Capella Hotels & Resorts, highly regarded throughout Asia for prestigious properties in Singapore, Bangkok and Bali, plans on making its Australian debut with Capella Sydney. Opening in March 2023, the eight-level hotel will transform the charming 1915 Department of Education building that sits in the centre of Lotus, Bridge and Young Streets, restored by Capella owners Pontiac Land and modernised by Make Architects.
Capella Group, purchased by the Kwee brothers from stalwart hotelier Horst Schulze in 2017, has a solid reputation for designing lavish luxury hotels that have become favourites for uncompromising travellers so expectations are already sky high for Capella Sydney.
The hotel will add 192 rooms and suites to the CBD, which has seen various high-profile openings and refurbishments over the past few months including the new Porter House Hotel and the long-standing InterContinental Sydney.
According to plans, Capella Sydney will lean heavily on commissioned and collected artworks as well as sophisticated furnishings and objet d’art found throughout the building, building up a sense of classicism blended with contemporary design. And it’s this design approach that’ll be found throughout the hotel’s many different spaces, from the lobby through to the high-end 235-square-metre Capella Suite that sits on the ninth floor.
Three hospitality concepts will occupy the ground floor along with six meeting and event spaces while other amenities the immersive Auriga Spa with a 20-metre heated indoor pool, sauna and an expansive fitness centre.
Verdant design has reimagined the building’s Farrer Place foyer as Aperture, the hotel’s signature restaurant. A seven-metre-tall green wall with around 70 local species of flora should help give the space its own identity along with bespoke art and an expansive glass ceiling pulling in plenty of light.
Capella Sydney will also feature Brasserie 1930 on the Young Street side of the building, touting a tight menu of modern brasserie classics that champion local small-batch farmers and growers paired with an extensive wine list.
Lastly, the hotel’s requisite classy cocktail lounge will be MeRae Bar, overlooking Loftus Street with a grip on Victorian-era glamour and a particular desire to highlight the “golden age of fine drinking through a contemporary Australian lens.”
There’s little doubt Capella Sydney will hit the mark and be a significant addition to Sydney’s changing hotel landscape. We’ll find out more when doors open to the public in March 2023.
Capella Sydney
Address: 35-39 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000
Capella Sydney will begin taking online reservations from mid-December 2022. The hotel opens to the public on March 15, 2023.
