We spent 3 nights in a deluxe water view room. The view wasn't great being of cruise ships in port but it was the quieter side of the hotel which is good in a city. We had a couple of maintenance issues with our room but these well dealt with quickly. The hotel was very comfortable, the ambiance was relaxed with the guests seemingly being a mixture of business and leisure (we stayed midweek). The small gym was well equipped.
Food: breakfast was expensive but the quality was good with plenty of choice on the continental buffet. We ate in the Galileo Restaurant one evening. We opted for the 5 course degustation menu which was excellent.
The Concierges were excellent. They went out of their way to help us make the most of our time in Sydney providing ferry timetables, restaurant advice etc. Each time we returned they greeted us warmly and wanted to hear about our day.
I recommend this hotel to anyone who wants luxury with a more personal touch than is generally offered by "chain hotels."

Our 2 night stay at The Observatory was a really nice experience however for the price and stars we didnt expect DVD players we had to tap to load a disc and water dripping over our shoes in the closet. A call to front desk got us a brief " sorry, we will check it out later" and water was dripping from the floor above into the closet by then. The room was beautiful though and the day spa amenities are amazing. The spa and pool is a highlight. If you can get a good price on an king size room ( we were in 103) then you will enjoy a beautiful and classy hotel experience. Hopefully without maintenance issues and an old fashioned "water closet".

We had booked the hotel months in advance, and got a call 2 days before we were about to arrive that the hotel was overbooked and we had to stay at another hotel for our last two days of the stay. We were supposed to stay there for five nights and to have to move after just three nights was very uncovenient. The hotel picked us up at the airport for free and gave us a nice three course dinner, but we would rather stayed at the hotel for the whole stay then have to move. As long as you only have 5 days in Sydney, you would like to use everyday to enjoy yourself, not moving around. The hotel is very nice and the service is also good, but things like this should not happen at a 5 star hotel.

Have to admit we were a bit reluctant about choosing the Observatory due to the big difference in price compare to the “big name” hotels. I understand, must of them do offer harbor view, but even though we like to splurge from time to time in our hotel choices, we decided we wouldn’t spend that much time in front of our window and would rather spend that difference enjoying the gastronomic choices in Sydney.

We were pleasantly surprised. The hotel is on The Rocks area, a hot spot in the metropolitan area, walking distance to Darling Harbor, the Opera House and the CBD area. If you want to reach the Sydney Fish Market (A MUST) I suggest you rather take a taxi from there.
A very well maintained hotel, victorian style, nice ambiance. Service is great, everybody was so attentive, reservation process was done very professionally. We decided to change our reservation and didn’t encounter any trouble, they were very helpful. We even had a couple of problems with our room that now I don’t even find worth it to mention because they were taken care of diligently.Rooms are cozy and VERY spacious.
Breakfast was not included in our rate. It was pretty amazing but comes on a very high price, but then again you are in Sydney. Great choice of food, fresh juice. All in all very nice. You can find other places for breakfast around, if you are interested. Try The Fine Food Store at the Rocks, a good 10 mins. walk but in my opinion really worth it. Small and nice coffee shop, nice environment, wi-fi and choices for breakfast were great and healthy.
A great value for money, totally worth it. Highly recommended.