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
1 June 2026
Enjoyed the Shangri-la lovely hotel, staff outstanding, food and beverages.
Staff were wonderful, very courteous and friendly. Hotel spotlessly clean from the room, to the bars and lounges etc. Everything was Immaculate. Food and drinks were a credit to the staff who made them. We thought reasonably priced for what was received.
Unaware of the incidental charges that were applied by the hotel when we arrived. Rather than a credit card number been taken to cover incidentals if it occurred, a charge was applied to a credit card, this in addition to the cost of the hotel stay so initial outlay was quite a bit more than expected on arrival. We were advised a refund would be given back ,if no charges(mini bar, damages etc) were occurred at the completion of the stay.
1 June 2026
Fabulous
Suite quality and Harbour, Bridge and Opera House views unequalled in Sydney.
Nothing.
1 June 2026
Very good
The bed was super comfortable
1 June 2026
Absolutely beautiful
amazing staff, restaurant, position,service
na
31 May 2026
Fabulous
Beautiful suite with amazing views.
There was a deposit of $150 added to our bill before we even checked in. It was refunded the day after we checked out. Also extra charge for using Visa card, I thought that was now unlawful
31 May 2026
Exceptional
Everything
The fridge was not working and I had breastmilk that I needed to store
31 May 2026
We booked for vivid and wasn’t disappointed. Our family joined us just before 6pm. The views were spectacular. We all le
The amazing views.
Nothing. It was all amazing.
31 May 2026
Amazing and would reccommend!
Bed was amazing. Room was huge! Location and views were spectacular. Staff were friendly and helpful. Gym and swimming pool were great. A lot of dinning and deinking options. Spa had a lot of options too.
Room service food was cold.
30 May 2026
Great service, generous rooms, view and location is perfect what more could you want.
Great service, generous rooms, view and location is perfect what more could you want.
30 May 2026
Exceptional
Was a awesome time
Everthink
29 May 2026
Exceptional
That the bed was on wheels so we come move it to the window
We ran out of toilet paper
29 May 2026
Well-located hotel in desirable section of Sydney- the Rocks, with beautiful rooftop bar & restaurant. Good gym on
Location very good in the Rocks area of Sydney, beautiful roof top bar/ restaurant.
Some chinks in the service at the rooftop bar/ restaurant. A few times had to go up to someone at the bar to ask for service, even when not very busy.
29 May 2026
Very nice but pricey
View location, size of room and bath
All good
29 May 2026
Bliss
Love the size of the rooms and after a day of sight seeing you just melted in the bed sleped all night
28 May 2026
wonderful stay, we had a good time
The room was good with wonderful view. Good service and friendly staff. We will love to visit again
28 May 2026
The most amazing place to stay in Sydney, best views but even better staff!
The customer service was IMPECCABLE! Getting upgraded & the little treats for our engagement was perfection!
Nothing
28 May 2026
Extremely comfortable and spacious
View was fantastic of harbour bridge and opera house !
28 May 2026
Great location and comfortable room
Location
28 May 2026
Very good
nice bed and great view
Seem to be a lot of young people in the excutive floor which makes me wonder what they paid for a room
27 May 2026
Great customer service, great location love the view
Absolutely love it
Nothing at all
26 May 2026
Exceptional
We had a fabulous time, the room and view fantastic, the Blu bar on 36 with stunning views fantastic cocktails lovely staff and beautiful calamari..room service and food was amazing.. Concierge and front of house staff just so welcoming and helpful.
Not a thing..
26 May 2026
Exceptional
Very nice hotel. Big room with all amenities. Big bathroom. Wonderful Opera view from windows.
26 May 2026
Exceptional
Everything
Nothing
25 May 2026
Great place for special occasions
Location
25 May 2026
Very good
The view, size of the room and quietness
Bar was understaffed and really loud.
25 May 2026
Worth the money
Staff were very accomodating and always try to help out on requess, very friendly, clean, food amazing, location spectacular.. will be back 100%
25 May 2026
Best hotel I've ever stayed in
The staff were sensational, friendly and welcoming, super efficient and professional. It's a peaceful, comfortable slice of heaven.
Pool was cool.
24 May 2026
Beautiful location and venue, amazing service
Absolutely beautiful and staff were always nice and helpful
N/A
24 May 2026
Exceptional
Breakfast buffet is great. So many foods to choose from and the quality is great. Staff are so welcoming and very helpful.
There were no ramps going up to the front of the hotel so it's hard when you're coming from the train station and you have a stroller.
24 May 2026
Awesome Harbour and Opera House Views.
The staff were very attentive and friendly. The rooms were really clean, big TV, huge bathroom with bath, comfortable bed and awesome views of the Harbour and Opera House. Fantastic location. We walked everywhere.
The only thing we didn't like was how expensive breakfast was. We only wanted bacon and eggs so we went out for breakfast and ate for half the price.
24 May 2026
Good but not exceptional
Location & style
Check in & out staff didnt communicate clearly about available services & prices, making it a little confusing.
24 May 2026
Exceptional
The location is amazing. The staff are very friendly. Room gets serviced twice a day which was a nice surprise. The view from our room was a 10/10!
23 May 2026
Exceptional
View
Nothing
23 May 2026
Very good
Love it but it’s a bit outdated compared to fancy European hotels
22 May 2026
Beautiful, quiet room. Stunning views. Turndown service
Lounge Access and lux bathroom
Room wasn’t ready by 3pm
21 May 2026
Excellent because of the staff
Staff were exceptional and very friendly and helpful
The deposit of $435 which I had to pay I have travelled all over the world and never had to pay anything It also took two weeks to be cleared from my account
21 May 2026
Very relaxing experinced.
Location, location. The room was big, great view of Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour bridge. The bed was so comfy. Great bathroom size with bath, nice shower and amenities. The place is very nice.
Behind the bed was not vaccum properly. There are dust and plastic biscuit wrapper left there i don't know how long. The bubbles from the bath after was drained was coming out through under the bathroom floor drainage.
21 May 2026
Great staff. Nice building. Great location.
Great staff. Nice building. Great location.
Overall happy.
20 May 2026
Lovely hotel with issues.
Location and beautiful view from room. Room was big and had everything you needed. The Altitude Restaurant is very good with exceptional food and stunning views!
The connecting door whilst locked was not sound proofed and unfortunately we had very noisy neighbours. We did bring it to their attention and we were moved to another room with no connecting door but sleep was bad for 2 nights due to noisy neighbours. Also we had to queue for breakfast one day for 15 mins which you don’t except in a 5 star hotel. Breakfast was buffet which I personally hate and was not expecting. Breakfast staff were sullen verging on rude. One morning the maitre’d didn’t hear our room number correctly and argued with us for quite a long period that our room rate did not include breakfast until my wife realised she was checking the wrong room number. For the money the service was lacking.
20 May 2026
Exceptional
The pillows
19 May 2026
Fabulous
The location, the view, the service was impeccable
19 May 2026
Exceptional
Amazing view, great location
Small pool
19 May 2026
Very good
Beautiful hotel, very clean and close to everything. Staff lovely.
19 May 2026
Very nice room, good location only a stones throw to the Rocks
Day spa was nice and the 23rd floor room views over Sydney Harbour was absolutely amazing, good variety for Breakfast.
Pod coffee machine in room leaked when not in use, drinks in the Blu Bar quite pricey.
19 May 2026
Very happy with Shangri la would stay again
Location, All Staff, Room Service, Size of space
Hubby travels the world with Shangri la & was astounded at how out dated the premises were compared to other locations of Shangri la around the world
18 May 2026
“Overall, we had a very pleasant and comfortable stay. The view was very nice.”
The room was clean and comfortable. The staff were friendly and helpful. They also arranged a small birthday cake 🍰 and a ‘Happy Birthday’ setup. We were very happy to see it.
It would be good to provide a tissue box in the hall for common use.
18 May 2026
Exceptional
Perfect place to stay on my birthday weekend. The staff were amazing and even sent up complimentary birthday cake and champagne. The buffet breakfast was one of the best I’ve ever had!
Nothing
18 May 2026
Overnight stay in the city
The location is second to non. The room was clean and welcoming - a little dated. The swimming pool and Spa were a bonus
Sounds picky - the pillow was very hard and lumpy. Feel slightly overpriced.
18 May 2026
Good location and nice facility with wonderful views.
Wonderful location with great views. The breakfast was quite good. I have to admit that I’ve never seen a doughnut wheel elsewhere.
It’s a bit of a hike up the hill to the hotel from the circular key. Otherwise, the location was excellent.
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Kids' 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
- - Happy hour (additional charge)
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
- - Sun loungers or beach chairs
- - 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

1 June 2026
Absolutely amazing staff obliging and helpful