The Simon Hotel Sydney

My pooch, Sparky, and I have been traveling across North America for 2 months and were booked on the Newfoundland ferry for July 2nd. A one-night stop in Sydney worked for our schedule. The Simon Hotel is conveniently located on the waterfront in Sydney Harbour. It is an older property that has recently been renovated. The staff is fabulous. The property is clean. The restaurant was busy. I had a comfortable rest and was able to do laundry in the morning before checking out. The doggie water and food bowls plus treats in our room were a nice touch for my travel buddy, Sparky.

The breakfast was plentiful, both hot and cold foods available. The rooms were very clean. The staff were friendly. The pets were all on the bottom floor. Governor's Pub a must...Best carrot /ginger soup ever!

When I booked online I thought there was a balcony. There was no balcony. All the shops were closed. No shops open on the boardwalk. At breakfast things were not very sanitary. The utensils were not wrapped in a napkin. The cream for coffee was handled by everyone. People were coughing and walking around the food without masks.Made me very nervous. We left for home after one night.

Staff was friendly and professional. Rooms are nicely updated and clean. Comfortable beds. Great walkable area around hotel (harbour, restauarants, parks) Lovely water pitchers in the lobby with cucumber or lemon slices were a nice bonus as it was a hot day when we arrived.

Although the building had been updated recently with modern finishes and lovely decor, the bathrooms weren't entirely updated... the new tile and counters were beautiful, but made it very noticeable that the tub/shower, toilet and baseboard heaters had Not been updated.

We really love this hotel. For us, having a bedroom with a comfy king size bed, separate living room and kitchenette makes it ideal. Add in free wifi and great location, and for us, there is no other place we would rather stay when we travel "home" to Cape Breton. The hotel is undergoing some renovations, but this was not an issue for us. We did not know the gym was going to be closed for renovations (April 2022), and although it was disappointing, we would have booked here regardless. Our room this time had a walk-in shower (which we loved); but last Fall, we had a tub/shower combo. If you have a preference, you may want to request it when you book. If you need to do laundry, there is a small laundromat just as you get off the elevator on the Harbourview floor. Elevators were very quick with very little wait. TIP- ask for a room that faces City Hall, and if it is on a higher floor, you see the Big Fiddle at the Visitor Information Center. The other side of the hotel looks over the parking lot and the new college under construction. This will look amazing when it is done! We really enjoyed the breakfast buffet each morning - eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, bagels, muffins, fruit, yogurt, cereal, porridge, tea, coffee, homemade banana bread or coffee cake wrapped to go. The staff really do their best to make it a great start to the day and whenever we return at the end of our day, they always had a smile and welcomed us back. Dogs are allowed at the hotel, so we were able to bring our Shih Tzu on this trip. The hotel provided him with dog dishes, doggie bags, and even some treats for his stay! The hotel lobby is fresh and modern, and the grounds are well maintained. It was lovely seeing the purple and yellow flowers (crocuses) popping up when we were visiting.

On the weekend of our one week stay, there were some guest who were celebrating loudly in their rooms and in the hallway (reminded me of university dorm life). We called the front desk and the hotel staff responded immediately by patrolling the hallway to ensure noise levels were being monitored. We understand this type of thing happens, but we were impressed with how they dealt with the situation. We slept very well every night of our stay.

great suite ~ yet terrible views of unfinished back of buildings

altho fun view of the harbor on the elliptical ~ very disappointed with the fitness room -not one single towel wasn’t there -the water dispenser had no water whatsoever -No soap or towels in the washroom - something in corner absorbing moisture from a window !? looked awful -nothing to clean/ wipe down the machines with -felt like it was brand new and should not have been opened quite as yet … we did go and talk to the front desk

Loved the staff, very kind and spotless facilities. Lovely experience, wonderful staff, comfortable beds, great views!

The price is so high, it makes going stressful with all the other things the world is facing. I think hotels should be offering reasonable discounts to All Health Care Workers like myself. No one expects things for free, affordable is great. We still have access to disposable income to go to hotels because our jobs have not stopped, we only worked more during covid. I am a RN, we do get acknowledge but the other people who keep the hospital running, like cleaners, security, lab, porters, cooks, xray techs, social workers, we all fought covid together. To say thank you and show respect in a world that is collectively traumatized, we need to be kind to one another any way we can.

Overall good. Loved the harbor view. Love the dining section large window to see the harbor view.

Suggestions for improvement... 1. Make all lights in the room the same color/shade. Suggest the yellow lights in the washroom. Currently yellow light bulbs in some areas of the suite and white light bulbs in other areas. 2. Add a warm meal offering to your breakfast menu. I was unpleasantly surprised to not see scrambled eggs or omelettes or potatoes, bacon on the breakfast menu. At least that is what I have experienced at other hotel chain suites i have been at. Your current offering is ok but can be improved to make it more robust and welcoming. When it said breakfast included, I didn't have in mind i was going to see only coffee, juice, cereal and bagels with a toaster. Hope this helps.

Nice hotel, with large renovated suites. Very comfortable. We had waterfront view suites which were very nice. Great shower and lots of space.

The restaurant and room service was awfully. Avoid. Unappetising, cold food. We had the misfortune of multiple meals there (slow learners) and all bad, so not just a one off. New cook required.

All staff are appropriately friendly and helpful.

Bathroom sink was not thoroughly cleaned. Tell staff to run a cleaning cloth with cleanser under and all around the rim of the sink, inside the sink. Dark dirt could be seen.

The location right on the boardwalk along the harbour was lovely, and being close to Eds Books, a pharmacy, a post office and great local restaurants was ideal -- I got all my chores done for the ferry right within blocks of the spacious and super friendly staffed hotel.

it would have been more convenient if there'd been parking in the front of the hotel upon checkin - seemed like some folks were parked there for longer-term instead of just to get oriented.