This Newly Refreshed Sydney Hotel Is a Mid-century Gem With Modern Flair

If the cocktail expert’s elaborate flourishing of a lemon twist over the rim of your Martini feels a bit like watching an old-style magician at work, accept the comparison and lean into the nostalgia-made-new ethos of the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. The reopening of this ’60s-era classic in the CBD brings fresh reason to pull up to the swooping copper awning and stroll through the slick lobby.

Don’t go past Bar Tilda, a moody, low-lit space that’s home to a Martini cart and an impressive whisky armoire – it stocks 100 Australian labels alone, including the first single malt from Tasmania’s Sullivan’s Cove. Settle into a velvet banquette to listen to the nu jazz band playing on Friday and Saturday nights and find your rhythm over that Martini with a twist. Or flash back to the year the hotel was opened and order a Bobby Burns, made with a premium Grant’s blended whisky containing spirit distilled in 1966. “There’s something to be said about the glamour of the period in which the hotel was built,” says Justin Newton, a director of House Made Hospitality, the group responsible for the two in-house restaurants and two bars.

A heritage thread runs through the $70 million refurbishment of the property, built by Qantas as a five-star destination for the new wave of jet-age international travellers. As Australia’s main port of entry for Qantas’ new Boeing 707s, Sydney had a shortage of high-end accommodation when the airline’s chair and co-founder, Sir Hudson Fysh, helped champion the development of a striking new hotel in Phillip Street. Designed by San Francisco-based architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, working with Sydney firm Laurie & Heath, the Wentworth Hotel had all the high-tech advances a traveller would want – globetrotters could book flights at the in-house Qantas terminal, connected to the cutting-edge computer reservations system, and check in to the hotel via closed-circuit TV on the lower Bligh Street level. Guests included Queen Elizabeth II, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando and the Apollo 11 astronauts.

Today, Sofitel’s classic luxury design and service are as present as Essence de Sofitel, the brand’s signature lemon leaf, sandalwood and floral fragrance that wafts through the property. Touchscreens in the lobby mean guests can now check themselves in and be on their way to one of the 436 rooms and suites in a matter of minutes and a new online concierge also helps provide tailored services. Staying in a Prestige Suite, Luxury Club Room or Wentworth Suite comes with access to Club Millésime, with an exclusive check-in desk, a private bar and a lounge offering breakfast, afternoon tea and evening hors d’oeuvres and drinks. A handful of rooms on the top three floors have a view of the Harbour Bridge neatly framed by city buildings.

In the updated rooms and facilities, the design touch of Fender Katsalidis is apparent. Softly textured furnishings share a rich palette that draws on the Australian landscape – eucalyptus- and bottle-greens, deep blues and ochres. Stately pillars and polished marble tiles line the lobby, where restaurant Tilda and Bar Tilda both promote a buzzy atmosphere. Or there’s Delta Rue on the terrace level, with warm timber finishes against a backdrop of Kerrie Brown peacock-and-botanical wallpaper that nods to its French-Vietnamese offerings after the breakfast buffet is cleared away.

Thanks to the curve of the heritage-listed building, most rooms overlook the new horseshoe-shaped copper-and-glass roof of the fifth-floor terrace bar, Wentworth. Serving Vietnamese-style eats and showstopping “cocktail explosions” containing up to 12 drinks in one (really), the bar mixes a laid-back feel with fun sunset energy among greenery that includes a central mature fig.

Back in the lobby restaurant, take your seat at Tilda and assume that, “Would you like the bread service?” is purely rhetorical. Few will have stomachs bigger than their eyes when the tray arrives and warm saltbush focaccia is laid out with a smear of whipped Pepe Saya butter topped with shallot, chive and watercress. Of course, you’ll need space for a wander through the seafood, meat and pasta-focused menu. Try Australian classics – a king prawn cocktail salad, a bowl of salty potato gems – then finish with a fancy retro dessert, such as pineapple upside-down cake. Order a whisky and you’ll be selecting from bottles brought to you in a leather replica of a bookmaker’s bag of yesteryear. It’s just the ticket.

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