As I posted previously, I’m visiting a friend in Sydney this week and before heading out to her place in the suburbs, I booked a room on my first day here at the Sydney Harbour Marriott at Circular Quay.

I’ll post a full review in the future, but I wanted to quickly share the helpful pre-arrival email they sent a few days ahead of my stay. I had requested an early check-in since my flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m., and it was the focus of the email.

Dear Mr. Booth,

Warmest Greetings from the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel. Thank you for choosing Marriott as your home away from home.

We have noted your request for an early arrival.

We always endeavor to accommodate our guests in a room as soon as possible, however due to high occupancy levels we are unable to guarantee rooms prior to our check-in time of 3.00pm.

For your convenience and comfort we do have some additional facilities at the hotel. Our complimentary Early Arrivals Lounge is available for you to refresh and relax in and has shower and changing facilities.

Additionally, luggage storage and use of all hotel facilities including the gymnasium, pool and spa are available during this time for your enjoyment. Our concierge team is here to assist, arrange and plan any activities in and around the city should you need information and maps.

Alternatively, if you are arriving early and require an immediate check-in we recommend that you reserve your accommodation from the day before to guarantee your room is available upon arrival.

We look forward to welcoming you to Sydney and to the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel. If I may arrange a pre-registered room from the day before or if there is anything at all I may assist with prior to your arrival; please feel free to contact either myself or one of the front office team.

I’ve generally been pretty lucky in the past with early check-ins, but I noticed the Marriott was sold out for more than a week ahead of my stay. This email helped manage my expectations for my arrival, something I wish more hotels would send out.

And as it turned out, there were no rooms available, but I was glad to know ahead of time about the Early Arrivals Lounge, which I thankfully used to freshen up. After which, I spent about an hour in the Executive Lounge before my room became available around 12:30 p.m. – much sooner than I expected.

I’ll be back with more posts later this week, likely. For now, it’s time to enjoy more of one of my favorite cities in the world. 😉

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

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