Embrace Harbourside Luxury With The 10 Best Hotels In Sydney

With its golden beaches and coastal walks; sprawling farmers’ markets; rich cultural attractions; and mild year-round climate, it’s no wonder that Sydney is such an appealing destination for travellers to Australia.

Even if you’re touching down here from somewhere closer afield, it still pays to know where the best Sydney hotels are: those offering great accommodation, dining, and facilities; all while putting you in the vicinity of everything interesting the city has to offer.

Discover all of our favourite luxury hotels in Sydney below.

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The EVE Hotel, Redfern

Address: 8 Baptist Street, Redfern NSW 2016
Contact: +61 2 9096 1100
Pricing Starting at $549 per night

Part of the bigger Wunderlich Lane precinct that has just come online in time for Christmas 2024, the EVE Hotel comes to Sydneysiders from TFE: the same boutique management firm behind The Calile in Brisbane.

Interiors here have been masterminded by George Livissianis, who — along with architects SJB — have opted for a masterplan that feels “like an external space, surrounded by planting and absorbed into it”.

Reminiscent of The Calile, the property features a 20-metre pool and attendant cabanas; plus a procession of characterful eateries that will be coming online through 2025. (Olympus and Island Radio are currently already open to the public, with Liquid & Larder’s Europa-inspired lobby bar Julius set to come online in January.)

Inside The EVE’s 102 guest spaces, expect a suitably arboreal palette of clays and greens — splashed across king-size beds, travertine bathrooms and in-built external spaces. (Even the most junior room categories all feature a ‘Juliet’ balconette.)

Editor’s Note: The EVE Hotel begins taking reservations in early February 2025. For a comprehensive list of blackout dates, head to the property’s website below.

InterContinental Sydney, Sydney CBD

Address: 117 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 9253 9000
Pricing Starting at $359 per night

Not to be confused with its sibling property in Double Bay, InterContinental Sydney offers guests a ringside seat to various of the city’s iconic harbourfront sites.

Many rooms (not to mention, the hotel’s rooftop cocktail lounge) command views of the Harbour Bridge, Botanic Gardens, and Sydney Opera House — making this the optimal choice for sightseers who prefer accommodations in the city centre.

Like several other luxury hotels on our shortlist, this property offers a stylish blend of both heritage and cutting-edge creature comforts.

Set inside the historic Treasury Building of 1851, it underwent a comprehensive refurb in 2022 (to the tune of $120 million); and now boasts 509 guestrooms, in addition to multiple signature restaurants and the aforementioned Aster rooftop bar.

Capella Sydney, Sydney CBD

Address: 24 Loftus Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 9071 5000
Pricing Starting at $800 per night

The ultimate luxury hotel in Sydney, for deep-pocketed leisure and business travellers.

Originally opened in early 2023 — to much fanfare among the nation’s hospitality community — this marks the Singapore-based Capella group’s first outpost in the Australian market. True to the brand’s ethos of localised history and culture, the property incorporates a flurry of thoughtful easter eggs to its Sydney setting. (The building was, at one time, New South Wales Department of Education.)

Despite the hotel’s 192-room build, there’s a cosiness throughout that meshes well with the guest service team’s relaxed, yet vigilant approach. On the ground-floor ‘Living Room’ — a signature feature of Capella properties around the world — guests are encouraged to mingle: over a Negroni made with Aussie botanicals, or while chatting with one of the hotel’s ‘Culturists’ about a bespoke itinerary of activities.

Brasserie 1930, the hotel’s sole full-service restaurant, is operated in partnership with Bentley. The small, but relentlessly well-curated F&B offering is complemented by Capella’s wellness program: including an (incredibly private) indoor lap pool, and Auriga Spa.

Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney CBD

Address: 61 101 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 9228 9188
Pricing Starting at $297 per night

Even before Sofitel’s $60 million rejuvenation of The Wentworth, the site was a significant one for the Sydney hotel community. Originally opened in 1966 (as the nation’s first bona fide 5-star hotel), today it blends its historic downtown façade with all the contemporary luxuries of the Sofitel brand.

Guestrooms have been refreshed in soothing shades of cream and taupe, while you’ll find Balmain amenities in the bathrooms, and a lounge for loyalty programme members (Club Millésime) on the 5th floor.

The relaunch of the Sofitel Wentworth is also accompanied by four dining venues: all of which have been opened in partnership with House Made Hospitality. Tilda, the signature offering, leans into local produce cooked over charcoal; while at Delta Rue, diners can experience vibrant Vietnamese fusion flavours — a surprising but welcome option if you’re eating in-house.

Ace Hotel Sydney, Surry Hills

Address: 47-53 Wentworth Ave, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 8099 8799
Pricing Starting at $305 per night

Of all the best hotels in Sydney, the local Ace outpost seems most likely to appeal to the arts & entertainment crowd.

Housed in a disused brick factory, situated in the pocket space between Surry Hills and Sydney’s CBD, guests can expect a look and feel here that is consistent with Ace’s imprint in Japan and North America.

In-room perks include eco-friendly toiletries and, in some of the bigger categories, D’Angelico acoustic guitars. Predictably, cultural programming is also a huge part of the hotel’s selling point: with new artists in residence on a near-monthly basis; and DJ takeovers on weekends, at acclaimed rooftop bar & restaurant Kiln.

QT Sydney, Sydney CBD

Address: 49 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 8262 0000
Pricing Starting at $261 per night

Part heritage masterpiece and part technicolour explosion, QT Sydney is an underrated gem in the conversation about the city’s best hotels. Sharing literal real estate with the city’s historic State Theatre, it’s the obvious choice for out-of-town guests whose off-the-clock activities include dinner and a show.

Full of character and pizzazz, this outpost of the QT brand never lets its compact footprint stop it from serving a devoted following of locals.

Gowings and spaQ serve the city’s foodies and wellness fiends respectively; while the hotel has re-geared its ground-floor café as Parlour — a sliver of a bistro serving Parisians classics well into the AM on weekends.

Paramount House Hotel, Surry Hills

Address: 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Contact: +61 2 9211 1222
Pricing Starting at $330 per night

Definitely among the smallest Sydney hotels to crack our list, Paramount House derives its name — and unique advantage — from the hub of dining and culture that surrounds it.

Seriously: if you’re travelling from overseas or interstate, and want a fast track to some of the signature experiences inner city Sydney has to offer, a stay here will let you tick multiple boxes off in short order.

The house rooftop is occupied by AP Bakery (regarded as one of Sydney’s great purveyors of bread & pastry); there’s fantastic specialty coffee to be had in the foyer; and in the basement, Golden Age programs some of the most thoughtful indie/global cinema you’ll find in the entire country.

The one small drawback is that the property was, clearly, never purpose-built as a hotel. Many rooms vary slightly (in size and layout) accordingly, but are extremely well-appointed: with French linen, toiletries by Aesop, and reclaimed building materials that give the feeling of cool, post-industrial loft living.

Park Hyatt Sydney, The Rocks

Address: 7 Hickson Road, The Rocks NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 9256 1234
Pricing Starting at $1,589 per night

For travellers who want to immerse themselves in all the scenery, dining, and cultural attractions that The Rocks have to offer, Park Hyatt’s Sydney outpost is the ultimate port of call.

The hotel has a perfect sightline to the iconic sails of the Opera House and, of all the properties on our list, boasts our favourite waterfront views. The in-room aesthetic is soothing and residence-inspired — with 155 rooms & suites to choose from.

The hotel’s signature ‘Dining Room’ restaurant, by local heavyweight chef James Viles, makes use of Australia’s natural bounty (think Murray cod from Aquna and Ranger’s Valley beef). Additionally, in line with the Park Hyatt’s top-tier positioning, the property has its own signature spa and an expansive rooftop pool to enjoy.

Four Seasons Sydney, Sydney CBD

Address: 199 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 9250 3100
Pricing Starting at $665 per night

Four Seasons’ sole property in Oceania is an established favourite among well-heeled business travellers, owing to its timelessness, reliability and extremely convenient location. Equal distances to The Rocks or the hustle & bustle of Wynyard, a stay at Four Seasons Sydney isn’t just accompanied by a convenient location.

Grain, the hotel’s signature cocktail bar has a low-key reputation for being one of the city’s best craft spirit destinations; while Endota Spa specialises in massages and facial, boosted by premium organic ingredients that are native to Australia.

Like the local InterContinental and Sofitel properties, there’s also an executive club offering for those who are willing to pay a premium for privacy.

Crown Sydney, Barangaroo

Address: 1 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW 2000
Contact: +61 2 8871 7188
Pricing Starting at $676 per night

Soaring hundreds of metres into the sky above Barangaroo, Crown Sydney is home to a resort, private residences, and most recently, a members-only casino which has set up shop on the property’s second floor.

If pleasure and spectacle are your bag, then this Sydney hotel is likely to ping your radar. Even setting aside the property’s gaming facilities, it’s no exaggeration to say you could spend a whole weekend here and probably never leave.

Of the 300+ rooms & suites available for check-in, even the smallest starts at a robust size of 47m²: decked out in Frette linens, custom-made upholstery, and bathrooms built with twin vanities.

Our personal highlights include dinner, overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge, at award-winning Oncore; or eight rounds of yum cha at the legendary Golden Century (slated to re-open on level 3 of the hotel in early 2025).

If you’re interested in taking your travels overseas (as opposed to interstate), then consider exploring a few of our global city guides below:

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