5 Best Hotels in Sydney, New South Wales

This hotel apartment complex, several hundred feet from Bondi Beach, includes more than a dozen restaurants, bars, and stores. The lobby is abuzz with holiday makers enjoying a home-away-from-home stay in sleek accommodations, most with fully equipped kitchens and laundry facilities. The 111 rooms comprise 56 one-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom, and one three-bedroom apartments; the remainder are studio rooms with microwaves, tea/coffeemaking facilities, and fridges. All have clean, white minimalist looks set off with bright, beachy cushions and wall art. Sofas convert into extra beds while lounge and bedroom have flat-screen TVs; all have balconies. There's a lap pool, Jacuzzi, and small gym, and a grocery store and wine store just across the road. The beach is a five-minute walk away along a street lined with restaurants, ice-cream parlors, and bars. There's limited free Wi-Fi in the lobby.

This ultrahip hotel occupies a former wool shipping shed that includes authentic structures of the former wharf (pulleys, giant trusses, and brontosaurus-like machinery), a great location (a stone's throw from the Opera House), and the chance to be on the harbor but in a quieter location. Guest rooms, decorated with trendy fish prints, are arranged like the cabins on a luxury liner, rising in tiers on the outside of the central cavity. The entire hotel is 100% smoke-free and all meals are plant-based. There are five restaurants in the adjoining wharf complex, known as the Wooloomooloo's Finger Wharf.

This hotel is the answer for those seeking color and quirkiness, teamed with style and super-efficient service. Situated in the city center, feet from Town Hall railway station, the 200-room hotel has taken over the former and much-loved Gowings men's department store and several levels above the (existing) and beautiful State Theatre. While waiting to take the elevator to the second-level reception, check out the quirky gowns and costumes in glass cases in the ground-floor coffee bar. The lobby has pink high-back armchairs and blue and brown low-slung ottomans, and bedrooms have polished timber floors, multicolor rugs, eclectic artwork, miniature ottomans, rich throw rugs and super-comfortable beds. In keeping with the historic building, there's an old-fashioned barbershop on the premises and vintage, art deco, and Gothic art pieces everywhere. A luxurious spa; an upscale restaurant called Gowings Bar and Grill, a casual (and very groovy) café, and the Gilt Lounge cocktail bar complete the picture. There's free Wi-Fi throughout. You'll have no doubt you've arrived at this ultra hip place when you discover the concierge and staff are called "directors of chaos" and look like extras in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Towering above Walsh Bay from its prime position alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge, this sleek hotel is the place for a room with a bird's-eye view. North-facing rooms overlooking the water are the best; views on the other sides—Darling Harbour, the city, or the eastern suburbs—are less impressive. Rooms are large, modestly opulent, and decorated in pleasing autumnal colors. All have complimentary Wi-Fi. With a private bar and lounge, the Horizon Club floor has impeccable service, with a host to look after your needs. Altitude restaurant and the adjacent Blu Bar at 36 (on the 36th floor) provide terrific views of Sydney Harbour, especially in the evening. There's also an Asian-inspired day spa called CHI, the first of its kind in Australia. Look for deals on one-night stays over weekends.

More English country manor than inner-city hotel, this gorgeous property feels like a decadent, luxurious sanctuary. Previously called The Observatory, the hotel was taken over in 2013 by Langham Hotels, a British brand with many upscale hotels in its portfolio. Little has changed with the exception of new beds, known as Langham blissful beds (each with a custom-made feather topper) in each suite and guest room. The spacious rooms, with their Venetian- and Asian-inspired decor, have mahogany furnishings, antique reproductions, plush fabric, and some suites have four-poster beds. The spectacular indoor pool is surrounded by marble and potted palms, with a fresco of Van Gogh's The Starry Night on the ceiling. Taking afternoon tea in the Palm Court is a sophisticated delight (A$55). The hotel's single weakness is its lack of views, but that's like saying the Mona Lisa's single weakness is her crooked smile.