Hotel Steyne: $8m refurb of landmark Manly pub gets go ahead from court

A court has ruled that a landmark Sydney seaside pub can go ahead with its $8m makeover after a battle over noise. See what’s planned for this iconic hotel.

Shelby Doyle at work behind the Round Bar at the Hotel Steyne. The pub has been given the go-ahead to begin a $8m-plus makeover. File picture: John Appleyard

An iconic Sydney beachfront pub has been given the go-ahead for a $8m-plus makeover after a court squabble with planners over noise was settled.

The NSW Land and Environment Court has ruled Manly’s landmark Hotel Steyne can start work to update its bars and make changes to the facade.

And the owners of the Art Deco pub, built in 1936 at the beach end of The Corso, can now add eight more rooms to its upstairs visitor accommodation.

It will also make its beer garden — popular with locals and tourists — more soundproof.

The development application for the renovations had been approved by the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel in June 2024, which attracted 17 public submissions including concerns about increased noise.

Sam Arnaout, the owner of Hotel Steyne in Manly. He is spending more than $8m on renovations. File picture: Justin Lloyd.

Residents in nearby apartment blocks complained that they would be “blasted out” by noise created by revellers and live music acts, especially from the pub’s outdoor areas.

The panel placed conditions on the DA that noise from patrons, music, live entertainment or “other such amplified sound must not be audible within any habitable room of any neighbouring residential premises at any time”.

The hotel has to introduce measures, as part of the new DA, to mitigate noise from patrons, especially in the pub’s outdoor areas. File picture: David Swift

It also said noise limiters must be installed to “protect the noise amenity” of neighbours.

The pub’s owner, Sydney property tycoon Sam Arnaout, who bought the hotel for $65m in 2019 — and gave it a $3m renovation in 2020 — appealed the conditions in the court.

A conciliation conference between the hotel and Northern Beaches Council resulted in an agreement on noise protection that was presented to the court in February.

Earlier this month court commissioner Nicola Targett officially upheld the appeal.

Among the conditions, the pub must install noise limiters in all outdoor areas and 1.5m high perforated metal-faced acoustic panels to the non-glazed areas of the northern wall of the outdoor beer garden. There must also be “acoustic treatment” of the roof, doors and windows to absorb or diffuse sound.

A diagram of alterations – part of an $8 million refurbishment – on the ground level at the Hotel Steyne, Manly.

According to a planning report lodged with the DA, the “works will further renew the hotel and accommodation promoting Manly’s tourist economy”.

Other documents show that its “heritage Round Bar” would be “returned to its former glory as a saloon bar”.

There will be some changes to the Hotel Steyne’s facade. Picture: Supplied

“The works will improve internal amenity providing a modernised environment with diverse offerings for patrons to enjoy,” plans state.

A new bar would be created on the ground floor along with a new entry to the Round Bar, news stairs and landscaping.

On level 2, the existing bar would be removed and replaced with a new bar and bistro.

Changes to the pub’s facade include new ground floor doors, windows and awnings.

Originally published as Hotel Steyne: $8m refurb of landmark Manly pub gets go ahead from court