Based on the fear-of-God instilled in me by my parents (my naive self was once led to believe that if I so much as moved the contents of the mini-bar, a detector would pick this up and charge you 16 times the RRP), standard room service was a proposition I historically avoided.
Even as an adult who realised that her beloved mum and dad were elaborating on the facts a wee bit, there wasn’t much I found appealing about paying forty bucks for a lukewarm club sandwich that tasted like sawdust, eating it off a tray balanced on your knees, and trying not to think about the dubious life choices that led me to shoving cold fries into my gob in a double bed at 11:30 PM.
However, according to Marriott International’s Future of Food 2027 report, we are living through a massive shift toward “The Rise of Place,” where stiff, formal dining rooms are taking a backseat to fluid, flexible spaces. In Australia alone – where recent research by Time Out Global ranked Sydney fifth globally for food lovers – in-room dining orders have spiked by 54%. Travellers are ditching crowded restaurants in favour of staying put, ordering upscale food, and treating their hotel suite as the ultimate private dining room.
Naturally, I had to test this out. Which is how I found myself sitting on a king-sized bed in my absolute softest pyjamas, working my way through a multi-course feast in Room 1214 at the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park.
Dinner, Minus the Dress Code
Forget the sad plastic tray and the frantic knock from a rushed staff member. Our trolley arrived with a proper flourish, wheeled in directly by the chef and his sous chef. They didn’t just drop off the food; they set the table from scratch, arranged fresh flowers, lifted gleaming silver cloches to unveil each course, and poured the steaming, aromatic broth directly over our soup bowls right there in the room.
The menu didn’t bother with hotel-chain cliches, either. It kicked off straight away with local heavy-hitters: a hyper-fresh Sydney rock oyster that tasted like pure ocean, followed by a Tasmanian salmon gravlax cut with ribbons of orange, grapefruit, and a hit of creme fraiche over a crisp bagel crunch.
The Tom Kha Gai noodle soup – which we watched the chef finish pouring table-side – was sharp, aromatic, and deeply satisfying, leading right into the main event of the Australian protein story. If you’re a carnivore, the Rangers Valley dry-aged scotch fillet with charred broccolini and a punchy green chimichurri is non-negotiable. If you’re leaning pescatarian, the cooked-to-perfection cod holds its own without missing a beat.
The drinks menu also gave a respectful nod to the fact that nobody actually wants a raging hangover on a Tuesday. Non-alcoholic beverage sales are up 62% across the region, and the zero-proof Watermelon Margarita and Green Apple Whiskey Sour proved you can skip the booze without drinking sugar-water dressed up as a mocktail.
Dessert brought it all home: wattleseed ice cream with a French biscuit crumble, proving native botanicals belong on every dessert menu moving forward.
Breakfast in bed, but make it green
Naturally, the only sensible way to follow a rather indulgent dinner is with breakfast in bed.
The next morning, the a.m. menu continued the wellness theme with options that made a convincing case for skipping the Bondi-to-Bronte walk (matcha tea in hand) and staying under the covers a little longer.
The Green Goddess smoothie bowl combined banana, avocado, coconut yoghurt, spinach, mango and peanut butter, topped with Sheraton beehive honey and super seed granola. It’s colourful, full of interesting textures and a rather more virtuous start to the day than the previous evening’s three-course dinner might suggest.
There’s also a Healthy Omelette made with whipped egg whites, sauteed kale, mushrooms, baby spinach, capsicum and Tasmanian smoked salmon. For those who prefer to drink their greens, the Green Juice combines green apple, celery, pear, silverbeet, lemon and ginger.
These options reflect another finding in Marriott’s report: 97% of surveyed properties across Asia Pacific now serve dishes associated with wellness and longevity. Functional ingredients and wellness-led rituals are increasingly becoming part of the hotel experience, rather than something guests have to seek out once they leave.
It’s a nice balance. You can enjoy a little indulgence at dinner and still start the next morning feeling like someone who makes sensible decisions.
Final Course
I’m not suggesting we completely abandon Sydney’s brilliant restaurant scene in favour of eating every meal in a hotel room. Half the fun of a city break is getting out, exploring and discovering somewhere new.
But there’s something wonderfully indulgent about having a beautifully prepared meal delivered to your door, particularly when the experience involves flowers on the table, silver cloches and a chef finishing your dish in front of you.
The Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park has made a convincing case for giving room service another look. It’s thoughtful, relaxed and a whole lot more exciting than the lukewarm club sandwich of my childhood hotel nightmares.
And if the future of hotel dining means enjoying a three-course dinner in your Peter Alexander heart-print PJs before waking up to a Green Goddess smoothie bowl, I think we’re going to get along just fine.
