Pier One

With its beautiful golden sandstone façade Sydney’s heritage-listed Department of Education building has reawakened as the luxurious Capella Sydney. The hotel boasts 192 rooms and suites spanning eight levels, and balances storied architectural features with modern design, celebrating Australia in both its aesthetic and ethos. In the rooms and public areas you’ll find carefully curated artworks, elegant furnishings and intriguing objet d’art.

When it comes to dining, take a table at Brasserie 1930 where the menu highlights small-batch growers and farmers and age-old cooking methods like curing, smoking and fermenting take centre stage. Named for the building’s original architect George McRae, McRae Bar invites you to enjoy the glamour of days gone by as you sip on refined cocktails looking out on Loftus Street.

A trendy and unique hotel occupying the length of Finger Wharf in Woolloomolloo, Ovolo Woolloomooloo is a prominent landmark in the heart of Sydney Harbour, offering guests a sense of luxury and comfort, all in walking distance of some of Sydney’s premier landmarks. Blending a sense of heritage with the utmost in modernity, contemporary designs and tech-savvy features combine with the history of the wharf, ensuring the significance of the area isn’t dwarfed by the impressive facilities and features of the interior.

As you enter the hotel, you’ll be met by dramatically high ceilings, exposed beams and giant fans, all helping to display the building’s history. Countering this are the likes of trees draped in fairy lights, a pool table, and old video games, all helping to add a fun and informal touch to the setting. There’s a choice of 100 rooms at Ovolo Woolloomooloo, all defined by their spacious nature and touches of a playful theme, characterised by striking colours, eclectic pieces and unique lighting. Countless gadgets can be found in each room, including an iPad and AppleTV, while signs of the hotel’s commitment to sustainability are also present, through the likes of reusable bathroom amenity containers.

Dining is also a thoughtfully considered feature of a stay at Ovolo Woolloomooloo, with the hotel’s own Alibi, a design-led bar, and restaurant, providing dishes and refreshments that are the brainchild of the renowned plant-based chef, Matthew Kenney. If you need to work off the cocktails and inspired plant-based dishes enjoyed at Alibi, the hotel is home to a 24-hour gym, as well as a 24-hour swimming pool, both perfect for getting your fill of exercise during your stay in Sydney.

Enjoying a great location in the heart of one of Sydney’s most burgeoning districts, boasting a great array of eateries, bars, and boutiques, The Little Albion puts visitors on the doorstep of a true, local impression of Australia’s most alluring, sun-kissed city. Found down a quiet alleyway, the hotel is set within the walls of a former convent, yet the interior is anything but a step back in time, defined by unique artistic touches, striking architectural themes and plenty of contemporary and Art Deco influences.

With a vibe much like a personable guesthouse, the hotel encourages guests to make themselves feel at home, with thoughtful touches like an honesty bar. The 35 rooms are all varied but consistently beautiful and striking, decorated with one-off furnishings and interesting pieces of art, while each bathroom is wonderfully designed, including further artwork, hand-painted tiles, Art Deco mirrors, and large rain-showers.

The hotel is a great place to retire to after a busy day exploring Sydney, particularly in the shape of its rooftop bar. Fix yourself a cocktail from the honesty bar and head up there to watch the sun set behind the urban cityscape. In addition to the rooftop, throughout the hotel, you’ll find numerous nooks and crannies in which to settle and relax.

Spicers Potts Point is an intimate boutique hotel on a picturesque avenue in the affluent central suburb of Potts Point. Created from three handsome Victorian terrace houses, airy, light-filled interiors and artworks by Australian artists Martine Emdur and Keith Burt create a calm, welcoming space.

The 16 rooms and four suits are all luxuriously appointed, some featuring their own terrace areas, with rain showers, Bose sound systems and modern fittings.

Breakfast can be taken in the garden room and while there’s no restaurant here, after evening cocktail and canapés at the bar, you can head out into Potts Point to discover some of Sydney’s best restaurants and cafés. The Royal Botanical Gardens, The Art Gallery of NSW, Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House are all also close by. The hotel has also partnered with several local restaurants if you are after in-room dining, and complimentary gym and yoga facilities are just a 50 metre walk away.