Sofitel Darling Harbour opens

Sofitel Darling Harbour - Interior Photographs - Wednesday 20th September, 2017
By Daisy Doctor


The largest luxury hotel in Australia has officially opened its doors, launching yesterday 3 October by Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall.

The hotel is also taking the claim as the first new build, international luxury hotel to debut in Sydney’s CBD this millennium, and the first new Sofitel property to be built in Australia.

The opening of the Sofitel heralds a renaissance of new hotel development in Sydney, with over 40 hotels scheduled to open over the next five years to support the city’s record breaking tourism growth.

Sofitel Darling Harbour - Welcome to Country and Charity Media Event Launch - Tuesday 3rd October, 2017

Sofitel Darling Harbour Launch

For such an auspicious launch, the hotel’s owner, Dr Jerry Schwartz, and Chief Operating Officer of AccorHotels Pacific, Simon McGrath decided to offer the whole hotel to 33 charities to support in their fundraising.

As a result, $508,000 was raised by the charities supporting a range of causes including medical research, disadvantaged children and families, education, Indigenous development and homelessness.

“Being the most important hotel opening since the Olympics, we wanted to once again involve the whole of Sydney by supporting charities that do so much for communities across the city and the State,” Schwartz said.

“This hotel launch will also help cement Darling Harbour as one of the world’s most dynamic tourism and events precincts, and power future international and domestic demand for the city,” he added.

Simon McGrath said, “Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour will be a landmark hotel for Sydney and with its proximity to the International Convention Centre, the hotel will help bring major conferences and events to the city and will be a significant contributor to the tourism sector.

“Sofitel is now the largest luxury hotel brand in the Pacific and coupled with the strength of AccorHotels’ distribution and loyalty platform we are confident Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour is going to lead the luxury hotel market in Australia.”

The launch of the Sofitel has broken a 5-star accommodation drought that stretches back before the Sydney Olympics, with the last internationally-branded luxury hotel opened in 1999.

Adam Marshall said, “Since 2011, the NSW Government has overseen record growth for the State’s visitor economy and this has led to huge investment in Sydney’s accommodation sector.

“The accommodation sector plays a key part in our visitor economy and I congratulate AccorHotels on this wonderful new asset, and with another 4,800 new Sydney hotel beds in the pipeline between now and 2024 I look forward to seeing even more investment in our city.”

Latest News