Just before our recent trip to Oz I came across an article about Sydney and jotted down a few places to check out while we were there. We have travelled to Sydney many times over the years and always enjoy exploring (mostly on foot) so, in case you are reading this and planning a trip over the ditch I thought I would pass on my top spots in the hope that it might highlight some new experiences for you!

Spot To Stay…

Ace Hotel - Surry Hills

This trip we decided to stay in the uber cool Ace Hotel in Surry Hills. This hotel opened in 2022 and has fast become the go to destination for hip traveler’s much younger than us! We checked in Thursday evening (after world’s worst Uber ride) and the DJ was pumping in the downstairs bar when we arrived. Our initial thought was, what have we done!!?? But when the light of a new day hit in the morning we settled in to our surroundings and started to enjoy our stay.

Ace Hotel claims it is “a lifestyle hotel like no other, a central gathering place for locals and traveler’s alike”, and it felt like that to us too. We ate at the hotel several times, had coffee there each morning and worked from the ground floor area, along with many others, so it did feel like a true local gathering place. Only complaint, the coffee in the room was instant which as Wellingtonians was not going to cut the mustard, but we forgave Ace Hotel for this one indiscretion.

Spots To Stop…

Sake At The Rocks

This spot was so good that we stopped there twice during our 6 night stay, which given Sydney has 3440 restaurants, is testament to our experience. We went back the second time to just have a drink and their New Style Sashimi, but ended up staying for a full meal (again) including salmon taco, tuna carpaccio and teriyaki lamb chops with basil miso. Yum!

The restaurant is located in a heritage building with original sandstone features and liberal use of our long time coveted pendant lights – Greypants – to create a moody and relaxing ambience. The menu leans towards modern Japanese cuisine, with delicious interpretations of traditional dishes. Sake is a must visit restaurant for us each time we visit Sydney, and it never disappoints.

Hotel Palisade

We discovered this magical spot several visits ago and always make sure we drop by for a drink, usually mid-way through a ramble from Darling Harbour. The hotel has a Public House bar on the ground level and 8 rooms to stay, but the jewel in the crown is the contemporary cocktail lounge which is spread over the top two levels of the heritage building. The views of Sydney from here are staggering and will always encourage you to stay for that second drink and possibly bite to eat. I can highly recommend their Negroni, and Jas thoroughly enjoyed their Whisky Old Fashioned. Can’t wait to return!

Park Hyatt

For our first trip after lockdown we treated ourselves to a few nights staying here, however their prices are more worthy of a celebratory trip than a standard trip across the ditch. But that doesn’t stop us from calling in to enjoy a tipple and small snack. Located at the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, there is no other bar that gives the sense of being connected to the Harbour the way Park Hyatt does.

If you enjoy people watching, luxe vibes and a good tipple, then calling in to the Park Hyatt is well worth it and if you’re travelling with a celebratory budget in mind, then a few nights staying here is hard to beat.

Loam & Kiln At Ace Hotel

Ace Hotel have cracked the code of maximising their share of your food budget during your Sydney trip with two great eating options, plus a delicious bar menu as well. Rather than us spreading our tourist dollars around the Surry Hills area, we found that the offerings were so good at Ace that we chose to eat in for both lunch and dinner several times during our stay!

With the design led interior of the hotel as a backdrop, the menus for both restaurants were creative and varied, the service was quick and friendly, and the experience had us coming back for more.

Spots To Dream…

We do plenty of walking when in Sydney, so what better way to enjoy a walk than to call in to some great Sydney stores on the way? We have some wonderful furniture stores in Wellington, but not heaps of them, so when out of town we love to do some furniture dreaming. For our stroll up Oxford Street in Paddington my picks were:

MCM House – a beautiful collection of new mid century inspired furniture
Jardan – Stylish Australian designed and made furniture in a very aesthetically
pleasing space
Totem Road – a B Corp Certified home store which uses only natural materials and
has a strong sustainability ethos.
Crafted Furniture – another good Aussie store with products made in Sydney itself,
with a great range of items that can be custom crafted to suit an individual space.

Spots To Move…

We do a lot of walking when in Sydney and clocked up almost 60,000 steps in our final three days. It always blows my mind the distance you can cover on foot and the things you see, it is my favoured way of exploring a city. In our recent trip we did several walks that we would be keen to repeat and that I would highly recommend:

Nielsen Park To The City

This walk takes you around the coastal suburbs of Rose Bay, Point Piper, Double Bay and Potts Point. Some of Sydney’s most expensive real estate and most iconic views can be enjoyed on this walk, plus some delightful little bays and beaches along the way.

Ace Hotel To Bondi Beach

This 6.5km walk is best done on the alternative route that Google Maps provides, with the main route being on quite noisy streets. The alternate route leads through more leafy streets filled with terrace houses and great little shopping villages along the way.

Darling Harbour To Potts Point

This walk takes in the coastal sights of the busy Darling Harbour area, The Rocks and Circular Quay, past the iconic Opera House and along the path that divides the Harbour and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney. This is such a picturesque way to spend the afternoon with plenty of places to stop to eat, drink or just soak up the sights. Of note, the crazy Cockatoos who screech and swoop through the gardens making quite the hullaballoo, very entertaining!

From Te Whanganui-a-Tara To Darling Harbour