Holiday by the harbour at Park Hyatt Sydney
Every great city has a defining hotel, one that encapsulates a sense of place. This is Sydney’s.
Every great city has a defining hotel, one that encapsulates a sense of place and represents all that’s special about its location.
Park Hyatt Sydney is just such a property. There’s alchemy at play in its peerless waterfront locale at the southeast fringe of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the sparkling views, its comparatively low, almost crouched contours, and the sense, from certain angles, that the serpentine building could easily become untethered and sail up the harbour, past the Sydney Opera House, on course to the Heads.
Nowhere does that flight of fancy seem more possible than on the balcony of a guestroom, staring (almost) out to sea, possibly with a local brew such as Three Sheets pale ale in hand from Lord Nelson Brewery at The Rocks. Unfortunately, many of those vantage points have been unoccupied in this winter of discontent. Myriad city hotels report similar low occupancies and closures of key facilities. But hang on, warmer weather has arrived, there seems to be a spring in Sydney’s step, and great deals abound for staycationers and interstaters on the move, including from South Australia as state borders finally reopen.
This new surge is not quite in time to fully celebrate Park Hyatt Sydney’s 30th year of operation. Festivities have been put on hold, but there’s still opportunity to look back on three decades of famous guests and landmark moments. The hotel was purpose-built in 1990 and has had minor refurbishments since, most notably in 2011-12 when it closed for more than a year for a partial rebuild, using copious supplies of Sydney sandstone and Australian timbers, which saw the addition of a handful of suites on a new rooftop level with almost 360-degree views and a billionaire’s worth of interior appointments. The Sydney Suite has a sauna, shower that converts to a steamroom, and all the private butler and chef service you could wish for. This is where the likes of US singer Pink have basked in celebrity isolation, invisible to fans, the odd appearance on a balcony notwithstanding.
Back in the ancient era of unfettered socialising, The Australian’s Susan Kurosawa remembers attending the hotel’s official launch in 1990. She arrived in a black and white outfit and blended so seamlessly with the banqueting staff that she was “mistaken for a waitress and asked to refill champagne flutes”. She recalls passing Russell Crowe in the lobby in 2002, with a comparatively tiny Meg Ryan in his wake.
She further recalls bumping into the then general manager Ernesto A’ de Lima around June 10 that year. He’d just flown back to Sydney from Japan. He’d been away for just 24 hours to watch Mexico, his homeland team, play an early game in the FIFA World Cup. Mexico beat Ecuador by 2-1.
A’ de Lima, in a buoyant mood, quipped that he didn’t think his staff had yet realised he’d been missing, but he’d better be off to change his shirt.
Those were the fun times, no doubt, but there’s still a starry lustre and leisurely feel about the 155-room hotel, despite all the necessary COVIDSafe measures in place.
The hotel has not been part of the state government’s quarantine accommodation program and I note a fastidious degree of cleaning and mask-wearing, minibar disinfecting and surface sanitising. Sequestration feels positively carefree, however, with those broad views, unmarred by cruise ships at dock and the usual hordes of tourists.
The swimming pool is open, with social distancing in place, and tariffs are down an average of 30 per cent, too, so the good life is genuinely more affordable.
I recommend settling back on a balcony with eggs royale and smoked salmon for breakfast, practising the Windsor wave.
In the know
A Harbour View Room with king or twin bedding starts at $800 (usually $1350); check website for other categories and specials. Guestrooms are a minimum of 40sq m and feature amenities such as Le Labo toiletries, commissioned Australian artwork and plush bedding. There’s a reduced hours at The Dining Room from Thursday to Sunday inclusive, and breakfast in the lobby cafe area each day, but ordering from the extensive in-room dining menu is recommended. The day spa reopens Fridays and Saturdays from November 13.
Jo Makito was a guest of Park Hyatt Sydney.