Room with the ultimate view

Bev Fearis checked in to the Shangri-La Sydney to see the beautiful city in all its glory…

There are views, and then there are views, and then there is THE view, the mother of all views, the view that you don’t mind paying extra for. If your clients are going to Sydney, particularly if it’s the first and probably the only time they’ll venture that far, you must insist that they splash out on a hotel room with a clear view of Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge. They’ll thank you afterwards.

At the Shangri-La Hotel Sydney, all of the 563 rooms have harbour views, and of these more than two thirds are of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The rest are of Darling Harbour, which is also pretty spectacular as views go, but it’s worth paying the extra AU$65 a night to be on the other side.

The higher you go, the more you pay too. Our room was on the 23rd floor and the view was spectacular. All rooms on floors four to 29 were refurbished back in 2012. Described as ‘modern oriental’, the design pays homage to Shangri-La’s Asian routes, with plenty of cherry blossoms, golds and deep rich browns. The padded window seats are a particularly nice touch, giving me a comfortable place to sit and admire the view, wrapped in my luxuriously thick bathrobe. The rooms here are spacious too. Ours, a Deluxe Grand Harbour View Room, was 45 – 50 sqm and had all the latest technology – iHome docks, bluetooth TV, and even international plug sockets so I didn’t have to pester reception for an adapter.

Breakfast was an event.  I couldn’t get enough of the quinoa salad, nor the gluten-free muesli – it was almost worth developing an intolerance for! I tucked into the little bowls of nuts and seeds and fresh and dried fruit, trying to kid myself I was having a healthy breakfast, while my other half went for the full English, loving the little glass jars of Ketchup and HP Sauce and wishing he could sneak them in our airplane luggage and take them home.

The second morning, I went for a run, mainly so that I could justify eating more of the breakfast. The hotel is located a five-minute walk from Circular Quay and right on the edge of the Rocks, Sydney’s pleasant touristy district. I wound my way through the cafes and boutiques, climbed the steps up the Harbour Bridge and ran across it, looking back at the hotel among the other high rises in the city skyline.

The hotel is 36 floors high and on the top is Blu Bar and thre Altitude Restaurant, both of which have fabulous panoramic harbour views. It’s one of Sydney’s top spots on New Year’s Eve for Sydney’s famous firework display, when tickets go for AU$1000. Time to start saving…