hotels...They have done their market research and know exactly where their hotel sits in the market place. Crown Towers, Capella and W Hotel all similar rates. It's a spectacular hotel in a great location and some squarely at the top end luxury market. I don't see rates coming down...
The town is full of Asians. They are clearly targeting the Uber riche Asian tourism market.
I have a night booked at Sheraton in February. The Marriott properites for the cheapeset no view room AUD$: Sheraton - 1175, Marriott 979, W Sydney 1126, Four Points 924. W is certainly competitive - I will not stay there - too far away from downtown. Even Four Points is 924 AUD$.
These rates are competitive - maybe low. Check out Sheraton on Park even Marriott. Compare to Hyatt, Hilton, etc. Sydney hotel rates have recently gone through the roof. High demand I guess.
Hi all - as a hotel GM I can tell you this pricing is absolutely standard.
When opening your new shiny glamorous property you are trying to appear exclusive and unobtainable. So initial pricing bears no reality to market - it's all about branding and positioning.
Why do nightclubs try and generate a queue rather than ram everyone in as fast as possible?
Don't forget that the 600-ish room W-Sydney will have...
Hi all - as a hotel GM I can tell you this pricing is absolutely standard.
When opening your new shiny glamorous property you are trying to appear exclusive and unobtainable. So initial pricing bears no reality to market - it's all about branding and positioning.
Why do nightclubs try and generate a queue rather than ram everyone in as fast as possible?
Don't forget that the 600-ish room W-Sydney will have no more than 200 rooms ready for the first few months (I believe sub 190 right now) and a chunk of these will be comped for PR, agents etc.
Wait until March 2024 and see some realistic pricing.
Oh - and the hotel owner bears all these opening costs - not Marriott
The Park Hyatt hasn’t been the best hotel in Sydney for a long time.
Have you actually stayed at Capella? It is FAR superior on every front, except it doesn’t have views. It’s much more comparable to a Mandarin Oriental property in Asia.
You did not take into account the new crown hotel.
This project has been delayed so long, which makes them lose lots of money. So it's time to gain them back
I've yet to see a W anywhere in the world that I'd consider to be competitively priced. Someone is paying those rates or the brand would cease to exist. It's not for me either, I do like the design but can't justify the price over a Hilton, Marriott, or Sheraton.
Why would a luxury client want to stay at Darling Harbour?
And the hotel I really want to try next is the new Capella...looks stunning...and a much better location.
Maybe they are just trialling it to start with to check systems etc. Clearly rates aren’t going to stay that high long term.
Well, if you hire an architecture firm that designs airports--surprise--you get a building that looks like a (really bad) airport lounge.
'Vegas at Sea' just about sums up the whole design concept. Such an embarrassment. And poor Marriott actually owns this property.
Not a W fan, especially not at that price point. Hyatt Regency is adequate just next door to this new W and for much less. Still though, I'd rather walk from the Rocks (Stay at the Park Hyatt) than stay at any hotel in Darling Harbor.
Schooner tuna…the tuna with a heart.
Why do people think the Park Hyatt is so great? I’ve consistently had the rudest worst service there..always with top Hyatt status. It’s widely known that they don’t give a flying F about globalists and do their best to ruin every experience at PH Sydney while cultivating a “night club you want to be treated poorly to not get into” vibe. I just don’t get it. And yes to all you said about this albatross W in the worst location possible, haha!
Because PH has one of the best locations in one of the most famous harbours on the planet.
And most rooms look into the back of a cruise ship (no view) - only a few on the end face the Opera Hotel. Park Hyatt way overrated.
To be fair...
In my experience, the people staying at W hotels are not the ones reading travel blogs. And to fair, they're also rarely over 35...
The newer W hotels are pretty great, in terms of service and design. I stayed at the Portugal location in Algarve, and was honestly blown away by the service and the 2 bedroom suite we had overlooking the Portuguese cliffs.
That said, there's a reason a lot...
To be fair...
In my experience, the people staying at W hotels are not the ones reading travel blogs. And to fair, they're also rarely over 35...
The newer W hotels are pretty great, in terms of service and design. I stayed at the Portugal location in Algarve, and was honestly blown away by the service and the 2 bedroom suite we had overlooking the Portuguese cliffs.
That said, there's a reason a lot of older W's have been either closed or renovated, the brand IS evolving, to more lighter wooden tones and re-establishing a level of service that's more welcoming.
I get that it's not for everyone, but you said it best, you're not really the demographic they're going for...
This building is ugly as sin - it looks like a giant glass turd blot on the landscape. Nothing would convince me to visit/stay here.
By no means am I going to pay more for a W than the Four Seasons, Ritzs, Mandarins, PHs, St Regis, or Waldorfs of the world
And by no means if I had to go for work travel for a convention would my company's travel policy allow budgeting a $750 AUD per night room (Think our policy at a wall street bank is like $350 or $400 max)
This hotel looks amazing! I’m going to try it when the rates come down. I go to Sydney 3-4x a year. Sorry disagree with you re Park Hyatt Sydney. It’s ok for a one off visit IF you get a Sydney opera house view. But for that money there are plenty of nice high end hotels in much better locations than the Park Hyatt.
Most importantly, does it have Toto Washlets like the W Melbourne?
Nobody ever talks about the Sydney Langham. It's cosy, beautiful, and peaceful. A little more out of the way, perhaps, but ultimately no more inconvenient than the Park Hyatt. It's always our choice when we can't avoid a trip to Harbourtown.
Since when have W hotels been competitively priced pretty much anywhere? They price up cos of the attempt to pass themselves off as being different.
The hotel does not have a good ‘sense of place’
Sydney as a whole is just a big, flashy illusion.
No Sydney is a fabulous place, one of the great cities of the world. The weather is way better than most places too.
I found the Sydney Park Hyatt to be a poor experience to say the least. If that is what passes for the best Sydney has to offer I feel sorry for the city. I've stayed at numerous Park Hyatts in the past.
Next time stay at the Langham. It's wonderful.
I toured the W Sydney a few months ago and what I saw looked pretty solid. Those rates are high but there is a high degree of anticipation for the property in Oz, so they’re going to get a pretty high figure to start.
W Sydney reminded me a lot of the W Xi’an, which I saw in 2019 and found spectacular. When W execs talk about the new W style, I think Xi’an location is emblematic.
The one thing it has going for it is that there seems to be a lot of points availability. A lot of it with the 35K free nights + points.
The price makes it look like a great use of points.
For people who look for actual value I'd say it's still a no go. But there's probably enough people who look at the almost 1.8 AUS cents per points to fill a lot of rooms. But only once.
Wow. I'm definitely not in the travel niche where what property I stay in demands THIS much analysis. lol.
Just give me a clean, quiet, comfortable room at a reasonable cost and I'm fine. Of all the things to dwell on, just can't imagine choosing to be concerned that my hotel's decor is 15 years out of date (!) or what brand the shampoo is. I'm just using the room to sleep in, I'm not living there.
Note that the Shangri La and Four Seasons in Sydney are not comparable to their brand standards in Europe/Asia... They are regular business hotel, similar to a good marriott with a nice location, nothing very exciting, so that's also why they are quite affordable.
A Marriott insider showed me a preview of what they referred to as the overhaul of the W brand. They acknowledged that the W is out of touch and not cool anymore. The pictures I was shown looked much nicer than this, sort've a more colorful Edition. Very interesting that a brand new W would be launched under the "old" W style.
I wouldn't travel to Sydney now as long as they don't arrest terrorists who publicly call for gassing the Jews.
I have never understood the inclination in any free country to arrest people for saying dumb or offensive things. If that were the case, 50% of ANY country would be in jail.
You let them speak so everyone sees exactly what sort of people they are.
Laws that impinge upon free speech, no matter how vile, are a slippery slope toward tyranny.
Absurd comment coming from “SF”, why am I not surprised.
Freedom of speech would benefit most if we publicly gassed all “liberals”.
@Aussie Congratulations on responding to a ridiculous comment with an even more ridiculous one. Does it feel good to embarrass yourself on the internet? Do you have some kind of humiliation fetish? Does your idea of “freedom of speech” include silencing people you disagree with?
@Aussie
Your comment is so colossally stupid and ironic that I actually feel sorry for you. Your life is so unhappy.
"I've never been more excited to stay in a soulless mega hotel stuck between two major highways in the center of Sydney's biggest tourist trap neighborhood," said nobody ever.
Agreed, it’s stuck in the middle of a freeway junction in a surprisingly unwalkable part of a very walkable city.
Have you actually been there yet? I went on opening day and the hotel entrance is right on Cockle Bay. How’s that not a walkable area?
I avoid W hotels because the room interiors tend to be dark. I tend to work remotely when traveling, so I need a space with enough desk lighting to enable that.
Some are better than others -- no complaints about the W Montreal.
Funny, I'm of the exact opposite impression: I avoid them because they're overly bright as they overuse white lacquered furniture and white or light grey seating surfaces on nearly everything. Was just at the W San Francisco as it was close to what I needed to be there for and I wanted to burn some SWAs, and it felt like a children's playground at an Ikea. That may just be the SF one, though. But,...
Funny, I'm of the exact opposite impression: I avoid them because they're overly bright as they overuse white lacquered furniture and white or light grey seating surfaces on nearly everything. Was just at the W San Francisco as it was close to what I needed to be there for and I wanted to burn some SWAs, and it felt like a children's playground at an Ikea. That may just be the SF one, though. But, like you, I can count on one hand the number of stays I've had at a W in the last 10 years.
It looks like a giant kidney bean stuck between two freeways
What a horrendously ugly hotel. You couldn’t pay me to stay there.
Well , as Frog refused your generosity, I’d be gracious enough to allow ‘you’ to pay for my stay there. You’re welcome.
You are right Ben to an extent. Please check out the W Amsterdam has to be one of my favorite hotels in the world during the summer.
The W Amsterdam is a tourist trap. The only people who stay there are clueless Americans.
W hotels died when Starwood was lost, back in the SPG days the hotel was cool and i loved staying at as many as i can. It was over as soon as Marriott bought them.
Spot on. It was cool, but hasn't been in a good 15 years. It has posh IKEA vibes to me now. Definitely not 5 star plus.
My wife and I honeymooned at the original W in Wooloomooloo and bought savings bonds to get the Starwood points to get it. That will suffice for me. No burning need to check out this convention hotel at those rates.
Marc von Arnim, who was the GM of the PH Sydney, moved to the Capella in January of last year, and I can only imagine that the Capella is now one of the best properties in Sydney.
That said, I'll continue with the PH Sydney for now, as the views can't be beat.
The W looks ridiculous and inconvenient. The prices will come down within six months, likely sooner.
Good for you. Great. This is so profound.
Also, do you check in under TravellnPenis or just Penis?
just stayed at the capella few days ago, I must say soft/hard product currently the best in terms of syd's luxury hotels. The PH is a shell of its former self saw loads of tourist groups checking in from asia and the cruise ships.
The Capella really only loses in location and view, and I do mean it when I say there's basically 0 view in the rooms.
Service however, was superb. In particular...
just stayed at the capella few days ago, I must say soft/hard product currently the best in terms of syd's luxury hotels. The PH is a shell of its former self saw loads of tourist groups checking in from asia and the cruise ships.
The Capella really only loses in location and view, and I do mean it when I say there's basically 0 view in the rooms.
Service however, was superb. In particular at the guest lounge bar, they'll address you by name. It does suffer from an overall shortage of staff reflecting a greater issue for the local hotel industry.
It looks douche-tastic!
The word atrocious does not offer enough firepower to accurately describe this place. YIKES. The prices are hilarious.
I certainly wouldn't say Capella is beneath the PH, unless you were only referring to the rates (then I'm not sure). As a hotels, I think it's the best in town. PH has by far the best views though, so for a first-timer that would be my choice.
Ben's comments were much too nice. It actually looks silly and garish. I'm certain these inflated prices won't last.
The W Sydney is in a terrible location overlooking a freeway. Unless you’re required to stay there for a convention, I can’t imagine staying there — even if the brand were not a late 90s holdover. Australia has still failed to develop a distinctive, high-end hotel company of its own. (I’m excluding the fabulous Baillie lodges like Capella on Lord Howe Island, which are not city hotels.).
Why does Australia need a high-end hotel company of its own? The country has also failed to develop a high-end automotive company or a top tier university.
Because hotels are a key component of tourism, one of Australia’s largest economic sectors. No one cares about Holden, which was famous for producing a knock-off of the Chevy El Camino.
If you ask me, the W Hotel brand was cool about 15 years ago
I’d say that was more than 20 years ago. By the mid-aughts they were already hotbeds of conspicuous consumption poseurs.
W was a great concept when it launched but that whole postmodern design is tired at third point. Especially at the oldest W properties in the brand. The whole design or decor feels very 2005-2009 to me. That’s in contrast to Edition, which was the legacy Marriott competitor to legacy Starwood’s W. Edition properties feel more elegant. They are hoping that Edition customers of today because Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis customers after they hit 40...
W was a great concept when it launched but that whole postmodern design is tired at third point. Especially at the oldest W properties in the brand. The whole design or decor feels very 2005-2009 to me. That’s in contrast to Edition, which was the legacy Marriott competitor to legacy Starwood’s W. Edition properties feel more elegant. They are hoping that Edition customers of today because Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis customers after they hit 40 or 50.
I would also argue the same about Westin. This is another legacy Starwood brand that is starting to feel tired and stuck in an early 2000s theme.
It is probably only a matter of time before W becomes a fully franchised brand operated by owners or third-parties. For now, most Ws and all Editions, St. Regises and almost all Ritz-Carltons are operated/managed by Marriott.
The Park Hyatt has been pipped! The new Capella is the top dawg of our local Sydney hotels now.
There was an article on TPG yesterday about the refreshed W Union Square, and what the brand is now, and how/which properties are being redone. The old perception of the dark halls and the weird yellow rooms is coming to an end eventually. I agree that the refresh is long overdue but sounds like it's finally starting.
@ NSS -- The new W Union Square design looks MUCH better. It's just bizarre that the brand's new biggest property that's opening now doesn't feature the new concept.
It needs to be remembered that this hotel was originally scheduled to open in 2019. It’s also been through three construction companies, two of which went broke. You can bet the builders ‘reinterpreted’ some of the architects intent to save money. The design would have probably been agreed a few years before its intended opening, so now its probably 6 or 7 years out of date.
There are already a few new properties which have adopted the new designs, specifically the W Dubai Mina Seyehi and for what it is worth, I have stayed at W Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina a couple of times during Grand Prix or endurance and it is very distinct.