Stayed two nights in 6th floor queen bed room. The first thing we noticed was the old television, not flat screen as would expect in a five star establishment. The small table had the top lifting due to moisture damage and a very sparse mini bar. The room was clean and spacious, and the bathroom was large and the balcony had a glimpse of water between buildings. The extras were over the top however, $15.95 for a movie on a tv which was below standard, a safe was in the room but you had to pay extra for that, the parking a ridiculous $20.00 per night, the continental breakfast $26.00, and i had to pay $5.50 for half an hour internet in the business lounge to print off my boarding pass, but the computer would not allow me to do it, so more money down the drain! The staff were nice and friendly. I wonder how some places acheive a five star rating as I have stayed in much cheaper 4 star establishments which make this pace look like a 3 star. I suppose you have to pay for the big flash foyer somehow!

We stayed 2 nights in a 10th floor Harbour View room - more like glimpses between the other buildings. However we could easily see the 8am flotilla heading out to the reef & could see some of the mountains to our right.

Buffet breakfast was great ...lots of different food choices & they even had a chef on hand to make a personalised omelette or eggs! The fresh passion fruits were delicious!

The Sebel foyer is very open & grand, large selection of seats/sofas, if you are meeting friends. Lots of antique furniture dotted around the foyer area. Our room & bathroom were just above average for 5 star hotel! We stayed in the Pullman Casino on the same trip & that room was much bigger, better bathroom with double vanity & a separate toilet room! Though in Pullman our cheaper room meant cheaper views! So its all relative!

After we checked out we were offered a pass to the large pool area with 2 medium size pools with 2 spas... very nice palm trees planted on the roof, including a grassed area & gazebo ...on the roof!! VERY nice area just to chill & hang out! This area also had good & clean bathrooms & chilled filtered water on tap which is a nice touch! Waiter service to the pool area was easy to organise & cost standard prices for this service.

Our main gripes - not enough shaded lounges by the pool. While they have a totally covered area with chairs for eating & another area by the pool with about 8 lounges & 3 umbrellas (shading 2 lounges each), this all fills up rather quickly! The majority of the lounges are not shaded, which is a problem in the Tropics & we got badly sunburnt as we sweat off our suncreen a bit quicker than we thought we did!! The Cairns Pullman Casino had more shaded lounges!

The only other thing is that the interconnecting doors between our & the next room were not in anyway soundproof, so we could hear a teething toddler cry all night & the new parents trying to calm the poor child ..the Sebel very professionally dealt with this by easily changing our room in the morning & offering help with our bags. It was not Sebel's fault, kids are kids!
However who needs interconnecting rooms in 2012?

Stayed over two nights in harbor view king room. While the hotel was pleasant and I enjoyed a spa facial treatment, overall the hotel was average rather than five star. I also found the room service breakfast expensive and not worth the price.

Had to attend to some family business in the city so chose the Sebel because of its location. The hotel is very nice, rooms are spacious and well-appointed. Pool area is lovely and staff are always very friendly and helpful.

I do agree with those who remark about the cost of extras, the valet parking service is very good and for $20 per day you can come and go as you like but there really isn't a lot of choice but to use this service if you have a car-it would be good to have been able to include this in the room rate. I did find the additional cost to use the internet-(either in your room or in the business centre) a bit irksome-in this day and age surely this should be a basic amenity in a 5-star hotel. Similarly paying a $20 deposit to get a KEY to the safe in your room is a bit antiquated and not reflective of 5 star hotel-these are minor things but that's what counts in a 5 star establishment. On check-out we had to ask for the safe deposit to be refunded plus we were charged for breakfast each day even though it was included in our room rate-this was sorted fairly easily but still a bit unprofessional and would have been most irritating if we had been in a hurry.

Enjoyed the breakfast buffet, the seafood buffet at dinner and drinks and snacks in the lobby bar, although lobby bar service was slow-particularly for food. Service at the buffet in terms of getting drinks, clearing plates etc was excellent-good to see an adequately staffed buffet.

Overall I'd stay there again, and kudos to them for having good staff.