My husband and I stayed here during our vacation in Sydney. The hotel is beautiful on the interior as well as the exterior. The staff was nice and helpful. The room overlooked the harbour...so it was a great view. The bed was very comfortable and it was pretty quiet in the room at night.

The only 2 problems that we encountered were:

1) There is a drain in the middle of the bathroom. On our first night, the neighboring room flushed their toilet (yes, I could hear that while I was standing in the bathroom, but I was aware of this already) and when they did, the smell of sewage or some really rotten smell came from that drain. My husband said that the drain might be dry, so he poured some water in it and the smell finally went away. We should have called the front desk about it, I know, but we were exhausted from a flight and just wanted to rest.

2) I saw a roach one night in the bathroom. However, I didn't complain because I realized that this hotel sits right on the water and that comes with the territory. But, I just wanted to mention that.

Overall, it was a good value of a hotel to be located where it was, which is right under the bridge. We were able to walk to George St and Circular Quay really quickly.

I have stayed here about 6 times and always book here when visiting Sydney for work - if I can get a good rate on wotif. I love the location - the walk along the Quay and the Rocks to get the hotel after a day in the office. I hate pokey, fenced in, dark hotel rooms - and this is definitely not the Sebel. I like the blue and white furnishings. There is a feeling of corporate mixed with nautical. The hotel isn't massive and quite personal. I've never had a noisy room - although their toilets can be a little noisy. The beds are fantastic and very comfy. The outlook of all rooms I've had has been the water or the bridge/sandstone. Prices in outlets are reasonable. The lobby bar sitting out waterside is a great place to have a sundowner after work. Concierge here is fantastic. Reception is always efficient but I find them a little on the cold side. I feel like I can really relax here after a days work and not get hassled by hotel staff/lift noises/party goers and the like.

This was our third stay at Pier One. We booked a king waterview and the room was huge with beautiful exposed beams. Although there was no balcony, which was a bit of a disappointment, the window took up almost the whole side of the room and meant that it was really light.

The bathroom was enormous and although we did suffer a little from flooding showers, the floor was angled to that it drained away pretty quickly. Given it was our third stay we are well used to the toilets which as some reviewers mention are a bit strange at first!

The location is great, close enough to the city centre so that nowhere is too far away, and far enough away so it is nice and quiet. We always enjoyed walking back in the evening along the water's edge, listening to the water and watching the bats.

You can hear the noises from the bridge on that side of the hotel but I couldn't comment on whether it disturbs a good night's sleep as our room has always been on the other side, overlooking the water.

I can understand why some people may have been disturbed by functions - of which there seem to be an inordinate number - but again we were at the other end of the hotel so it wasn't too much of a problem. For us this meant only that a quiet "end of evening" drink was pretty much out of the question.

Room service food is great and a good "jet-lag" option when you can't face moving or have woken up at an inconvenient time. Bar food also good (pretty much the same menu) and efficiently served, but again needs to be timed right to avoid the function hordes.

Unlike some other reviewers we had no issues with the staff who were all perfectly pleasant, although would comment that that concierge doesn't always seem to be around - luckily we know Sydney pretty well but this could be an annoyance to those that don't.

We stayed on the 3rd floor with gave us magnificent views of the Harbour and the Sunset. The bed was comfortable and the two large lounge-chairs were a pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately, the bathroom design allowed for water to pour out of the shower cubicle all over the bathroom floor. We needed to roll a towel and pack it against the shower cubicle doors to soak up the water while showering. The problem appears to be that the floor has no run-off angle back to the drain. The hand basin was set too far from the edge of the vanity making it necessary to lean right over to wash/clean teeth. Also the mirror was too far back. with no good lighting for applying makeup. Although the vacuum toilet flush is a water saving initiative in keeping with hotel philiosophy, the very load noise wakes a partner up during the night.

Overall, the reservation desk/welcoming staff lacked enthusiasm, whereas the conceirge was very helpful. The female staff member on duty did not provide one smile during our visit. When we asked about computer /internet use she abruptly asked "what do you want it for". Another female staff member on the next night was very helpful and showed us the business centre to access our Qantas flight details.

As the room was really well appointed and the views great our rating would have been excellent, if not for the bathroom problems and the desk staff abruptness.