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Establishment Hotel

Sydney, Australia [view map]

Style: Urban glam
Setting: Sydney's buzzy CBD

You can drink, dine, dance and sleep at the Establishment Hotel, an achingly hip everything-under-one-roof design destination in Sydney's business district.

Need to know

Rooms: 31 rooms, including two penthouse suites.
Rates: AU$350–AU$1,250.
Check-out: 11am. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Facilities: In rooms: Bose DVD and CD player, WiFi, touch-screen room controls, large-screen TV with cable, minibar, Bulgari toiletries. Fitness First gym is next door: membership can be organised or a personal trainer can come to the hotel.
Children: It's a place for grown-ups, really, with corporate/celebratory clientele during the week and at weekends respectively. The hotel can arrange babysitters, from around AU$90 for four hours by night, and extra beds in rooms are free for Smith members.
Also: If you want to stay at the super-luxe one-bedroom suite at The Ivy, Establishment Hotel's hot new space nearby, call Mr & Mrs Smith's Travel Team direct.

In the know

Our favourite rooms: The two penthouses are definitely the flashest options: the Studio Penthouse has two floors, with a living room upstairs; the sprawling Duplex Penthouse has a king-size bed and luxury bathroom, with a small study downstairs. You can choose between the hotel's two colour schemes: black floorboards and strong colour, or a softer, more tranquil style. Marble/limestone bathrooms come with bath, shower and twin sinks.
Packing tips: Outsize sunglasses, big It bag and even bigger attitude. This season's key pieces by Ginger & Smart or Jayson Brunsdon for working some catwalk cool.
Also: Robbie Williams, André Benjamin (from Outkast) and the Scissor Sisters are among those who have danced, drunk and slept here, and it's a regular hang-out for Sydney's in-crowd. But a word of warning about turning up at Establishment: enter from quiet sidestreet 5 Bridge Lane which gives onto the incense-infused lobby, rather than directly from George Street, to avoid the walk of shame of wheeling luggage through the bustling Establishment Bar and Gin Garden.

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant: There are three restaurants: on the first floor est., run by renowned head chef Peter Doyle, does elegant modern Australian fine-dining with French and Asian influences; sushi e on the fourth floor is an acclaimed Japanese restaurant, with a pale marble counter and simple wood stools, tucked behind the glam, ethnic-vibe Hemmesphere cocktail bar; and the stunning groundfloor Gin Garden serves a mix of Indian, Thai and Australian dishes, including sharing platters, set amid lush, tall plants and neck-craning ancient columns, with raw brick walls and curvacious dark wood pendant lamps.
Dress code: Modern chic. Dress up, not down.
Top table: Tables 16, 40 and 50 at est. have the best views.
Last orders: 9.45pm for dinner; 2.30am for drinks at the bar at weekends.
Room service: Burgers, home-made lasagne and so on, available 11am–11pm. After hours, you can still get a cheese platter or sandwiches.
Hotel bar: The iconic ground-floor Establishment Bar has one of the longest bars in the southern hemisphere – 42 metres of solid marble, set in a strikingly huge, white-columned room decked out with sleek modern sofas and sinuous dark wood lounge chairs. Next door, bar/restaurant the Gin Garden serves luxe gin cocktails, infused with everything from lavender to bloody orange and lime, alongside other top tipples. Establishment also contains the equally stylish, hyper-colourful Hemmesphere, a cocktail lounge bar on the fourth floor with Moroccan-inspired low seating and exotic glass display vitrines (the eye-popping palette spans purple, orange and yellow). Next to the lobby, the intimate Tank Steam Bar is a handy stopping off point for a drink before hitting the adjacent Tank club, set over two levels for dance fans.

Smith card offer Free VIP access to Establishment's lounge bar Hemmesphere and a Hemmesphere CD

If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).

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Smith concierge

If you'd prefer to talk to someone, or don't want to book online, call our travel team on 1 866 610 3867. We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.

Establishment Hotel

5 Bridge Lane, Sydney

Establishment Hotel

Sydney, Australia [view map]

Local restaurants

If you've sampled the Establishment Hotel's fab clutch of bars and restaurants but are still hungry for more, head for the white-hot ivy complex nearby, also owned by entertainment players Merivale. A one-stop shop for all things hip and happening, it embraces a stack of bars, restaurants and even a pool spread over 330 and 320 George Street (for reservations for any of them, call +61 2 9240 3000).

With zingy yellow and white seats, floral-patterned lighting and a green lawn-like floor, New York-style grill Mad Cow at 330 George Street is a hot tip for superior steaks (as well as vegetarian options), with a menu designed by super-chef Peter Doyle, as well as good wine. For modern Japanese at the same address, hit Teppanyaki, where you can choose between dishes from 'the wok', 'the teppan grill' and 'the kitchen'. Its black-fringed pendant lights, dark wood communal tables and wait staff in kimono-inspired garb, add to the luxe oriental vibe.

At 320 George Street, glam options include Sushi Choo, which offers modern conveyor-belt sushi with a funky interior combining white marble with bold red stools and pendant lights. At Uccello on level four, which overlooks the adjoining Poolclub deck, head chef Massimo Bianchi creates southern Italian dishes with a Roman leading star. Decor is a subtle blend of white and wood with hits of yellow and textured ceramics adding appealing accents.

Nearby Bistro CBD at Level 1, King Street (+61 2 8297 7010) has an excellent lunchtime bistro menu including tasty roast lamb. It's look is classically stylish, with elegant white pillars, wide arched windows and wooden floors.

Local bars

While you're at the ivy complex at 330 George Street, don't miss the much-feted ivybar, a clean-lined, monochrome wateringhole which lives up to the hype. Upstairs on level two, the darkly seductive ivylounge cocktail bar has a 1950s feel, with dark wood-lined walls, dusky rattan chairs, white tables and retro-chic lounge chairs in contrasting citrus hues (plush plants add an exotic touch). The art deco-inspired den room at the same venue is an intimate spot for a more private drink, with plush buttoned sofas, high-backed chairs, silk ottomans and a mirrored bar. For a more casual beer at street level below, The Royal George, takes its cue from the typical British pub, with brick paving, timber surfaces and a pool table. Ideal for UK expatriates abroad nostalgic for their favourite hang-outs!

Local cafes

Tiny, intimate French-style bistro Ash Street Cellar (+61 2 9240 3000), at 1 Ash Street, tucked away down an alley beside the ivy complex, has a fine wine list but is also a good place for grabbing a coffee, with seats both inside and out on the quiet pavement. The decor mixes raw wood, graphic pattern and a dash of dark, Gothic opulence.

Worth getting out of bed for

Sydney's CBD (Central Business District) is bustling with great retail therapy. Hot stores in the area include Australian accessories label Mimco (+612 9232 2629), at 320c George Street, beside the ivy complex. Cult label Sass & Bide (+61 2 9232 4393) is at Shop 6, ivy, 320 George Street, right nearby.

Printable hotel details

Establishment Hotel

Sydney, Australia [view map]

Need to know

In the know

Food & drink

Smith concierge

Establishment Hotel

Establishment Hotel

Sydney, Australia [view map]

Local restaurants

Local bars

Local cafes

Worth getting out of bed for