Hilton’s luxury Waldorf Astoria brand will be debuting in Sydney, though you’ll have to be patient.
In this post:
Waldorf Astoria One Circular Quay details
The Waldorf Astoria brand is set to debut in the South Pacific with the opening of a property in Sydney in early 2025. Construction has already started on the One Circular Quay development, located at 1 Alfred Street. The harbour-side mixed-use development will be in a 28-floor building, and will offer views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The hotel will have two restaurant concepts, a rooftop bar, and a spa.
The Waldorf Astoria Sydney will feature 220 accommodations, including 179 guest rooms and 41 suites. It’ll be the first Waldorf Astoria property in the South Pacific, but joins six other properties in the Asia Pacific region, and 30+ properties around the globe.
This’ll be an exciting new points hotel option
I’m always thrilled to see new luxury points hotels in the pipeline, since it’s a great way to earn and redeem points, plus take advantage of elite benefits, all while having a great experience.
Sydney has always been an interesting luxury hotel market to me. You have the iconic Park Hyatt, which is unarguably the city’s best hotel. However, it’s also priced accordingly. What’s noteworthy is how big the gap is after the Park Hyatt in terms of the pricing of competitors:
- You have the Four Seasons, Shangri-La, Langham, etc., but they’re all consistently priced at less than half of what the Park Hyatt charges
- Sydney is a city where there simply aren’t many luxury points hotels, at least not with Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, etc.; aside from the Park Hyatt, the city’s other top hotels aren’t bookable with points
I would imagine that the Waldorf Astoria will be more in the Four Seasons price range than the Park Hyatt price range, so it’ll be great to finally see a second true luxury points hotel in the city.
Bottom line
The 220-room Waldorf Astoria is set to debut in Sydney in early 2025, as part of the One Circular Quay mixed-use development. This will likely be the city’s second best points hotel, after the Park Hyatt Paris. I’m excited to learn more details about the property as the opening date approaches.
Great news and a very nice property will exist in a very enviable position - once the tallest building in Sydney
Whilst the views will be undeniably gorgeous from this property, it could never replace the unique position and staff of the PH. The delight of sitting in the pool and watching the Sydney Harbour bridge up close, dining with the sparkling harbour within a few steps and being cossetted by the extraordinary employees would be difficult to surpass. And for the voyeur in some of us, watching the harbour front weddings on the Hickson Road...
Whilst the views will be undeniably gorgeous from this property, it could never replace the unique position and staff of the PH. The delight of sitting in the pool and watching the Sydney Harbour bridge up close, dining with the sparkling harbour within a few steps and being cossetted by the extraordinary employees would be difficult to surpass. And for the voyeur in some of us, watching the harbour front weddings on the Hickson Road reserve with a glass of bubbles in hand is such fun!
The advantage of the Waldorf Astoria is that it may prompt the PH to refresh the somewhat tired rooms.
It’ll take a lot to convince me to defect from the PH Sydney.
Sydney doesn’t really “do” luxury hotels the way many of us are used to/expect (Singapore is another example of this), so until the WA is completed, opened, and reviewed, my address will continue to be the PH Sydney when I’m in town.
They've also treated my partner with tremendous patience and compassion (he has dementia), and while he can’t travel anymore, the...
It’ll take a lot to convince me to defect from the PH Sydney.
Sydney doesn’t really “do” luxury hotels the way many of us are used to/expect (Singapore is another example of this), so until the WA is completed, opened, and reviewed, my address will continue to be the PH Sydney when I’m in town.
They've also treated my partner with tremendous patience and compassion (he has dementia), and while he can’t travel anymore, the PH has built up a tremendous reserve of loyalty with us over the years.
I think the Waldorf Astoria price range will be more in the vicinity of the Park Hyatt (and the new Crown Towers) than the Four Seasons. Here's 3 reasons why:
1. The entry-level room at the Waldorf Astoria will be 38m2, compared to 40m2 at the Park Hyatt and 47m2 at Crown Towers. In contrast, the Four Seasons entry-level room is just 26m2.
2. The Four Seasons is a big hotel with over...
I think the Waldorf Astoria price range will be more in the vicinity of the Park Hyatt (and the new Crown Towers) than the Four Seasons. Here's 3 reasons why:
1. The entry-level room at the Waldorf Astoria will be 38m2, compared to 40m2 at the Park Hyatt and 47m2 at Crown Towers. In contrast, the Four Seasons entry-level room is just 26m2.
2. The Four Seasons is a big hotel with over 500 rooms (same goes for Intercontinental and Shangri-La). In contrast, the Waldorf Astoria will have less than half the number of rooms (220).
3. The Waldorf Astoria is absolute Sydney dress circle, with views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The Four Seasons (and Intercontinental and Shangri-La) are too...but they will all be 30-40+ years old by the time the Waldorf Astoria opens in 2025 (and it's an all-glass new build hotel!).
Crown Towers has opened during Covid and is by far superior to the Park Hyatt in every way, except for views. (You can still see the Harbour Bridge, it’s not as close and at an angle)
This is very exciting, particularly given Hilton's disappointingly lacking luxury options in Australia. It's also very interesting to see WA's slow but steady growth.
In other Hilton news, an enormous (and admittedly more premium) new Hilton in Singapore recently opened with 1080 rooms.
I did a bit of research on the new Hilton Singapore because it both greatly surprised and intrigued me that Hilton would relinquish what was known as Hilton Singapore, which they managed since it opened in 1970. That's a long time! I also felt some connection to the hotel because I stayed there almost every year...
I did a bit of research on the new Hilton Singapore because it both greatly surprised and intrigued me that Hilton would relinquish what was known as Hilton Singapore, which they managed since it opened in 1970. That's a long time! I also felt some connection to the hotel because I stayed there almost every year since 2009, including in late December 2019, barely 3 weeks before the pandemic hit.
Anyway, what I gleaned was that the management agreement between 'old' Hilton Singapore and Hilton was due to expire, so either Hilton or the property decided not to renew (it is unclear which), but it is quite likely that Hilton decided to walk away because they had their sights on this new property, now named Hilton Singapore Orchard, as it too has a venerable history. It was opened in 1971 under the 'Mandarin' name, becoming Mandarin Orchard after a significant renovation and additions that made it into one of the largest/tallest hotels in Singapore.
To make a long story short:
How about the 'old' Hilton Singapore? Well, it has been rebranded as a 'voco', an IHG brand.
Singapore now reopened to visitors, I plan to book an award stay in Dec 2022/Jan 2023 at this new Hilton Singapore Orchard hotel on my way to WA Maldives!
Ben, did you see Condor’s new livery? (See article on aero(.)de)
@ Endre -- I'll have a post up about it shortly!