The Darling

The Darling is hands-down the best hotel experience my wife and I have ever had—and that’s saying something! We stayed here to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and from the moment we arrived, the service was absolutely outstanding. The staff went above and beyond to make our stay feel special, even surprising us with a free room upgrade to help us celebrate. It was such a thoughtful touch that truly elevated the whole experience. We stayed in the spa suite, and it was worth every dollar. The room was incredibly spacious, luxurious, and designed with real attention to detail. Everything from the bed to the bathroom felt high-end, with that rare balance of comfort and class. It’s the kind of space that makes you want to slow down, relax, and just soak it all in. The entire hotel oozes quality—from the décor to the cleanliness to the calm, welcoming atmosphere. You can absolutely see why The Darling holds a Forbes 5-Star rating. It’s not just about luxury—it’s about how well they make you feel looked after. We’re already planning our return visit, and honestly, it might just become our go-to for any special occasion. If you’re looking for a hotel that combines luxury, genuine service, and unforgettable comfort, The Darling is it.

We loved it here. Very, very comfortable. Spacious room, all amenities, great beds. Everything digitalised, from opening curtains with one press of a button to having a MagSafe charger in the bedside tables. Amazing cleaning staff, everything was absolutely spotless. Loved the daily Nespresso and the little packets of milk. And amazing pillows - second hotel on this trip to have good pillows! The hotel is in a great location as well, right in Darling Harbour, near the harbour hustle and bustle as well as all public transport. We basically walked everywhere. Just cross the Pyrmont bridge and you’re close to most sites. The harbour is also a great place to have drinks around sunset. |There are three hotels at the lot, one of which is the Darling. Breakfast is at a buffet restaurant called Harvest Cafe, which is next door (in a building that’s called the Star, which offers a hotel, casino, shops etc.) and offers a really nice spread. There’s a fairly large Coles supermarket in the building next door, as well as a great Thai place and a lovely Balinese restaurant.

Just wrapped up my second stay at The Darling — and once again, it did not disappoint. From the moment I pulled up to valet to the smooth check-in process, everything was seamless.||Even though I booked a smaller room this time, the experience was just as luxe. The bed? Super comfy. The view? Gorgeous. And the service? Impeccable. Shoutout to the lovely staff member who gave me a late checkout — it’s the little things like that that make all the difference when you’ve got back-to-back events in the city.||I also love that the rooms have shutters so I can actually sleep in without the sunlight waking me up (a rare luxury in most hotels!).||Already booked again for a couple of weeks’ time and counting down. The Darling really is my go-to for a reliable, relaxing stay in Sydney.

I had a wonderful girls' trip with my friends at The Darling. The hotel and our room felt incredibly luxurious, creating a pampering atmosphere from the moment we arrived. We were also very impressed by the exceptional level of service provided by the staff. Overall, the experience was fantastic. We will definitely return!

This was our first trip to Sydney, and my wife and I were really looking forward to our stay at The Darling. With its reputation as one of The Star’s premium properties and a supposed 5-star experience, we chose this hotel to make our anniversary celebration extra special. Unfortunately, what could have been a memorable experience ended on a very disappointing note.||To start on a positive — the staff at reception were lovely and helpful. Tristan and Ali were professional, warm, and always greeted us with a smile. A special mention to Xavier from the parking concierge — he was outstanding and left a great impression.||Our room itself was quite nice and appeared well-appointed. However, the shock came when my wife went to freshen up shortly after we returned from a day of exploring. She screamed after discovering cockroaches near the sink area. This wasn’t something we expected in any hotel, let alone a 5-star property. The room had just been serviced, so this was incredibly alarming. It completely shattered the sense of cleanliness and comfort we expected from a hotel of this calibre.||We immediately reported the issue to the duty manager, who was apologetic and promised a follow-up — either from the front office manager or someone senior. Unfortunately, we never received any contact or proper response after that. This lack of accountability and follow-through was perhaps more disappointing than the incident itself.||To say this tarnished our anniversary stay is an understatement. It was embarrassing to have chosen what’s marketed as a luxury experience, only to be left with a memory of pests and an unresolved complaint.||We are attaching a video of the incident to support our feedback. We hope this prompts The Darling to take better care of their rooms and, more importantly, to treat guest concerns with the seriousness they deserve.

We had an amazing nights stay for our anniversary. The staff were all lovely, and very accommodating. Check in and out was very efficient. The room was incredible and extremely clean, they even remade the bed and got us fresh towels while we were at dinner. Would most definitely stay here again!

The Darling is hands-down the best hotel experience my wife and I have ever had—and that’s saying something! We stayed here to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and from the moment we arrived, the service was absolutely outstanding. The staff went above and beyond to make our stay feel special, even surprising us with a free room upgrade to help us celebrate. It was such a thoughtful touch that truly elevated the whole experience.

The hotel room was comfortable and clean. The reception staff member that served us at check in definitely needs further training in customer service. A lot of options at the breakfast buffet, however none of it was remarkable. I understand they are cooking for large numbers of people, so volume instead of quality appears to be in place. We had a nice time, but probably would not return.

My husband and I were guests in this Australian hotel, as part of a package received in the USA. And our stay was delightful. First of all, the location is superb as it's a short walk to the Darling Harbour and a large mall, both of which offer extensive dining choices both inside and on the patio. The friendly culture of the staff at this hotel cannot be emphasized enough. We found the front desk and door and bellman folks to be downright warm and super accommodating. They also have this mysterious way of knowing your name and anticipating your needs. I do know they wear subtle headsets so they send secret messages to other staff, to help you most efficiently. We received a few gifts for special occasions, with handwritten, personalized messages. How many hotels HANDWRITE anything? Before I arrived, my flight had been cancelled so my arrival was a day later. I had emailed the hotel to make sure to hold my room. Their response was super friendly and personal. This culture maintained itself the entire time, from front desk, lobby door, to poolside. The room, as another wrote earlier on Yelp, is a unique purple theme with ultra modern touches. I found the TV high resolution and perfect, the Wi-FI fast and excellent, with all kinds of plugs and outlets available, including an adapter. The hotel provides lush velvety robes (I loved wearing it) and slippers, plus high end soaps and amenities. It's true they have no real clothing drawers, the one thing that could be improved. The closet is large, but we stayed for an entire week, so we needed more space. The room features floor to ceiling windows, with automatic drapes that open or close at the touch of a button. The room has MORNING, NIGHT and EVENING buttons that control the lighting (and OFF, of course), plus a few buttons to customize the lighting experience, which took a bit of adjusting. They also had a Privacy light and a Leaving Room light (which was probably the signal to the staff to clean the room). The cleaning was wonderful on a daily basis, and I noticed the sheets were changed daily. How did I know? One day they were solid, the next day they had subtle stripes in the fabric. The sheets were really comfortable and silky cotton (a super high thread count) and we loved the bed and pillows. All super high quality. We would come back to the room, finding our shoes neatly laid out in a long row, our toiletries organized neatly and all the amenities refreshed. I loved the tea and Nespresso, provided daily along with delicate glass tea cups and milk/sugar, etc. The shower featured both a large rain shower head PLUS the handheld European type shower so it served all preferences. And there were shower hooks right outside the shower for customer convenience. Our room overlooked the inviting pool (which was wonderful; we used it), and the room was very quiet. We never heard any noise from the hallway or other rooms. The hotel has a bar that we didn't use but saw it packed on the weekend and also offers a breakfast. We ate there our last day there and it was a terrific experience. Every item was unique, not just the same ol' pastries. Plus some Asian foods were offered as well. I loved it. Open your mind to new foods and enjoy a delightful continental breakfast there. The hotel is also adjacent to a hallway area leading to a complex including a casino (The Star), and you can find many fast foods (sushi, Greek, Chinese dumplings, inc cream, grilled foods) along the way. The hotel is in a great location. I took a few photos, including some of the staff, which I'll dig up and share here. We loved our stay at this unique hotel, with its friendly staff so eager to make your stay the best ever.

Ah-maze. Fantastic rooms, epic bed, very cool slippers & robes and remote controlled curtains. ot sure if all rooms are the same, but mine had a purple theme to it - everything from the curtains to the slippers and towels. Awesome burger from (very late night) room service. Good chillaxed bar next to the lobby too. Only downside (minor things) is that cabbies seem to get a bit confused as to how to get in and the lobby area is quite dark. Would recommend!

We stayed here for only one night, and it was great! We booked for a room and we got a whole suite for us (we arrived there quite late, that must be why we got it)... The bed was very comfortable, the shower / jacuzzi great (with a soap that smells very good). The service was very pleasant. I really recommend it (if you can afford it!). As I read in another comment, it's true that there is very few light on the desk and that for the price they could really get a good wifi for free. But we didn't have any other trouble like mentionned earlier.

Beautiful hotel with excellent service. It exceeded my expectations. I stayed in a Jewel Spa suite and it is quite spacious. All amenities were top notch. Only thing they could probably improve upon is the gym. The weights max at about 10kg, so don't expect ro do any serious working out here. Other than that, it was all perfect.

Absolutely my favorite place to stay in Sydney. Their rates can get a bit out of hand. If it's in your range i would choose it over anything else in the CBD.

Great service by the reception, though the entry is a little pungent with those localised smells that hotels try to do - they need to tone this one back. We stayed here just one night for an anniversary. Was very impressed by the staff on desk, Morgan was really helpful and even left a gift for us when we mentioned it was our anniversary which was a nice touch. I had been wanting to stay here since I saw a comparison of The Darling with Wolgan Valley. The Darling has it in terms of being close to everything. I don't think I'll be staying again (expensive!) but I wouldn't hesitate recommending it.

Just about the least functional, most uncomfortable room I've ever been in at any level: No drawers, poor sink lighting and no space for toiletries or hooks, crappy pillows, no fitted sheets, doors open the wrong way, no hook near shower for towel, unmovable shower head, unreadable over-engineered lighting panels (what's wrong with simple damn switch?), low-res TV with painfully slow controls; tiny desk with dreadful lighting and the most uncomfortable chair, and toilet area smells like a dog or cat pissed there, a red light above the bed that flashes whenever you move. All the wood 1960s retro paneling makes me feel closed-in. And $25/day for slowish wi-fi (seriously?). Had to re-tuck unfitted bedsheets after a nap and found blood stains on the mattress pad. An hour after I checked in after an early morning arriving flight the maid awoke me to clean the room. Really?