Update December 2020: It can be daunting to stay at a hotel at the tail end of 2020, even though West Hotel has reopened and is spotlessly clean. So that's why Hilton has instituted its CleanStay program, to put your mind at ease that everything is as perfectly clean as it looks. All guest rooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with hospital-grade cleansers, with particular care given to high-touch areas like switches and electronic controls, handles and knobs, bathroom surfaces and the remote control. The remote control is even covered with a CleanSafe sticker, so you know that particular attention has been paid to it.
In fact, the entire room is given a CleanStay seal when the process is complete, so you know no one has entered it since it was given a thorough deep clean. Want to see for yourself how the process works? There's even a video explaining every step.
The hotel's restaurant and bar are not yet open, but you can order room service in the morning and enjoy eggs Benedict, toast, croissants, French toast or other breakfast favourites in the comfort of your own, extra-clean room.
Once you've arrived at your spotless room, you might or might be comfortable with the idea of housekeeping entering and leaving during your stay. If you want to arrange for housekeeping to come, just ask the front desk. If you don't, no one will enter the space but you during your stay. Need more toiletries or fresh towels but don't want people in and out? Just ring the front desk and these items will be dropped off in protective packaging outside your door, no contact required.
Having all these precautions in place helps to set your mind at ease during what can be a somewhat stressful time, so you can focus on the important stuff: Relaxing and enjoying your stay, and getting out and about and making the most of Sydney.
Our CBD is not like Melbourne’s. There you expect the laneways to be teeming with small bars and boutique hotels for a double dose of whimsy when you’re staying in the heart of the city. In Sydney it’s a different story, which is why it’s surprising that they’ve managed to create such an intimate feel at the West Hotel Sydney, a boutique accommodation project from Hilton down amongst Barangaroo’s new towers.
There’s a vintage, botanical vibe, with lots of emerald greens, sapphire blues, velvet and Art Deco angles decorating the foyer, and the Solander Dining and Bar that looks out onto Sussex Street. It doesn’t matter if the mercury is in the high 30s, the central atrium filled with lush greenery always has a breeze running through it so take your cocktail out there to cool off. Leave your swimmers at home because there’s no room for a pool, but there is a bright, clean gym with cardio equipment and mats. Of course the reason you book a hotel room right in the heart of the city is not to stay in and enjoy the king-sized bed and giant TV; this hotel puts you right in the action. Barangraoo’s boardwalk of restaurants and bars is a short walk away; you can be down at Circular Quay in minutes; or up in the guts of Sydney’s cluster of cocktail bars near the QVB. This is the kind of hotel perfect for urban explorers: it’s an elegant, welcoming home base from which to see Sydney.
Time Out Tip: There’s a beautiful rooftop bar at Barangaroo House that is extremely popular with the after-work crowd, so sneak in a little earlier in the afternoon for prime seats with water views out over Darling Harbour.
Emily Lloyd-Tait stayed as a guest of West Hotel.