Hughenden Hotel

This four-star boutique hotel was thought to be a lost cause when Children’s Author Susanne Gervay OAM bought it back in 1992. But instead she set about transforming the crumbling, grand 1870s mansion into what it is today: an award-winning hotel offering sophisticated modern accommodation in comfortable old-world surroundings, all within a stone's throw of the restaurants, bars and boutiques of Paddington and Woollahra. All rooms have bathrooms, and there’s also an attached four-bed terrace house that can be rented in its entirety. There are Victorian sitting rooms, an old-fashioned bar with a baby grand piano, a sun terrace and a network of secret servants' bells to be discovered. All bookings receive complimentary breakfast and it's also one of just a few pet-friendly hotels in Sydney – so bring Rex along!