The Best Luxury Hotels in Sydney

Located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge just a stone's throw away, these luxury hotels come with plush suites, impeccable service, fine-dining restaurants – and they’re every bit as glamorous as the city itself. 

Pier One Sydney Harbour

No two rooms or suites at Pier One are exactly alike but each guarantees light-bathed interiors, high thread-count bedding and a spectacular view from enormous windows. 

Situated on the heritage-listed Walsh Bay finger wharf, Pier One is close to cultural institutions such as Sydney Theatre Company and the Opera House; plenty of iconic pubs like The Hero of Waterloo; and waterfront restaurants that line the wharves. 

Of course, if it’s fine dining you’re after, there’s the hotel’s own The Gantry. Slide into a table on the terrace and opt for chef Rhys Connell’s tasting menu for an inventive and quintessential Sydney experience. Think bluefin tuna with semi-dried ox heart tomato over burrata and basil; Blackmore Wagyu grilled over charcoal and served with chimichurri and citrusy oxalis; and “Violets”: purple yam ice cream with honeycomb. 

Capella Sydney

The grand sandstone building which once served as the NSW Department of Education is now home to the newly-opened Capella Sydney. The rooms are decked out in natural Australian materials such as wool and wood, and sizeable beds dressed in Frette linen. Suites are located in the four-storey roof extension and offer harbour glimpses while a glassed-in courtyard lounge is illuminated by the mesmerising light installation Meadow. Art, history and culture are a big focus here: work by Waayni artist Judy Watson referencing Sydney’s Indigenous and colonial heritage and displays of archaeological finds made during excavations are on display throughout the hotel.

Rounding out the offerings, the influential Bentley Group – the force behind Monopole and Cirrus restaurants – is responsible for the hotel’s French/Oz-themed Brasserie 1930 and exclusive to guests is the Auriga spa, occupying the top floor.

W Sydney

A glittering sapphire monolith on Sydney’s Darling Harbour, the newly-opened W Hotel in the $1 billion-dollar Ribbon building has been seven years in the making. With 588 rooms and suites that are all curves, sleek furnishings and wave motifs, it’s W’s largest hotel to date. Upon entry, curtains automatically open revealing the sparkling harbour below. An in-room cocktail bar provides premixed drinks by Maybe Sammy and a large, brightly coloured dressing room and a perfectly round tub in the bathroom complete the picture. 

The lobby-level Living Room serves casual Asian-style tapas; Away Spa occupies level two and offers everything from quick 15-minute pick-me-ups to 90-minute massages (a happy medium is the 45-minute Hydrafacial which promises to hydrate and smooth fine lines) and the third floor forms the multi-venue culinary focal point, BTWN – a space that transitions as the day wears on. Breakfast flows into an all-day menu focused on hyper-local produce devised by Aria alumnus Chris Dodd with signature cocktails crossing the bar from midday. Later, 2AM:dessertbar by Janice Wong serves boundary-pushing confections such as Helian on Fire: torched meringue, coffee sponge, Jerusalem artichoke ice-cream, fig jam, chocolate hazelnut and parsnip chips. 

Park Hyatt Sydney

Epic views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House are a thrilling sight to wake up to. If you’re seeing them through just-opened eyes in a suite at the Park Hyatt Sydney, more good times await. 

Head to the rooftop pool for a swim before breakfast taken in The Dining Room (house-made pastry, smoked salmon and tropical fruits are part of the buffet; spanner crab omelette and ricotta pancakes feature à la carte), or on your balcony, where you’ll watch Sydney ferries traverse the harbour. 

Rooms come decked out in tones of chocolate, cream and beige with custom furnishings and fittings and the bathrooms feature Le Labo products, rain showers and heated Japanese Toto toilets.

Visit the spa for an iKou massage or an exclusive La Mer facial before dinner where culinary director James Viles has brought his farm-to-table stylings to The Dining Room (he’s even installed rooftop beehives). The menu includes dishes such as trout pastrami with pikelets, ranch dressing and roe; and southern rock lobster with native XO sauce and milk bun.

Crown Towers Sydney

The maxim at Crown Towers Sydney must surely be “more is more”. The hotel, located in Barangaroo, has no fewer than 14 dining options (including the first Sydney outpost of Nobu), a rooftop lido infinity pool with private cabanas, and a lobby so elaborate it’s hard to know where to look as you take in the six-storey chandelier with LED lightshow and enormous red floral arrangements.  

Billed as Sydney’s first six-star hotel, Crown Towers has 349 rooms that are decked out in the latest tech: bedside controls for curtains and lights, a tablet for room service and concierge and an entertainment system that includes watching TV from the egg-shaped soaking tub.

The spa and 24-hour fitness facilities are world-class – think infrared sauna, outdoor yoga terrace with water views and tennis court. And in case of a retail therapy emergency, you’ll find a high-end shopping arcade within the complex featuring stores including Paspaley and Watches of Switzerland.