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
9 January 2026
Fantastic place to stay, highly recommend
The location is fantastic, the room modern, bed comfortable and view incredible
9 January 2026
Wonderful enjoyable stay
Beautiful and friendly staff
All good
9 January 2026
Nice hotel but could be a little more personal and not make you feel like just another customer
Great location , comfortable beds , nice big bathroom, breakfast and , room service great
The reception girls were not very helpful busy talking amongst themselves when we arrived .The hotel held a $1500 room security. Deposit for over a week for only a 3 night stay
8 January 2026
Overall our stay was above expectations
we were able to leave our belongings at a central place when we arrived until the book in time. We were able to do a bit of exploring around the city.
Although the room was very comfortable and the bed likewise, we found the doona far to warm. Having an alternative such as bed linen would be appropriate.
8 January 2026
Lovely stay. Very comfortable and beautiful view and location.
The location and the view from our room in particular was fantastic
Something minor… the ring tone from the phone in the room is horrible and very disruptive. The two times the front desk called the room both gave us a terrible fright, so much so that my first thought was if it was the fire alarm going off. I turned on the Do not disturb in the room whenever we were there to avoid any more calls.
8 January 2026
Exceptional
Location and views!
The hill to walk up to the hotel ! Lol
8 January 2026
Great location, great rooms and views from the room.
Brilliant location Great view. Great customer service. Even found us a spare pram so the kids stopped arguing. Meant that kids could go all day as we only had 1 pram with us. Brilliant blackout curtains.
On a hill. Made it a bit harder pushing the pram uphill at the end of the day.
7 January 2026
Beautiful views, fantastic location, super helpful staff.
The view was absolutely amazing, easy walk to The Rocks, staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Just beautiful.
7 January 2026
Fabulous
The room upgrade and chocolates for the kids at check in
The pillows are too soft
7 January 2026
Brilliant stay
Clean, great view and friendly staff
It was tiring going uphill but do-able
7 January 2026
One night stay for Tom Gleeson at the Opera House.
Mazing views of the houlbour from the room. Close to the city centre, Opera house, Rocks. This is our third stay at the Shangri-La. We love it. Great breakfast.
Bed was a bit firm.
6 January 2026
Worth going to Australia for
The view was amazing ,the ambiance was unreal, and the staff were superb
I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about it
6 January 2026
Perfect stay
Lovely hotel had a night stay over before boarding a cruise. Lovely location and great hotel.
5 January 2026
Absolutely brilliant.
Everything about this hotel was excellent. Spacious suite with amazing view of the Opera House. Restaurant was excellent.
5 January 2026
Exceptional
Amazing service and beautiful rooms, restaurants and staff. Could not fault a single thing!
5 January 2026
Exceptional
Upper floor room with view. Great heating & cooling. Comfortable king bed with nice linen. Really good WiFi. Room service food was wonderful. Horizon Lounge was nice, great service, great food, and views.
N/A
5 January 2026
Had a great family weekend.
Love the location, walking distance to the ferry and great pubs and The Rocks
5 January 2026
Great location and hotel
Great location to be harbour Breakfast was fantastic
Nil
4 January 2026
An absolute pleasure and will be making it my regular hotel for sure!
It was the perfect location and the view, WOW! Club access is a definite must do with everything you need and plenty of it! The staff were terrific from greeting us at the car on arrival, giving directions to local shops.. it’s not every day every staff member remembers your name, which made us feel even more welcome.
Not much… if I was to be picky I’d say the shower/hot water could have a little more pressure, but with being environment conscious it got the job done and was still relaxing
4 January 2026
Exceptional
Awesome bed and the view was great.
No bin in the bathroom
4 January 2026
Fabulous place for a last night stay to celebrate the best of Sydney.
Brilliant location and a spectacular view from our room.
N/A
4 January 2026
We loved our room and view. The hotel is clearly popular going by the volume of people.
The view
Felt a little dated and busy.
3 January 2026
Exceptional
Comfiest bed ever
Liked everything
3 January 2026
Very nice
Excellent location
Close to circular quay but quite hilly
3 January 2026
Exceptional
Location, view, breakfast, afternoon tea, canapes, staff
The climb up from circular quay to the lobby level
3 January 2026
The best hotel in Sydney.
I I appreciate all aspects of this property. The view from my room was truly breathtaking. I have stayed in several hotels in Sydney thus far, and this one is the best. The food was excellent, and the room service menu was quite affordable. The room was immaculate, and the bed was comfortable. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.
The only thing I found disappointing about the hotel was the size of the swimming pool and the sense of being observed at times. The pool was rather small, which was a bit of a letdown, especially since I had high expectations based on my experiences with other Shangri-La hotels and was comparing it to those. Despite that, I appreciated the cleanliness and the overall comfort. We still had a pleasant stay.
3 January 2026
Return visit
Everything was perfect
Nothing
3 January 2026
Exceptional
Everything. Best hotel in Sydney
Nothing
1 January 2026
Very good
Amazing view of the harbour and great central location
Rooms look tired and dated
1 January 2026
We had a lovely pre Christmas stay and loved having access to the horizon club!
The room and views were great
1 January 2026
The accommodation is excellent, the spa was great, the dinner at Altitude was amazing!
The location was very convenient, it's near the Rocks, Circular Quay, and Opera House. The view is amazing! and the room is bigger than I was expecting! Plus, they have a Pillow Menu to ensure I get the best sleep I can have.
On my first morning, I had breakfast at the lounge, I said I wanted the Waffle breakfast, so I thought the staff understood that I meant the waffle breakfast which is with bacon and eggs. Unfortunately, she thought it's just waffle. and then my coffee came, it's just like a regular coffee and no latte art at all. On the 2nd day, we wanted to try the buffet breakfast but they do not accept walk ins. On the 3rd day, I finally was able to have a breakfast buffet but the selection is really limited although, the coffee that they served was better than the one at the lounge.
1 January 2026
View was spectacular
Great location, massage great.
Some staff could watch cleanliness more around the buffet which was quite chaotic on a busy day and I picked up some rubbish outside in the main entry area including an earbud :-(. Not a good look for a 5 star hotel welcoming overseas guests.
31 December 2025
Perfect location and perfect rooms
It was spacious and perfect
30 December 2025
Very good
Great location, best view on Sydney Harbour
Not easy to get there by public transport
30 December 2025
Awesome place to stay.
Location. Parking. Room size. View from the room. Pool. Staff. Breakfast.
Nothing.
30 December 2025
Exceptional
Fabulous room. Lots of space. Loved the big bathroom.
Nothing. We had a great stay.
30 December 2025
I would stay again!
Staff were amazing. Breakfast buffet delicious. Glad to have bottled water.
Off putting smell in lobby. Like a powder smell
30 December 2025
Very comfortable beds ! Beautiful bathrooms & views !
Close to the train station and walking distance for locations in the CBD. Friendly staff The indoor pool
I think slightly overpriced for the room but I know it’s about the location.
30 December 2025
Great
Room view and cleanliness were excellent Staff friendly
Took too long to get a drink in the ground floor lounge - we waited about 20mins and only half the tables were occupied….
28 December 2025
Good stay
Hotel was clean, tidy and well managed. Checking in process was really smooth.
Not much the hotel can do, but location wise the hotel was at the top of a hill, had we known - we may not have booked. It was quite awkward for a family with 2 kids to reach with a buggy/stroller. Our options were a long slow climb (15mins) or a steep incline 5 mins down to circular quay.
28 December 2025
Exceptional
It was great.
I did not like the indoor pool. I was expecting an outdoor pool.
28 December 2025
Excellent stay with minor nits
Good location. Our suite was a good size, with 2 bathrooms. Lounge was very nice, with great views. Food quality was good, but not excellent.
Lounge goodwas mostly buffet (good), but for some items not in the buffet (coffee, omelettes) it was sometimes difficult to get staff to take your order.
27 December 2025
Beautiful. I proposed to my partner on Christmas Eve and it was a magical place to do it
Everything was amazing. Very fast check in with lots of support. Felt welcomed from the door men and concierge everyday. Breakfast food was spectacular. The view was obviously amazing. The bed and pillows were unmatched and we travel a lot! Thank you so much.
Nothing
26 December 2025
Relaxing
Staff, cleanliness and views
Long time to check in
25 December 2025
Exceptional
Staff. Location
24 December 2025
So brilliant I wish we could have stayed longer.
Central location. Beautiful view. Posh bathroom with the best shower in the world. Super comfy beds and plenty of circulation space. Loads of complimentary tea, coffee and toiletries. Staff were kind, helpful and facilitated an early check in.
Nothing
24 December 2025
Exceptional
The view is so amazing...
None
24 December 2025
Repeat stay - consistently great!
Great overnight business stay. Really appreciated the mid-morning check-in given our flight arrival time. Familiar with facilities given repeat visit - particularly like the gym/pool/sauna & the views from the bar on level 36 (definitely worth a visit!!) Friendly staff, great service all round. Thank you!
23 December 2025
Wonderful stay , hotel is beautiful, staff were amazing, definitely recommend staying at this wonderful hotel
Everything
Nothing
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 and 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

9 January 2026
Exceptional