Ace Hotel Sydney — Hotel in Sydney

I was excited to stay at Ace Hotel Sydney as I was very familiar with Ace DTLA and Palm Springs.

I’m a Sydney local and I stayed in A Medium Plus room for 6 nights. Check in was brilliant and the team member who welcomed me was and is exceptional.

I love the retro boutique vibe of the room which also featured a record player which was a nice touch. Amenities including body wash, conditioner etc is aplenty and the mini bar is well stocked and somewhat reasonably priced (bars seem to be more expensive now). The bodywash oddly reminded me of the same stuff that was stocked at the now defunct OutNYC hotel on 44th street NYC. Brought back memories - must be the peppermint.

The hotel is very hip and happening, plus the lobby bar and adjoined restaurants is deceptively large - walking by you my not realise this. If you’re looking for a quiet spot, this may be hit and Miss but I was staying during World Pride which naturally was very busy. The sound proofing of the rooms and blackout curtains are appreciated. If you like the AC cold, it’s fantastic.

Housekeeping were attentive and great. There’s only one day I got back to my room at about 5pm and housekeeping wasn’t done yet but it also was a very busy time.

Dining here is expensive. My only experience didn’t go well, as I ordered from the QR code and was emailed a confirmation. An hour later and nothing. I called reception and they sorted it out but the food that arrived was tepid at best. If they just cooked it I’d be surprised or maybe they did indeed make it and forgot to bring it to the room. Never the less this wasn’t a huge deal and the team looked after me. I’m pretty reasonable overall so like to give fair and balanced, detailed reviews.

I enjoyed a couple cocktails at the rooftop bar and restaurant Kiln - 2 cocktails came to just shy of $60. A lobby bar burger with the lot will come to almost $40 so be prepared to pay. Americans will appreciate their currency here.

The DJs at Lobby Bar was great and the crowd is was diverse from sex and the city, to business travelers, Harry styles concert goers, LGBTQI and allows — but I didn’t really get a hint of attitude.

Big bonus points for a hotel chain that will support Pride and not in a performative way. It’s not pink washing, it’s visibility.

One thing that gave me the ick - the tap water. It always came out white and there could be good reason there or new plumbing but it tasted awful. I don’t have any qualms with drinking tap water in Sydney - so this is an area that could be improved.

Overall a well appointed new and exciting hotel. I look forward staying again and this elevating to a 5 star experience.

Team also had no problem dropping my ubereats off to me. TV allows casting from own devices - though wish the tv was a little larger.

Great work team Ace Sydney, I’ll be...

Not a great hotel for couples!

Sure. A lovely hotel. But it could (and should) be much better.

I’m being ruthless because I’m a firm believer that marketing needs to match the product. If Ace had put as much thought into the design of their rooms as they are their marketing, it’d be a stand-out.

The biggest issues were in the room. Simple, inexpensive things that a brand with as many new hotel openings as Ace has, should have sorted-out by now:

The rooms are by no means roomy. For the price you’re paying, you’re getting trendy design, not size. And you won’t find vinyl players and guitars and other hipster accoutrements in every room. Just enough rooms to photograph for their on-pointe marketing.

Toilets aren’t sealed off from the rest of the room. Just another trendy half-height door that looks great but offers no sound privacy. Be prepared to be asked to leave your hotel room if your partner prefers you don’t hear their bodily orchestrations.

There’s no towel rails or hooks, anywhere in the bathroom. Apparently they’re unsightly. Your room may look great when you arrive. But any trendiness will soon be destroyed with towels hanging over the furniture. (Plus a soggy towel when you go to use it next.) Management, add some function to your rooms and put some hooks up on that obvious wall near the shower door, please?!

Night lights with more light in the bedroom than the bathroom (where you need them). ‘Sorry hunny. It’s 3am and my bladder calls from all the drink we had last night. But you’ve figured that out already from all the lights in your eyes. Oh, and sorry about the mess on the floor. I couldn’t see the bowl!

The AC control (which always have bright lights on them) is in perfect eyesight from the bed. But there’s a handy black face-towel that doubles-up as a black-out cloth. Or they could have put the controls near the front door (like most hotels) and it wouldn’t be a problem.

Lots (4) of lovely, long, soft, down pillows. But no sight of an alternative anywhere. Yes, there’s probably a trendy ‘pillow menu’. But can you be bothered calling housekeeping and waiting when you’re already in bed, tired and want to sleep? A short, 6-step midnight stroll to the wardrobe would be much easier. Management: Throw a firmer, hypoallergenic alternative in the wardrobe like all other 5-star hotels do. Don’t rewrite rules that work.

Bed is super comfy. Food is uncomplicated and superb!!! The lobby and room aesthetics are exquisite. And the staff lovely...

I was excited for this trip as it is the 1st time for all of us to be together on NY, watch the fireworks in Sydney. Booked at Ace Hotel was impressed with the vibe of the place and the rooms (booked 2 double rooms, we were 7 pax). Stayed from 30 Dec to 2 Jan 1st night was great. 2nd day there was a massive power outage. Staff kept promising that power will be back shortly. After a long day in the city, went back to hotel for a nap and to get ready for NY eve dinner, still no power. No emergency light nor torches offered by any of the staff. Around 10:30ish, Isla from front desk sent SMS to my DIL saying that we'll be moved to other rooms if we want (??). Was at the Hotel around 1AM, we had to move rooms, no torches offered, no staff to assist. Around mid-morning NY day, 1st Jan 2023, asked the front desk manager (?) AJ (his name sounded like Ajay) how they managed the guests who were on the levels were there was no power. He cannot say much as he appears not to know the issue. He even asked me “How did the power outage affect your stay as guests?” My brain wanted to explode so I looked at him surprised that he could say something so ‘dumb’ (pardon the language). Next thing in the afternoon, Isla mentioned to my son that we could eat and drink at the hotel bar as a token for the incident (power outage). My son kept asking her if it was anything (remember we were 7 pax and staff would know the price of the menu) we eat or drink. Anyways, it ended up that Hotel shoulders $300 of the food/drinks consumed that night. My sons paid the balance. I had a brief talk with Isla expressing my disappointment as my eldest son even had a cut on his head after slipping from moving from our room. And Isla mentioned to me that it is a privilege given by the hotel to transfer us to other rooms that had power – can you believe this?? I am so disappointed with AJ (Ajay and Isla), I still give credit to the others like Tamaki and Lachlan. Tamaki could not believe when I told her how AJ and Isla treated me; NO customer service sense at all. The person managing Events and the breakfast bar was very nice. Overall, I’ll take the win that I got to spend NY with my children. I wish that management would look at providing training in Customer Service for their staff. I know Ace is global and I would not think Ace in US would treat guests the way we...