Sydney, Australia
The Observatory Hotel

Detailed Review

Although this three-storey, 100-room hotel opened in 1993, it faithfully recreates the style and elegance of a 19th-century Australian colonial mansion. Antiques and original art are displayed in the intimate lobby, where business executives and conference delegates mingle with locals celebrating special occasions. Cream-marbled floors and columns, low ceilings, an iron-balustrade staircase, and generously cushioned sofas and chaise-lounges invite guests to linger.

The colonial theme extends to the restaurants, with rare objets d’art, leather-bound first-edition books, and deep armchairs creating the aura of a private club. Extensive spa facilities include a 65-foot lap pool under a domed roof, with fibre optics recreating the Southern Hemisphere night sky. Internet access is available throughout the hotel and a business centre and meeting rooms are also available.

Press Quotes

"The huge indoor swimming-pool is unmatched anywhere else on the planet; the urban spa is great." Tatler 101 Best Hotels 05



"Great location near the Rocks district, but attention to detail and guest comfort is also very much part of the draw..." Conde Nast Gold List 05

Independent Reviews

The Observatory Hotel
By Daniel Scott

The Observatory may not be the biggest or flashiest of Sydney’s five star properties. Nor is it the best place in town to stay if you want your breakfast served with premium harbour views. But to this Sydney-based travel writer, there is simply no better hotel in the city.



The Observatory’s positives begin with its excellent location, bang in the middle of Sydney’s historic Rocks area (where the First Fleet first set up camp) and in the shadow of the huge girders of the Harbour bridge. From here on Kent Street, both the CBD (central business district) and many of the must-visits of central Sydney – Circular Quay and the Opera House, Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay wharf and the new development of restaurants and bars at Kings Wharf – are all within an easy walk.



One of the greatest surprises of the Observatory, given its historic location and the success with which its interiors mimic the splendid Sydney harbourside mansions of the nineteenth century, is that it only opened in 1993. Another is that it occupies the site of a former school, wine shop and garage.



These days there is a cool, calm and collected feel about the hotel that spreads out from its welcoming marble foyer. Most of the hotel’s public areas run off this central lobby area and share an elegance and serenity that is hard to find elsewhere in Sydney. These include the Drawing Room, with its plush carpets, small groups of armchairs and couches and open fireplace and the Globe Bar, which is all London gentleman’s club with its deep lounge chairs and bookcases full of First Editions. Adjacent to the bar is the magnificent Galileo restaurant, which in spite of being named after an Italian astronomer, evokes a high-end Parisian salon.

The serenity on the ground floor extends throughout the hotel and particularly into the Pool and Spa area downstairs. It might be indoors but with its domed ceiling featuring a fibre-optic representation of the Southern Hemisphere night sky and marble columns lining its sides – think glitzy Roman baths – the 20 metre Observatory pool is among my favourite hotel pools in the world, let alone Sydney.

The adjacent Spa also offers a real retreat from the cut and thrust of urban life, as well as some rarely-seen treatments like Tibetan Bell Therapy which reputedly “restores the body harmonic tones, opens the heart, enhances clarity and restores balance.” Can’t be bad.

The general picture of an unusually inviting boutique hotel is completed by some quirky touches such as the availability of goldfish on loan and an “under-the-weather” package, including broths and herbal teas, delivered to your room if you arrive feeling unwell.

The roomsBR> The Observatory’s 100 guest rooms and suites are spacious and echo the country house feel of its public areas. Rooms get plenty of light through big windows and the walls are generally painted cream, with fabrics and carpets in light colours including cool lime. Wooden furniture pieces, such as writing desks, television cabinets and end-of-bed linen chests, are classic in style and in excellent condition throughout. The predominant motif in many rooms is floral, from the wildflower prints on the wall, through curtains to bedspreads and cushion and couch covers. Some suites feature four poster beds and their own private balconies. But whatever room you are in you will be impressed with the generous size and luxury of the Italian marble bathrooms, with separate large tub and shower.

If the overall feel of the rooms is Old World, at the Observatory it is also happily married with some of the more desirable trappings of the modern world. High Speed Broadband Internet access, Voice Mail, 2 telephone lines, Cable television, DVD, VCR and CD players come as standard in all rooms. And if you are still not feeling quite at home, call Concierge and ask them to send up some of your favourite music from their in-house CD library.



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• "A stately and distinguished luxury hotel, with plenty of colonial chic and gorgeous antiques, that attracts a loyal clientele."

  Taken over by Orient Express in 2004; which has meant renovations and upgrades.