SHANGRI-LA
» 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks; (02) 9250 6000
» Rooms from $315 a night
» www.shangri-la.com
Towering 36 storeys above The Rocks, the rooms at the Shangri-La have always captured impressive bird’s-eye views of the Emerald City but now, after a $20-million makeover, all the hotel’s 477 rooms also feature window seats so guests can settle in for some serious sightseeing.
Rooms are on the large side and comprise separate entrance halls, marble bathrooms and king-size beds positioned for maximum panoramic impact.
Prime viewing is from the spacious suites and guestrooms on levels 30-35. One level up is the hotel’s signature restaurant, Altitude, and the vertiginous Blue Bar, where glass walls are all that separate guests from the sparkling waters below.
FRASER SUITES
» 488 Kent Street, city; 1800 800 488
» Rooms from $259 for a studio suite
» sydney.frasershospitality.com
These apartment-sized suites on the edge of Chinatown offer an awe-inspiring perspective from high above the harbour city. My room is on the 39th floor so I am miles up and the lift seems to take ages … but the views are well worth it.
West- and north-facing walls are cased in glass and frame aerial shots of Botany Bay sweeping around to the Blue Mountains before homing in on Glebe Island Bridge and the inner west, Darling Harbour, the skyscraper city and then panning east past Watsons Bay and out through the heads.
It’s got to be a contender for the most expansive hotel-room view in town. Interiors are corporate chic – grey-tiled floors, white walls, sheer curtains, modular lounge. A glassed-in balcony with winged armchair and ottoman is the perfect perch for keeping an eagle eye on city life.
BAYVIEW BOULEVARD HOTEL
» 90 William Street, city; 1800 671 222
» Internet rates from $170 ($190 for harbour view)
» www.bayviewhotels.com/boulevard
Immortalised as the hotel where foul-mouthed Frank Sinatra holed up after insulting Australians during his 1974 tour, the Boulevard’s retro-fabulous interiors still hark back to those glory days when it was Sydney’s most luxurious address.
Check into a north-facing room for dramatic vistas across the gullet of the Eastern Distributor to glittering Port Jackson beyond – a sight that more than makes up for any shortcomings in modern amenities.
Peak viewing is from the 25th-floor restaurant, but a better idea is to have an old-school cocktail (Brandy Alexander anyone?) in the south-facing bar and then wander up to pumping Potts Point for a bite. Great central location and cheap (for Sydney) rates.
Intercontinental Sydney
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INTERCONTINENTAL SYDNEY
» 117 Macquarie Street, city; 1800 781 066
» Rooms from $295, includes parking
» Club rooms from $450
» www.sydney.intercontinental.com
In many respects, the Intercontinental is just another polished Sydney five-star hotel with impeccable views. What elevates it to celebrity-magnet status is its 32nd-floor club lounge, which has the most jaw-dropping harbour views of all.
Sadly for commoners, the lounge is restricted to guests staying in the premium-priced club rooms on the hotel’s upper floors. Lounge privileges include evening cocktails and canapés as the city twinkles below, morning and afternoon teas and a breakfast buffet with the birds, overlooking the scalloped peaks of the Opera House and the hulking mass of the bridge.
We like the Intercon’s king corner suites with views two ways – over the bridge to the north and right across the east – and capacious baths. The location is great too, just up from Circular Quay and handy to the Domain and downtown.
PARK HYATT
» 7 Hickson Road, The Rocks; (02) 9256 1234;
» Due to reopen February 1
» www.sydney.park.hyatt.com
Like many of its celebrity guests, Sydney’s most glamorous five-star hotel has had some work done. When the freshly renovated Park Hyatt reopens in February, the highlight will be a new rooftop home to just three dazzling suites – one of them the premier Sydney Suite with its 93-square metre balcony and personal chef.
For those who can’t afford the dizzying room rates, the next best thing is lunch at the hotel restaurant, The Dining Room. The food’s great but it’s those front-row views of the Opera House shimmering above the sea that will stay in the mind.
BLUE SYDNEY
» 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo; (02) 9331 9000
» Rooms from $270 a night
» www.tajhotels.com/sydney
Blue Sydney’s 100 guestrooms, including 36 loft suites (the pick of the accommodation), have watery views to the Boy Charlton pool, the Domain and city skyline in the west or to Harry’s Cafe de Wheels and Potts Point in the east.
The evocative interiors of this converted wharf feature industrial pulleys and wheels but rooms have a smart, contemporary finish; all mod cons – flat-screen TV, DVD, iPod dock, cordless phone – are provided, alongside 250-threadcount sheets and comfortable king-size beds.
The Finger Wharf is lined with some of the city’s trendiest eateries (Otto, China Doll), and if you overindulge, Blue staff can arrange a personal trainer for workouts and Pilates. For in-room workouts, the minibar supplies six condoms and something called “orgasmic gel for women”. Very Sydney.
What’s on ...
Sydney Festival 2012
Until January 29 www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2012
Sydney Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Races
February 4-5 \ www.sydneychinesenewyear.com
Picasso: Masterpieces From The Musée National
Picasso, Paris \ Until March 25 www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/picasso
Andrew Boy Charlton Biathlon Series
Until March 29 www.andersonevents.com.au
Harry Potter: The Exhibition
Until March 18 www.powerhousemuseum.com/harrypotter