Palm Court.SydneyConsider upgrading to a room
with club access to Sydney’s
most spectacularly positioned hotel
lounge. This bird’s-eye view of Sydney
from the 32nd floor is accompanied
by breakfast, all-day snacks, drinks
and canapés and concierge service.
Make the most of such close
proximity to the Botanic Garden.
Plunge in for free daily guided tours,
Aboriginal heritage tours three times
a week, or download a free app for
self-guided audio walking tours.
Steamed pork buns, beef
congee, baked ham sliced from
the bone and freshly poached rhubarb
are a few of the welcome touches at
the breakfast bufet in first-floor Café
Opera ($35). Attentive staf serve good
cofee to tables and squeeze fruit and
vegetable juices to order.
Surrounded by two floors of
sandstone colonnades, The
Cortile lobby bar best displays the
hotel’s handsome 19th-century bones.
Gather here for high tea beneath the
atrium, or for a quick pre-dinner drink.
WHERECBD.COST
From $246, without
breakfast.AT A GLANCE
509 rooms and suites,
adjoining rooms; bars,
restaurants, pool, day
spa, gym, paid valet
parking.IN ROOMFree
WiFi, some baths, cofee
machine, pillow menu,
Agraria toiletries.BEST
ROOMThe apartment-
sized Australia Suite has
a terrace with cinematic
views. And a grand
piano for composing
the score.INTERCONTINENTAL SYDNEY
Position, position, position. Intercontinental Sydney’s
dress-circle location has always been chief among its
assets, and it’s even more important now that the $200
million overhaul announced last year is yet to materialise.
(If they wait much longer, those late ’80s furnishings and
fittings will be back in fashion.) Few days will start better
than this: throw open the curtains to the most impressive
view in town – right between the sails of the Opera House
if you’re lucky, and across the Royal Botanic Garden and
Port Jackson. You could gaze upon this splendour from
your window seat, but instead grab a map from the obliging
concierges and venture forth. Though the hotel is looking
tired, Sydney has never looked better.117 Macquarie St,
Sydney, (02) 9253 9000, icsydney.com.au
The subterranean pool next
to the day spa has the air of a
Roman bath, with stone columns and
a night-sky vault of twinkling “stars”.
Pack tennis whites for an
afternoon game on the hotel’s
court, followed by Pimm’s and
cucumber sandwiches, of course. Or
request a picnic box and bicycles for
a day pedalling around the harbour.
The bufet breakfast ($45) at
Bistro Remy is an elegant afair
at tables set with silverware. The
eggs to order are delivered tableside
with the ofer of a second espresso.
Afternoon tea on Wedgwood teaware
is served in Palm Court, the finger
sandwiches and assorted cakes
ferried to the table on three-tier cake
stands. Or stay in and order from the
all-day room-service menu, which
runs from crab linguine to braised
lamb shoulder for two.
A drink in Palm Court is an
occasion, albeit a genteel
one. The more boisterous bars of
Barangaroo are a stroll away.WHEREMillersPoint.COSTFrom $428, without breakfast.AT A GLANCE98 rooms
and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, pool, day spa, gym, steam room,
tennis court, paid valet parking, pets welcome.IN ROOMFree WiFi, bath, cofee
machine, some balconies and kitchenettes, pillow menu, Chuan Spa toiletries.
BEST ROOMThe Observatory Suite on the third floor is a stately home away from
home, with a large drawing room and views over the city and Observatory Hill Park.THE LANGHAM SYDNEY
The pink taxi parked in front of
The Langham hails from London,
but inside the hotel the vibe
leans more Parisian salon.
Beyond the bright white-marble
lobby and sparkling chandeliers,
clusters of round-backed
armchairs and curved, teal sofas
in the Palm Court bar surround
tables uniformly adorned with
perfect pale-pink roses. There
are no hard edges here. The
light-filled guestrooms are
spacious and plush, with king
beds, plump sofas and generous
soft furnishings. The hotel even
has its own private art collection,
curated in collaboration with
Sotheby’s no less, with works
by the likes of Sidney Nolan and
Brett Whiteley throughout public
spaces. Add impeccably gracious
staf and your experience is
complete.89-113 Kent St,
Sydney, (02) 9256 2222,
langhamhotels.comGOURMET TRAVELLER 159The Cortile.