Sydney’s hot new hotel spas and restaurants
A spa on the sixth floor of the old Department of Education building and three French-inspired eateries are worth checking out.
Here is the latest new restaurant and spas from Sydney’s hotels that you need to know about:
1. Auriga Spa, Capella Sydney
This serene facility is set on level six, atop the recently launched Capella Sydney hotel, which occupies the restored Department of Education building in the “sandstone heritage precinct” close to the Royal Botanic Gardens.
City wellness facilities typically are enclosed, but Auriga features a 20m heated lap pool with vaulted glass canopy that allows light to stream through and three of the four treatment rooms sit beneath lantern-like skylights.
The flow throughout is of hushed corridors and Asian-inspired decor. In the hands of Thai therapist Sunee, my 75-minute Full Moon massage is the ultimate de-stresser; it’s a signature therapy based on lunar phases and, while I don’t quite feel moonstruck when I leave, there’s a definite spring in my step. Full Moon treatment from $250. Open to hotel guests only, 9am-6pm. Spa credit offers available with room bookings.
2. The Spa at Park Hyatt Sydney
If Park Hyatt Sydney were any closer to the eastern expanse of the city’s fabled harbour, it would need to be sited on a pontoon. With this watery focus in mind, it makes sense that leading French brand La Mer has chosen the hotel’s The Spa as the first facility in Oceania to feature its duo of signature facials. La Mer’s name says it all – the sea. The treatments feature regenerative marine ingredients applied by expert therapists such as Faa from Thailand using wave-like motions that feel both deep and delicate. Choose from a hydrating or sculpting facial, the latter with Miracle Broth, La Mer’s signature mix designed to stimulate, lift and firm. Both are available as 60 or 90-minute therapies at $395/$505. The Spa is a gentle sanctuary at this luxe 155-room property, opens seven days and also features products by NSW Blue Mountains brand iKou, which focuses on organic native ingredients.
3. Pont Brasserie, Intercontinental Sydney
Considering its Bridge Street location, Pont seems a(French) no-brainer of a name for this new restaurant. The feel Is distinctly Parisian in this long, classy room, with lighting strong enough to see what’s in front of you but sufficiently moody for tete-a-tetes. Head chef John Lyons is French-trained, Michelin-feted and his delightfully simple menu spans three appetisers, four entrees, six mains and a flurry of desserts. Flavours are European-accented but also lean to Asia and Australia. King prawns with rosemary and orange miso butter? Mais oui. Restaurant general manager Erez Gordon runs the show with care and flair and points diners to a finale of nightcaps at Bar Messenger, a secretive joint with a prohibition-era feel a few doors down Bridge Street, below Transport House. Look for the statue of Mercury by the door, slink inside and slide across a circular booth. From Montmartre to Manhattan in one easy roll? C’est si bon.
4. Qt Sydney
Prepare for a taste of Paris in the city’s CBD at Parlour, QT Sydney’s streetside bistro and bar on Market Street between Pitt and George. A restyled menu and decor revamp has added to the venue’s French-inspired look and feel, with well-known chef Sean Connolly, QT’s creative director, promising day-long delights, from “croissants to caviar” and “café au lait to kir royale”. With the State Theatre next door, the new pre-show menu makes excellent sense. Plates include a charcuterie selection, leek tarte tatin with goat’s curd, twice-baked cheese souffle, lemon and saffron macaroni, steak tartare and a seafood cocktail of Coffs Harbour king prawns, gem lettuce, marie rose sauce and salmon caviar. Debrief after the performance over raclette, four styles of fromage with pear chutney, profiteroles or flaming crepes suzette. Open from 6.30am daily; to 10pm Sunday and Monday; to midnight Tuesday-Thursday, and 2am Friday and Saturday.
5. TWR, Crown Sydney, Barangaroo
TWR stands for The Waiting Room but its true identity is of a hotel lobby extension, a mingling spot with billion-dollar views. This Crown Sydney dining outlet has had a menu revamp by culinary ambassador Guillaume Brahimi, who helms Bistro Guillaume at the group’s Melbourne and Perth properties. French-born, long-time Australian resident Brahimi says he loves the harbourside terrace setting of TWR, especially in warm months. Accordingly, the new menu is light and unfussy. It’s a hospitality truism that a club sandwich is the test of an international hotel’s lobby bar or in-room menu. Brahimi’s version passes with vibrant colours and Crown Sydney culinary director Sarah Briegel enthuses, too, about the benchmark dish, a stalwart of feted Asian hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, where the lobby is a drawing room, a place to gather and feel connected.
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