They upgraded me to the Presidential Suite !!! Review Mega Studio @ W Hotel Sydney: WOWOWOO

The last two nights of our tour of Sydney we spent at the W Hotel in Sydney, one of the last 5-star hotels to open in the capital of New South Wales and one of the most iconic hotels in the world, both because of its location and its wave-like shape. E this stay rightfully enters the Success Stories Of our site.

The history of this hotel is peculiar. It was supposed to open in 2019, then work went slightly long and had announced a ribbon cutting in 2020, too bad the pandemic ruined the plans of many in the world, including those of the W Hotel. The fully furnished hotel remained on hiatus until the end of 2023 when it finally welcomed its first guests.

Reservation & Upgrade

I have already explained how much this stay cost me., in a detailed article I recounted how booking for a basic room with points and the subsequent request to take advantage of two upgrade certificates, the fruit of status, turned our stay from good to crazy.

Crazy because instead of the basic room., however a design room as in all W hotels, we were promoted to the best room in the hotel: the 170sqm Mega Studio Suite. I basically spent 58k bonvoy points per night to sleep in a room that if booked cash cost a whopping 5200€ per note.

Where is the W Sydney

The hotel is located at the end of the Marina, which also houses the Sea Museum, SeaLife Aquarium. We are less than an 8-minute walk from Pitt Street, or the shopping street. In front of the hotel is a promenade with restaurants with cuisines of all ethnicities, several nightlife venues, and the Sydney Convention Center.

From the side opposite the hotel entrance, the facility houses an IMAX cinema, the one with the largest screen in the world.  City public transport ferries depart from the piers in front of the hotel., you can also embark on excursions to the bay, and access to the freeway is literally in front of the hotel, in fact the elevated freeway runs in front of the breakfast room windows.

Darling Bay is also one of the beating hearts of Sydney's Movida: dozens of risto restaurants, trendy venues and clubs line the very promeande.

There is also a very large adventure park, if you are traveling with children it will be a perfect location for them to relax in a setting that is a mirage in Italy.

For whom is W Sydney suitable

If for some of these hotels, such as. the one in Hong Kong I would say couples and young people (inside), this is suitable for everyone including families. This W knows how to be a business hotel, even if there is no lounge, but also a child-friendly facility because of what it offers and the really perfect location for visiting Sydney.

Check-in

Honestly, this was half a disappointment. I did not feel empathy; it all seemed very mechanical. No emphasis in explaining the upgrade, nothing WOW like in other W Hotels around the world, no welcome drink. I would have expected, at the very least, to be escorted to my Suite and instead was simply shown the way to the elevator.

W Sydney's Mega Studio Suite

Rooms, like all other rooms, in a W Hotel are named differently and so above the WOW Suite and the WOnderful Wow is just the Mega Studio Suite.If I were a real estate agent, I would call this apartment a four-bedroom, three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom and a spectacular view of Sydney's Darling Harbour, in one of the areas that has been transformed the most in recent years.

There are few such rooms in hotels, and this is normal given that occupies the same area as 8 normal rooms. Ours was 1923, although I have my doubts about how the floors are counted. The apartment consisted of a huge living area.

A hemispherical sofa with a mega screen overlooking the bay.

The kitchen area was equipped with everything, as in an upscale apartment on 5th avenue or in CityLife. Induction cooktop, immense kitchen table, dishwasher, cabinets where to store provisions for the end of the world. A refrigerator with freezer and all the provisions needed for cooking, or to be entrusted to the skilled hands of a private chef.

The sleeping area is separated by a first door. The first two rooms, all with full-height closets, safes, irons, and mega TVs had a king bed in the center of which was a huge shark.

Everything in the hotel is designed to resemble the sea. Chandeliers like jellyfish, colors and shapes reminiscent of the sea, waves and corals, as are the paintings in the rooms.

The first two rooms also have a bathroom with walk-in shower available.

The master bedroom is separated in turn by a second door; the size is not much different from the other bedrooms, but here there is not just a closet, but a walk-in closet.

The bathroom is more spacious, the shower also has a double tub. In short, as many as 10 people could live here (almost without disturbing each other), but the stated maximum capacity is 6 people, and if desired, a cot can be added for a 7th guest.

Needless to say, the three of us each slept in our own room, something that had never happened to us while traveling, much less at home where we live in 1/3 the space of this Mega Studio Suite.

The view then is a real work of art, especially for those who like skylines and the sea. The whole room is in home automation and after struggling to understand how the buttons work, you are able to appreciate everything: starting with the one-click ability to turn everything off and close the curtains.

Of course, there was also a small service bathroom, for guests or servants!!!

The hotel

The reception is on the second floor, bright colors, striking decor, as in the rest of the hotel starting with the lobby on the ground floor that serves as a waiting area, but where there is also the first, of many DJ counters, because the W Hotels are synonymous with partying and fun.

The social space on the second floor is really nice, perfect for a business meeting, a romantic rendezvous, or just waiting for friends before leaving for a city tour.

The escalator, set in an almost psychedelic tunnel, leads to the second floor where the main restaurant hall is located.

On the third floor, on the other hand, are the meeting rooms, and in the 3 days of our stay they were always constantly full of people.

W Sydney swimming pools, gym and spa

The hotel has two swimming pools: the first indoor pool on the 22nd floor, open h24 and long enough to work out by swimming laps repeatedly.

The second, on the other hand, is an infinity-edge rooftop pool that overlooks the Marina and is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Here you can tan, work, relax or work out. Of course if everyone decided to go to the pool there would be no room, but this is not a hotel for people who spend their days tanning.

On the second floor, on the other hand, is AwaySPA, here you can have treatments and enjoy the warmth of the sauna and steam room. The latter are included in the treatments or for a fee without. There is also a relaxation area and gym here. The completely made-in-Italy fitness area, although. Technogym equipment is not exactly the most modern equipment on the market, is open h24 and as always available also offers fruit, water and everything you need for those who want to keep in training.

Food & Beverage

On the main floor is the first bar, probably the most popular one since it is in front of the reception desk. A circular bar where guests and outside patrons can consume (and accumulate points) while enjoying beautiful music and a great view. Here is also the second bar for the DJ.

On the second floor, just in front of the fluorescent blue tunnel, there is a second bar that is active both at breakfast and during busy times, and there is a DJ counter here as well. Basically where there is a bar, there is a discjockey station.

A third bar, the quietest and the only one without a DJ, is in the SPA on the second floor. The shape reminded me of the bar in the tail of Emirates' A380.

The last bar is on the rooftop, serving the pool during the day, but at night it transforms to become a hot Sydney nightlife location. Extra-long bar counter, sofas and seating spread over two floors, and a truly unbeatable view of everything surrounding the hotel, from the iconic Sydeny Eye Tower, to the city's entire new Skyline.

Breakfast at the W Hotel in Sydney

The most important meal of the day is not included in the reservation, but fortunately a user like me with Platinum status or higher can choose whether he or she prefers a handful of points, breakfast, or a bottle of wine as a welcome gift.

Needless to say, if I travel with my family, and to hotels like this one, I always choose breakfast. The daily savings were 120 Australian dollars, about 85 euros. The restaurant hall is huge, and rightly so given the amount of rooms and guests that can stay in this hotel. There is so much traffic that you check in and, after verifying your credentials, are escorted to the table.

The buffet is varied and divided into many islands.

There is quantity and quality, there is sweet and savory. Fruits and vegetables. Asian flavors such as noodles all the way to decorated ice cream, in short, nothing is lacking.

In addition to what is displayed, it is also possible to order eggs at will from the menu. It is worth the list price and being able to loot it for free is even better, also excellent that it is also free for the third guest, which is not taken for granted.

The only flaw

Yes I know now you're thinking "Barbone you're a mena belino, they gave you the biggest Suite in the hotel, you didn't even pay for the basic room, you scrounged for breakfast and you have the nerve to complain?" The answer is yes, because there was no welcome letter in the room, no card was left with a chocolate, bottle of wine or other "cadeaux" I usually find from top tier when I stay in these hotels around the world.

Let's say it lacked that little "human" touch which you usually get in these hotels when you have the (almost) maximum status.

Would I ever pay for such a room?

The answer is obvious, and it is no. Even assuming that we are on a group trip and fully occupy the 3 rooms, it would mean no less than €1800 per couple per night stayed, a figure that is really too high. This is not the Maldives in Monte Carlo or a unique location in the world, after all you are in the center of a beautiful city, with the highway passing in front of the breakfast room windows, and if everyone wants to go to the pool it is worse than a cruise ship.

In conclusion

Our idea was just to enjoy the hotel., not like at a resort but almost, and the fact that we were promoted to such a suite only made our stay unforgettable. Given that we paid nothing more than 27 AUD For a stay that would have otherwise cost us over €5300 per night (excluding breakfast) was a perfect way to make the most of the rewards of being loyal to Marriott and the Bonvoy program.

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