Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour — Hotel in Sydney

My husband and I recently stayed at the Grand Quay Pullman Sydney and paid $600 for the night. The experience from start to finish was lacklustre, basic and completely overpriced.

From the first call to book, I was promised a call back as the reservation team weren't in. I did not receive a call and had to call back the following day.

We arrived early and left our luggage with the concierge and was told we would be called if the room was ready early, otherwise it will be ready from 2 pm.

We arrived back at the hotel at 1.55 pm and told our room would not be ready for another 15-30minutes, our luggage was in the room and we could leave and wait for a call. This was not convenient for us, we wanted a bathroom and rest so we had to wait. There were limited places to sit in the foyer and it was full of waiting customers. When we finally got a seat, we saw another customer be asked if keys to a car we're theirs, which it wasn't, and they had to confirm their make and model and seemed frustrated. A cleaning lady then appeared, called out back and forth to another cleaning lady on another floor before being attended to by concierge.

At 2.30 pm, the concierge told us our room was now ready and wanted to confirm our last name as the wrong keys had been given out before. We directed to go to the level above for our room (not escorted like other guests), which we found to not have our luggage inside. Not sure if our luggage was lost or we were in the wrong room, my husband went back down to the concierge to find our luggage and after confusion, they located them still in the storeroom.

The room itself was worn and dilapidated with chipped cupboards in the bathroom, a yellow wrinkled/worn toilet seat, stained floor rug in the lounge room and blind to the balcony could only be fully up or fall completely down. We also had glass shards on the balcony.

The fee you are expecting without including anything but basic television and paid wifi is disgraceful.

The biggest issue for me was the base of the club below. It was not an issue until after going for a swim at 5 pm. On arriving back into our room the base was very noticeable, even when having the tv on. This lead to being very frustrated and tense as I research the club would not close until midnight.

After a restless sleep, we were expecting two newspapers to our room as per the reservation form, which never arrived.

I explained most of these issues at checkout. When discussing the clubs base, the manager put the onus back onto me for not calling down to the concierge to request they turn it down. That is completely out of touch to expect a guest would know to do that or not to mention this option for this room at arrival. I felt the responsibility for our bad stay was put onto us.

I was offered a discounted second stay, which misses the point. This was a limited opportunity for us to have this night away.

Some of these things in isolation would not have been an issue at all but all together builds a representation of a basic facility.

To round out this experience, a $450.00 pre-authorisation was taken from our card and took well over a week to be released. When I called to raise this, I was told it would take 3-5 days, and calling on day 4 I was told to wait and call back if it wasn't released. The receptionist did not even take a name to even considered following up on her end. This is another expensive, ludicrous action not seen in any other high-quality hotel. To take a pre-authorisation of over half the fee and not to release it on departure is unheard of.

I am extremely disappointed, wasted a limited opportunity of a night away and relaxing stay in the city, which we usually do at other 4 or 5 star locations, who are less expensive, where rooms and service leave nothing to be desired.

The Pullmans only redeeming feature is the view from the very corner of the room and location for walking. It was not worth the fee or hassle...

Staff do not introduce themselves nor do they seem willing to engage with guests. Staff encountered in the corridors or lifts seem to deliberately avoid eye contact and very rarely greet guests. This is in sharp contrast to Fullerton Bay in Singapore where the staff greet everyone ask how their day is going and if there is anything they can help with. We have even had staff come to the room whilst staying at the Kerry in Kowloon wondering if everything was alright because we had left our do not disturb light on for 24 hours by mistake. That was the level of attention and care shown to regular guests. The room service menu is simply not up to par. We would often entertain for dinner in our suite but this is no longer possible given the paucity of choice on the available menu. When we do order room service it is somewhat of a lottery as to what we will get. The main problem here is that staff simply do not repeat the order. This is particularly problematic when English might be a second language. In all the years of staying at the Pullman, I think the spa has worked maybe 50% of the time. A minor complaint but the spa is a welcome relief at the end of a long function. Events remain a problem - every event we have had the Pullman has some form of friction - generally around catering. It appears as if the correct event order is not being transmitted to the catering staff. Pertinent details such as dietary preferences and drinks are routinely missing and have to be chased leaving the catering staff running around trying to fix a problem not of their making. This problem could be easily fixed by the event staff being more careful. There seems to be a philosophy of turning every space in the hotel into a nightclub. The bar is unusable for business catch-ups due to the high volume of the background music. This has even become true in reception where booking in is difficult because it is hard to hear what staff are saying over the background music. Whilst I am not an expert in your demographics I would say that the majority of people who stay at your hotel are grown ups who have come for a relaxing quiet time not to wander into a faux rave party. The upgrading of the rooms after many years of looking tired was welcome as was the upgrade to the AV. Particularly the ability to stream to the new TVs. It is now a week since my check out and I am yet to receive a copy of my invoice. This is a perennial problem. I always have to repeatedly ask for one to be emailed to me. It should be an automatic process once checkout...

I rarely leave negative reviews, but my experience at this hotel was so disappointing that I feel compelled to warn others. From the moment I arrived, it was clear that this place did not meet even the most basic expectations.

First, the check-in process was painfully slow. Despite arriving well after the advertised check-in time, I had to wait over 30 minutes at the front desk because only one staff member was available, and they seemed overwhelmed and disorganized. When I finally got my room key, the receptionist was dismissive and gave very little information about hotel amenities or policies.

Walking into my room was a major letdown. The room was poorly maintained, with peeling paint on the walls and a persistent musty odor that suggested poor ventilation or mold. The carpet was stained and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, and the furniture was worn and scratched. I also noticed several cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.

The bed linens were grimy and had visible stains, which made me question the overall cleanliness standards of the hotel. The bathroom was no better — the showerhead was clogged and barely sprayed water, the drain was slow, and there were hairs from previous guests on the floor and sink. It was clear the housekeeping staff either rushed through their cleaning or didn’t do it at all.

Adding to the discomfort, the air conditioning unit was extremely noisy and barely cooled the room, which was particularly unpleasant on a warm night. I tried calling the front desk to request a room change or at least some maintenance, but my calls went unanswered. When I finally got through, the staff member was unhelpful and seemed uninterested in resolving my concerns.

The noise level was another big issue. The hotel is located near a construction site, and the noise started as early as 7 AM and continued well into the afternoon. I asked the front desk if there was any way to avoid the noise, but again, no solutions were offered. This made it impossible to rest or enjoy my stay.

Breakfast was another disappointment. The buffet was poorly stocked, with limited choices and food that looked unappetizing. The dining area was cramped and not very clean, which made the experience even less enjoyable.

Overall, the value for money was terrible. For the price I paid, I expected a clean, comfortable room with decent service. Instead, I got a run-down room, poor service, and a stressful experience. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and will definitely be looking...