A new inner-city sanctum in Sydney
This freshly minted boutique hotel has emerged against the odds from a 1980s blond-brick block deemed impossible to develop.
There’s a spring in my step as I wander along bustling Elizabeth St through Sydney’s Surry Hills. The city’s rail system is in chaos, grinding to a halt and leaving frustrated commuters stranded and unable to get home for hours. I would normally be joining them on a crowded platform, hoping to squeeze into a carriage for a snail’s-pace crawl north. Instead, I’m checking in to the newest hotel to grace this cool neck of the woods. What luck. Tonight, I can pretend to be a hip, inner-city resident; someone who knows nothing of raking leaves and washing cars in the ’burbs. Tonight, my home away from home is 202 Elizabeth.
This six-storey boutique establishment has emerged against the odds from an unprepossessing 1980s blond-brick block. Locked in on three sides by other buildings and facing the railway tracks leading to Central Station, the site was described as impossible to develop because of its problematic access. Alessi Design and Build took on the challenge. Connie Alessi and her team devised a plan to gut the interior and rebuild from the inside out, using prefabricated structures of carbon-negative, cross-laminated timber delivered via crane and a temporary truck turntable installed on the ground floor. It took just eight weeks to insert the main pieces of the jigsaw, including the lift shaft and glass-clad fire escape.
Then it was time to turn this drab caterpillar into a butterfly. With all furniture custom-designed and made in Australia along with locally sourced tapware and lighting, owner Diana Ren of Luxeland Group is claiming it as one of the country’s most sustainably built hotels. Opened in time to fill its 38 guestrooms and suites with World Pride visitors, it joins a chic network of boutique properties in the neighbourhood that is taking cookie-cutter predictability out of an inner-city stay. Think: Crystalbrook Albion, The Old Clare, Oxford House, Ace Hotel and Paramount House, all of which celebrate individual, arty design.
Guests enter 202 Elizabeth’s lobby through a modest doorway off one of the CBD’s busiest thoroughfares and the hubbub instantly fades. There’s a wood-panelled cafe-style space with green leather banquettes and swivel chairs for casual catch-ups. The art collection is an intriguing mix of modern, digital and traditional pieces interspersed with Indigenous works. In a few weeks, Handpicked Wines, which already has an operation in nearby Chippendale and on Melbourne’s Collins St, will open a cellar door in the adjoining space, serving flights, wine by the glass, cheese and charcuterie. Venture further inside to the reception desk and coffee station, with other tipples soon to be offered. Beyond is a neat courtyard with Parisian chairs, timber cladding and lush greenery to soften the concrete surrounds.
Up on the sixth floor is a rooftop deck with cushioned outdoor furniture, umbrellas and beanbags from where you can take in views of revamped Surry Hills warehouses on one side, and assess CityRail’s disrupted timetables from the other. I dismiss the lone train on the tracks with a wave and head smugly to my accommodation, the spacious Lizzy Suite, on level five.
“Pretty” is the first word that springs to mind, thanks largely to the eye-catching black wallpaper blooming with pink roses. Each of the guestrooms is different in design and layout, but they all feature colourful wall coverings by Kingdom Home Design adorned with the likes of pineapples and palm fronds. The king bed is dressed in white with neutral stripy linen throws and cushions. A small Chinese timber screen separates the sleeping zone from the living area, which has a pair of plump armchairs, sofa and stone coffee table; a chunky natural fibre rug covers the parquetry floor. One corner is given over to practicalities such as a safe, tea-making facilities and complementary minibar with organic soft drinks and sweet and savoury treats. There’s not a lot of hanging space, or room for luggage, but I love the light-as-air cotton robes by Australian designer Piyama.
On the tech front, there are the ubiquitous USB points and a smart TV with Chromecast functionality but I’m relieved to find light switches are exactly where you’d expect them to be (many are dimmable) and the curtains are simply pulled open and closed – yes, with your hand. Potted palms, fresh and dried flowers and a bowl of cheery pineapples add to the homely feel.
There’s a botanical vibe to the ensuite, too, where twin jungle-green vanities with burnished brass tapware sit on a washstand of pale emerald marble. A deep tub, overseen by a quirky frog-shaped water jug, stands in one corner, while an entire wall is taken up by twin rain showers backed by mosaic tiles. Pump-pack amenities are by Hunter Lab.
Best of all, though, is the sense of tranquillity. Windows have been very effectively double glazed, cocooning you from what at times is the abrasive reality of life on the other side of the glass. In fact, when I wake the next morning, it feels as though I could be staying at a friend’s house. A friend who lives a hip, inner-city existence and has excellent taste in interiors.
In the know
202 Elizabeth has rooms from $339 a night; Lizzy Suite from $569 a night. Breakfast will be available in the coming weeks.
Penny Hunter was a guest of 202 Elizabeth.
