Hotel review: Sydney’s Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour
This sparkling hotel is the new kid on Sydney’s Darling Harbour block.
There has been a flurry of city hotel openings across Australia in the past few months. Projects delayed during COVID-19 lockdowns have been accelerated for the summer holiday season. Staycation deals and good-value packages abound, most with generous extras.
But at Sydney’s Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour, the bonus for this guest a fortnight ago was bumping into the Argentinian rugby squad. How many match-fit Pumas does it take to fill a lift? About three maximum, actually. Did I wait for the next lift? Not telling.
Opened on October 7, this sparkling hotel is the new kid on the Darling Harbour block, on the corner of Bathurst and Sussex streets, and brilliantly located for access to attractions such as Chinatown, the oasis-like Chinese Garden of Friendship, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and the National Maritime Museum. It’s a stroll to the heritage arcades of the Queen Victoria Building, mid-city shops and Town Hall station, or about 15 minutes’ walk north to the harbourside precinct of Barangaroo. Parking is available under the building although it’s a rollercoaster drive down to the designated guest spots. And it should be noted that it’s a high-rise precinct and hotel views of Darling Harbour are actually mere glimpses between neighbouring buildings.
Despite its 13-storey stature and inventory of 152 guestrooms, the hotel feels relatively compact, from a midsized lobby with work spaces and a cafe to cosy restaurant and bar areas. La Bella Trattoria and Bar on level one serves breakfast and dinner, while TWO88 Bar & Kitchen on the lower ground level opens from 11.30am to 9pm with an Italian-inspired menu that includes sourdough-crust pizzas. The groovy fit-out incorporates cascading loops of lights and ovoid table lamps, plus there’s a good list of Australian wines by the glass and mixed drinks of the ilk of grapefruit negronis or G&Ts made with Lord Howe Island Distilling Co’s wild lemon and hibiscus gin.
Design is as contemporary as you’d expect in a new build, with big-statement lighting in public areas and a palette of organic colours. Accommodation is spacious and all categories feature floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing abundant light. The kingsize beds and pillows are super-squishy, and there’s an aromatherapy spray for fragrant slumber, all part of management company InterContinental Hotels Group’s Sleep Advantage program. Amenities such as a desk and sofa are cleverly arranged without interrupting the spatial flow and there are shiny touches in mushroom-shaped gold chrome bedside lights and illuminated oval mirrors. Pale grey bathrooms are smart and amply provisioned with Antipodes blackcurrant toiletries.
It’s an exaggeration to call the hotel an “urban resort” but I imagine it will be a hit with corporate guests when interstate travel is back on track; it’s less than 10 minutes on foot to the International Convention Centre. Technology is intuitive, plus Chromecast TVs and Bluetooth speakers are a welcome touch. Janelle on the front desk is a great example of the hotel’s young team, all of whom appear efficient and eager to please.
And so to the heated rooftop pool, gleaming bright with blue mosaic tiles, sunbeds all in a soldierly line. It’s a balmy November evening and a posse of Pumas, presumably fresh from the 24-hour fitness centre on level nine, have congregated with their coaches. I know enough Spanish to hide behind one of the yucca trees and eavesdrop in case of game-plan leaks but, being an upstanding Wallabies supporter, of course I keep a regulation 1.5 hops apart.
In the know
Average rate is $240 a room with a flexible cancellation policy; book direct on the hotel website for a best price guarantee. Adjoining guestrooms with individually lockable doors and a private vestibule in common are perfect for families. IHG has dubbed 2020 “the year of Crowne Plaza” in Australia. In July, the group opened a 235-room property in Hobart, followed in November with Crowne Plaza Adelaide, offering 329 guestrooms in the city’s tallest building, Frome Central Tower One; the group also has enhanced its sustainability initiatives, WorkLife integrated designs and IHG Way of Clean hygiene protocols.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour.