The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel Review
Location
The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel is located on the ocean side of Manly. Assuming you arrive via ferry, you will walk down The Corso and take a right on Steyne. The hotel is one of the last buildings along the beach. It is about a 7-10 minute walk from the ferry.
The road and promenade separate the hotel from the beach. Shelly Beach is a 10 minute walk down the Marine Parade (which I suggest doing).
Check In
There is not much in terms of a lobby, just a front desk and a few seats along the walls. The desk clerk confirmed that our room had a bed and a fold out couch. If the fold out hadn’t been set up, we were told to call the front desk. The bed was set up, however it was missing pillows.
There are actually two buildings at The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel. The south tower is set back from the beach and would not have the same views as the main building. Our room was in the main tower.
Room
We booked a Deluxe 1 Bedroom Apartment Ocean View at The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel and we were assigned a large room on the 5th floor. It truly is an apartment, complete with separate bedroom. The living room has a couch, chair, table with two chairs and a desk/work area. The furnishings are quite basic. Don’t expect hip or modern.
The open kitchen has a full size fridge, microwave, stove top, sink and is equipped with plenty of cook and dish ware.
As it is a corner unit, a wrap around balcony is accessed by two sliding doors (and an additional sliding door in the bedroom). A large terrace with table and chairs offers amazing views and would be perfect in the summer.
The bedroom, while small, offers privacy and is great for families traveling together (I was traveling with my mom).
Bathroom
The bathroom is dated and the central focal point is the ancient jacuzzi tub. It is a strange set up. There is no shower curtain, but luckily there is a drain in the floor for the inevitable spillage from showers.
I would much prefer an actual shower but who am I to judge.
The sink is a bit newer but still feels a bit dated.
The bath amenities are quite high quality and have a boutique hotel feel to them. Which I think is what the hotel is going for.
There is a washer and dryer in the bathroom closet.
Pools
There are two pools at the The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel, one at each building. Like the rooms, I would say the pools are basic but functional and well maintained.
The pool at the main building also has a hot tub.
I didn’t get to see the south tower pool up close, but it didn’t look like it had a hot tub.
The pool is about the only amenity in the hotel. There is a restaurant on the main floor that acts as a coffee shop in the morning.
Service
The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel is part of Accor Hotels, like Sails in the Desert where we stayed in Uluru. I don’t really know where it fits in to the brand, but I would compare the service to a Holiday Inn or something similar. There was typically one or two staff at the front desk and they were about the only staff I ever saw. They were nice but provided just the basic service of check in and a few tips about the local area.
Fire Alarm
During our second night the fire alarm went off around 1:00am. It was actually pretty quiet (my mom in the bedroom slept through it while I on the fold out couch could hear it). I believe the audio portion was out in the hall. I assumed it was a false alarm until I got a call on the room phone. I was told the alarm was coming from our room! I assured them there was nothing on fire, but was told the fire brigade would have to come check it out. They came and checked it out, asked if I had been spraying deodorant. I told them I had been asleep. Maybe I am a really hot sleeper?
The fire brigade left and that was it. No mention of it the next day when checking out from the staff.
Overall
The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel is a relaxed hotel in a relaxed beach town a short ferry ride from Sydney. It is a great location for those wanting to visit the beach. You can hear the waves at night even with the windows shut. For us it was a great place to stay at the end of our Australia trip. My mom wanted a place by the ocean, and this more than fulfilled that requirement. The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach Hotel is not luxurious. It could use some updating. However I am guessing the target clientele is families looking for a beach getaway, not your hipster or business traveler. With that in mind you won’t be disappointed.
