Expert reviews
“Towering above Walsh Bay from its prime position alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge, this sleek hotel is the place for a room with a bird’s-eye view. North-facing rooms overlooking the water are the best.”
Featured as Fodor’s Choice in Sydney.
“Many hotels along Sydney’s harbor feature views of their spectacular surroundings, but none quite like Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. Towering 36 stories above Sydney Harbour, the Shangri-La stands alone in the city for the highest unobstructed views, boasting the largest windows of any harbor-facing hotel.”
“A modern Asian style focused on the Oriental blossom ties things together. A nice touch, but nothing tops sitting in your room and staring at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.”
“The Shangri-La distinguishes itself among the cluster of five-star chain hotels in Sydney’s Circular Quay, with its famous Level 36 bar and restaurant – one of the best spots in town for a drink or a meal with a view. All the rooms feature harbour views from enormous windows and have cosy window-seats.”
What guests liked
- Amazing views
- Great rooms
- Friendly staff
- Excellent Wifi
- Great location
- Comfortable beds
All you need to know
Shangri-La Hotel is situated at 176 Cumberland Street in the Central Business District of Sydney where it offers the best in hospitality amenities and facilities to tourists and travelers looking to enjoy the best of Sydney. The hotel is strategically located close to the city financial, economic and entertainment hub which will make sure guests get the unique adventure they desire.
The hotel is rated five-star for its quality services, and it also offers excellent views of iconic places such as Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.
The Shangri La Hotel offers luxury and stylish room options such as Executive Grand Harbour Twin, The Rocks Suite with Club Lounge Access, Premier Grand Harbour King, Executive Grand Harbour King and Deluxe Grand Harbour King. The hotel features room options with lounge access such as the Horizon Darling Harbour King with Club Lounge Access, Horizon Opera House City with Club Lounge Access and Executive Grand Harbour Suite with Club Lounge Access.
The hotel is about a 5-minute walk away from the Sydney Opera House while the Museum of Contemporary Art is about 300 m away from the hotel.
The rooms in the hotel are fitted with standard amenities such as free Wi-Fi for high-speed internet access, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a minibar, air conditioning and a comfy bed.
The hotel provides other services, facilities, and amenities such as concierge services, luggage storage, 24-hour front desk, airport shuttle, daily maid service and room service.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
29 January 2026
Fabulous
I paid for upgrade of room w early check in. Perfect choice. I got to rest before going out.
The restaurant at the lounge has a very limited menu. Didn’t quite feel like a restaurant lounge.
29 January 2026
Exceptional
Big rooms great staff
Nil
29 January 2026
Fabulous location. Beautiful Opera house views. Very central to Circular Quay.
N/a
29 January 2026
Some of Sydney’s best views. Staff very helpful. Could improve with little extras to make it that little bit more specia
Amazing views from the rooftop bar
Not sure about the shampoo, body lotion hand wash brand. Unimpressed.
28 January 2026
Excellent break in the city with fabulous views and easy access to the bridge and opera house
The view was fantastic
NA
28 January 2026
Stay was too short, Customer service from the team and in particular Lo at check in was outstanding
King Sized bed, and a room View that overlooked the Harbour and Opera House.
28 January 2026
Iconic views
The view from the room really was a highlight, incredible view of the harbour. The facilities were amazing and the bathroom especially was beautiful. The staff were exceptionally helpful and friendly, particularly the bell team and the breakfast staff.
Found the check in process to be a little hectic and rushed, we weren't given much information about basic things like breakfast which we had prepaid for and had to go back to ask later which was a very slow queue.
28 January 2026
Marvellous place to enjoy New Years Eve
Wonderful position
Nothing
28 January 2026
Enjoyed our stay
Location and service
Wrongly delivered someone else’s dessert to our room. And staff was annoyed because we had opened it and they could not deliver it to the correct room.
28 January 2026
Shangri-La, the best of everything.
Service - the large, African lady who greeted us on arrival and walked us to the lift completely set the tone for our wonderful stay. Views the best, food world class.
Room not ready for nearly 2 hours after check-in - tje $50 discount was not an acceptable compensation, disappointing and never experienced this at any other 5 star hotel around the world.
28 January 2026
Exceptional
Great place, views exceptional as were staff.
Coffee unbelievably expensive. I feel Coffee should be free or at least a reasonable cost to paying guests.
27 January 2026
Clean spacious room breakfast over priced
Spacious well equipped room, very clean and well maintained; large wardrobe and plenty of storage which was not the norm in the other hotels we stayed in. Staff all helpful and friendly.
Breakfast was poor value, we only had it once, it was 62 Australian Dollars each, unripe fruit, poor bread selection and generally not good value.
27 January 2026
Starting to feel like our holiday home away from home!
Our room for this stay was 3305 facing west. We enjoyed our stay and as always the bed and room were excellent. We enjoy watching the sun set to the west and value the different curtain options at the window. It was special to be there for Australia Day and we loved the view from the Horizon Club area! It was also lovely to see Rose in the Club room as she always remembers us when we go and has been there for many years now.
There is nothing we could say to criticise our stay.
27 January 2026
Exceptional
We had a brilliant stay. We had family visiting from the UK and chose Shangri La based on previous stays, as well as its location, being Australia Day. We were all impressed with the hotel and staff, and the breakfast experience and options were better than anywhere weve stayed. 100%.
27 January 2026
Cannot wait to come back!
Everything! This has been the best hotel we have ever stayed in! Thank you to the amazing staff who looked after us.
The pool wasnt heated.
27 January 2026
it was ok
the size of the room
low level floor. mattress was hard and pillows were the worst, too soft
26 January 2026
Loved the location but $10 extra on top of room delivery charges is a bit excessive
View from Room was excellent
The over the top prices for room delivery and costs of cocktails in Blu Bar
26 January 2026
Exceptional
Staff were extremely helpful and friendly, service was very efficient, view was amazing.
Have room ready at check in time, our rooms was an hour late
26 January 2026
Had a wonderful time and would definitely stay again.
Great location, the room was very comfortable and the staff were friendly and helpful.
N/A
25 January 2026
Exceptional
Great location, beautiful view, staff where all lovely and courteous!
25 January 2026
Pleasant
Beds were comfy and spacious. Rooms were fine.... perhaps tiring a little? And thank goodness - there were actually REAL Room service menus that you could browse before getting all QR codee
25 January 2026
Exceptional
location
24 January 2026
Exceptional
Amazing stay perfect service and the view from the room is incredible
24 January 2026
Will come back again.
Excellent services. Perfect view.
24 January 2026
Beautiful property, all of the staff were lovely, definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lovely property, classic elegance.
Steep hill to circular quay
24 January 2026
Exceptional
Location
24 January 2026
Beautiful hotel with excellent staff.We will definitely stay there many times in the future
Beautiful large room with phenomenal view.Room service food was excellent
To walk to Circular Quay you have to walk around the block which is steep with many stairs.For most people this would be fine but if you have bad knees it is problematic.
24 January 2026
Absolutely brilliant hotel staff location room views ..what more can I say we will be back 🤩
Everything was totally Amazing
Nothing
23 January 2026
Very late booking, therefore cheap…. But very good
One of best bars in the world
23 January 2026
Beautiful in the best location in Sydney
The Shangri la is a place away from home and, feels like home. The staff are attentive and welcoming It is a beautiful place with, views of Sydney that are stunning
23 January 2026
Great stay at the hotel excellent staff and a great location
Its location
Nothing
23 January 2026
Wonderful friendly service
Views and the lounge
Nothing. Every thing great
23 January 2026
Excellent relaxing short break away, loved it here.
We were after a break that was completely relaxing and that’s exactly what we got. We splurged and booked a Club Lounge room and it was so worth it. Really enjoyed the breakfast, afternoon tea and evening drinks and hors d’oeuvres each day. All of the staff members were just exceptional throughout the whole hotel. It was very busy and yet the staff kept up with all the individual requests and knew so many of the guests by name, it was very impressive. The room was lovely and big, nice bathroom with bath, the bed was so comfortable that you just melted into it, coffee machine, mini bar and a great view over Darling Harbour. Nice big gym also with good floor space for yoga mats. Location was excellent as you’re right in The Rocks area. We will definitely be staying here again, highly recommend!
23 January 2026
great
room, view. breakfast
spa - far too busy with children.
22 January 2026
Great location, very pricey!
Great view of New Years fireworks!
Memo went around saying you couldn’t bring food or drink in hotel on New Year!
22 January 2026
wonderful staff!!
the location, the view, the Seinfeld-channel, the food in the Altitude restaurant, the pool, the room. well almost everything
sometimes very slow service in the lobby bar
22 January 2026
The birthday cake which was delivered to our room has cheers us up. It really surprises us!
Location is perfect!
It’s a bit old, especially the lobby.
22 January 2026
Exceptional
The bed was amazing 👏 the buffet breakfast . Had the best night sleep
N/a
22 January 2026
Exceptional
Big room
Nothing
22 January 2026
Enjoyable stay and impressive harbour view
Stayed at Shanghai La Sydney multiple times over the years, always a pleasant experience. The harbour view is just stunning. Look forward to the next stay.
22 January 2026
Our Grandsons Birthday surprise 😮
Our experience in the Hotel, was wonderful Thank you
Nothing
21 January 2026
Very good
Location
Missing outdoor pool
21 January 2026
Enjoyable, great views, pleasant
Clean, reasonably sound proof, good views
Location not very convenient. When we checked in lady told us that our room would be ready in approximately an hour, and so we walked down to the quay and then back up after the hour only to find out it still wasn’t ready, went back down hill again, returned just before 3, still not ready. Ended up getting moved rooms- but wondered if the room we were going to have had better views. I would have preferred lady give me an accurate waiting time.
21 January 2026
Shangri -La Sydney
Beautiful hotel in lovely location
Nothing to dislike
21 January 2026
A truly wonderful 24 hours.
Beautiful venue and very welcoming staff.
Nil
21 January 2026
Very good
Everything was very comfortable. My extended international family and I have been staying at The Shangri La for decades. We expect to continue to do so. Great location. Thank you.
Not keen on the dining area. Too cramped.
21 January 2026
Very good
Great views, beautiful room
Applied to pay for early check in, however room wasn't ready until after standard check in time. Upon check out the early check in rate was charged. Staff did rectify this once questioned. Toiletries not supplied/renewed each day of stay.
20 January 2026
Fabulous
1. Views - the view from my room was superb 2. Beds & Pillows - very comfortable, we all slept well 3. Room service - service and food, both excellent
1. Cafe/Restaurant near the lobby - seating was not comfortable for eating lunch. You probably have another location for lunch; if we had been informed, we would have moved 2. No play area for young children. We had 5 children in our group between 7 and 1. It would have been good to have a place to take them to run of some steam.
20 January 2026
A perfect base from which to experience Sydney.
Spacious room with a harbour view; Altitude restaurant; comfortable bed; lovely bathroom; lovely pool and spa; great location.
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Kid meals (additional charge)
- - Wine/champagne (additional charge)
- - Fruits (additional charge)
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Soundproof rooms
- - Packed lunches
- - Car hire
- - Heating
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Designated smoking area
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out
- - Currency exchange
- - Tour desk
- - Luggage storage
- - ATM/cash machine on site
- - Concierge service
- - Private check-in/check-out
- - Invoice provided
Activities
- - Sauna
- - Fitness centre
- - Spa and wellness centre (additional charge)
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Hot tub/Jacuzzi
- - Indoor pool
- - Indoor pool (all year)
- - Beauty Services
- - Facial treatments
- - Body treatments
- - Body scrub
- - Body wrap
- - Spa facilities
- - Steam room
- - Spa lounge/relaxation area
- - Foot bath
- - Spa/wellness packages
- - Couples massage
- - Full body massage
- - Fitness
- - Fitness/spa locker rooms
Outdoors
- - Terrace
- - Sun terrace
- - Outdoor furniture
Entertainment & family services
- - Babysitting/child services (additional charge)
- - Strollers
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Trouser press (additional charge)
- - Daily housekeeping
Parking
- - Parking garage
Accessibility
- - Wheelchair accessible
- - Toilet with grab rails
Pool and wellness
- - Heated pool
- - Swimming pool
- - Swimming pool
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key card access
- - Security alarm
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Face masks for guests available

More photos

29 January 2026
Exceptional