Pinned among the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay, with spectacular views of the towering financial district and Harbour Bridge, this fashionable all-suite enclave provides high-end leisure travelers and business folk with one of the city's most unique and desirable locations.
In a five-year-old, 10-story monolith with a concave facade and a maritime look, this hotel is kept in shape by a shipshape staff.
Double glass doors open onto a bright and airy lobby with marble floors, bold patterned area rugs, modern scalloped-wood columns and smart lighting. The refurbished restaurant is a picture of smart elegance and modernity and serves modern Australian fare to the accompaniment of sumptuous foreshore vistas. The terrace bar provides light meals with an alfresco option.
Above the glamorous indoor pool lies an alluring sundeck for simple indolence. A gym, spa, sauna and steam room round out the leisure amenities. The business types who flock here can gather in groups of up to 140 delegates in the largest meeting room. Business services are available through reception at any hour. Valet parking incurs a modest fee. Pets are not allowed.
The warm residential-style accommodations are spacious and inviting, displaying earth-tone color schemes with blue details, original art, well-chosen designer furnishings, and plush carpeting and fabrics. All come with sofas in sitting areas, wonderful kitchens, TVs, DVD and CD players, wireless and high-speed Internet access, phones with voice mail and data ports, minibars, and safes that utilize guests' credit cards as keys. Common throughout are king beds, extensive closet space, full-length mirrors, double-glazed windows and furnished balconies. Fine baths are clad in tile and marble and feature stall 
showers and capacious triangular tubs. Everyone appreciates the washer and dryer in each unit. Suites facing west enjoy fine harbor vistas, and those facing east overlook the botanical gardens and the relatively quiet road. High-tech ozone deodorizers eliminate the need for smoke-free rooms, and two units are designed for guests with disabilities. Room service never stops, and a pantry service comes to the aid of would-be chefs.
Groups do not come here, so the quiet is broken only by the blasts of ferry whistles. The professional multilingual staff renders superior service to a good mix of corporate and leisure types that includes many North Americans. This property is a more subdued and economic alternative to the equally intimate Park Hyatt across Sydney Cove.
