March 2023 update: It’s no secret that Sydney hotels are upping their A Game of late (like Park Hyatt and Capella Sydney), chucking their hats in the ring to contend with the city’s best bars and restaurants. And now, we’ve got another big player, as five-star heritage hotel Swissôtel has unveiled a luxe new bar and Euro-inspired rooftop pool after undergoing a multi-million-dollar transformation.
Step back in time and experience old-world charm at the new fancy watering hole, Arches on Market, which is open to the public. Found on level eight, the elegant bar’s design reflects the 1930’s architecture of the building and features three grand arches, an eight-metre long marble bar, hanging pendant lights, velvet green seats and gold accents. Aaron Shuttleworth, co-founder of the Antipodean Hospitality Company, has curated the cocktail menu to focus on refined classics. Order a Spring Club Sour, Swiss Cobbler, New Fashioned, or their signature – an Arches Martini, which is served straight out of the freezer – and pull out a seat and settle in. The wine list has an Aussie focus favouring smaller producers. Plus, Coravin tech offers some fun drops by the glass.
Food-wise, executive chef John Giovanni Pugliano has given nostalgic bar snacks a modern spin. We like the sounds of the prawn cocktail; goats cheese and caramelised onion croquettes; trio of petite sandwiches; and pork terrine with pickled onions and toasted sourdough.
Upstairs is where you’ll find the new pool and deck, which is inspired by long and hot European summers. Featuring cabanas, emerald green day beds and a glamorous pool, it’s the prime place to knock back a cocktail or three (you can order drinks and snacks from Arches) while you get stuck into a page turner. For now, the pool is only open to guests of the hotel. We're not saying you should book a staycation. But we're also not not saying it.
You can check out the new bar here, and make a booking at the hotel here.
Read on for our original listing of Swissôtel from 2015.
*****
Buffet high tea? It's enough to make June Dally-Watkins spit out her Oolong in horror. But we don't object on principle – regular high tea is just a tiered smorgasbord at your table when you think about it – and neither do the crowds of mums, daughters and girlfriends who show up to the Swissotel's light-filled eighth-floor lobby every weekend for this heretic offering.
A Bellini on arrival is a fine touch, and there's a novelty in seeing all the staple goodies laid out at the buffet – one table holds cold savouries like the cucumber sandwich with almost petal-like cucumber slices between soft, fresh bread; another has hot food, including a mini samosa and quiche.
The desserts table will delight the kid inside you, spilling over as it is with meringue tarts and cheesecake slices, but they could work on their technique: our scone is dry, even for a scone. Service here can you leave you rudderless but if you are an all-you-can-eat type, and have a high sugar tolerance, there are good times to be had above Market Street.
