Stayed at the Sir Stamford for 7 nights in March 2008. We were recommended by a good friend, who is also a travel agent. He had stayed here, a few years ago, when the hotel was owned by Ritz Carlton.
We found the hotel to be delightful. It has more character than many hotels I have stayed in. Part of the hotel is in a heritage building, but has been sympathetically extended.
The reception area is relatively small and opens up onto a comfortable lounge, which is beautifully furnished with period furniture, as is much of the hotel. There is always a huge disply of flowers in the lounge.
There is a cosy bar, which serves good food...the portions were large.
We only ate in the restaurant one evening, as there were so many other places to try! My husband had rack of lamb and I had fillet steak. They were both excellent.
We had room 716, which was a deluxe, harbour view room. It actually looked out over the botanic gardens, with glimpses of the harbour, but not the bridge, as we were the wrong side of the hotel. While on our balcony and leaning out left, you could actually just see the opera house. This wasn't a problem, as it was only a two minute walk to circular quay and we were down there a lot!
Macquerie Street is very busy but we had no noise from the road.
Our room was very comfortable. 44 sq ft. King sized bed, Two seater sofa and easy chair. Coffee table, writing desk and two further chairs. Large wardrobe with proper coathangers...not the anti-theft ones! Trouser press, ironing board, iron, hair drier, fridge/mini-bar, TV, tea and coffee facilities. The bathroom was probably the best I've every experienced in a hotel. Huge, marble expanse, with large walk in shower, full size bath, twin basins and separate toilet.
The room was serviced to a very high standard. Clean bedding and towels, daily.
We had a problem with our shower on day two, (it wouldn't turn off) which we reported before going to breakfast. It had been fixed when we returned after breakfast.
One of the biggest pluses, for us, was access to the Quay Lounge, on level three. It was a very relaxing place to be. We had our breakfast there every day and drinks and canapes each evening before dinner. There was also internet access there.
There was an outdoor pool, but it was quite small. There was a terrace area aroung the pool but we never spent any time there.
All the staff were very helpful and attentive. Nothing was too much trouble.
It isn't cheap to stay at this hotel but we felt the location was superb and we were satisfied with all aspects of our stay.

Despite booking for 5 nights, our stay at the Sir Stamford lasted less than 4 hours! We had asked for an early check-in (and had an email confirmation of the request) but when we arrived at 7am after an overnight flight we were told that no rooms were available and check-in was 3pm. We asked them to make a room available as soon as possible and the receptionist just looked at us and repeated "check in is 3pm". We said OK, we would wait in the Quay lounge (we were paying for the privilidge) but were told - no you can't use the lounge until tomorrow. When we asked why, the receptionist said "because lounge access doesn't start until the next morning after you check-in"!! On insisting that we were going to the lounge the receptionist made a call to the manager who graciously said that we could wait in the lounge! We sat in the windowless room and had coffee but after 3 hours and no news on the progress of the room, we went back to reception. A different clerk said that there was no such thing as priority cleaning and check in was still 3pm! He also said that he was going to charge my card not only 5 x $400 AUD upfront for our stay, but also $500 for "extras we might charge". Have you ever stayed in a hotel that charged you the entire cost of the stay plus extra before you've even checked in? I refused permission to make these charges and he very bluntly told me that this was company policy. I told him how rude I thought he was and his response was a very smarmy "thank you madame". In fact that's all he'd say to anything else I said! When it became clear that we could not check-in until we paid $2500 we decided to leave. I asked to see the manager and the rude clerk said "I am the manager and I have nothing more to say to you!" He then said "even if you leave I'm charging you for 1 night" (which he in fact did) - so it cost us $400 NOT to stay at the Sir Stamford! We went straight to the Shangri-La. checked into a really nice suite and had a fantastic 5 night stay at the lovely Shangri-La. Please don't book the Sir Stamford - I can't tell you what the rooms are like because all we saw was the lounge (which was old fashoned and windowless) but their customer service is non-existant and the staff are rude beyond belief. Also be prepared to have your card charged for the entire stay as soon as you check-in! Dreadful people, don't bother!

This was our second stay at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay and we enjoyed it just as much as the first. The staff are extremely well presented and friendly; and check-in is done very quickly without any difficulty.

We again chose the Quay floor which has all the rooms situated around a large sitting room. Canapes and drinks are served in the evening, and breakfast is also served there. It is like having a personal dining room for your floor.

The hotel is beautifully furnished throughout with paintings and luxurious carpets etc. The Quay rooms are very large, and include a king bed, lounge suite plus chairs and a balcony. The bathrooms are spacious and marble tiled. There is a separate shower/bath/toilet with lovely fluffy towels and nice toiletries.

It is conveniently located near Circular Quay, Opera House and the Rocks. The main shopping area around Centrepoint is a pleasant 15 minute walk and from there you can catch a monorail to Darling Harbour.

Check your room rate for included valet parking; otherwise it's an extra $30 and I'm not sure if it's daily or for the length of your stay.

This hotel exceeded our expectations. It is an easy block to Circular Quay across from the botanical gardens and yet removed from any noise. The hotel has a lot of old world charm, antique furnishings and paintings and a very courteous, caring staff. We had everything we could ask for in a hotel and would most certainly stay there again. It was like coming home at the end of the day. Try to book a room with an inclusive breakfast - the best we had on our trip.