The Grand National Hotel by Saint Peter

The Grand National Hotel by Saint Peter opened in Paddington on January 31, 2025, adding 14 boutique rooms above chef Josh Niland's acclaimed seafood restaurant of the same name. It's restaurateurs Josh and Julie Niland's first hotel, built inside an 1890s corner pub with interiors by Studio Aquilo.

The place

The hotel occupies an 1890s corner pub at 161 Underwood Street in Paddington, one of Sydney's most affluent inner-eastern suburbs, known for its Victorian terraces, boutiques and galleries. The building sits directly above Saint Peter, chef Josh Niland's seafood restaurant, putting guests a single flight of stairs from one of the city's hardest-to-book dining rooms.

The concept

The Grand National is restaurateurs Josh and Julie Niland's first venture into hospitality beyond the kitchen, converting the upper floors of their existing Saint Peter restaurant building into 14 individually designed guest rooms. Studio Aquilo led the interior design, working with the Nilands to preserve original 1890s details — marble fireplaces, architraves, vintage tiling — while introducing a bolder, more colourful palette upstairs than the restaurant's own restrained ground-floor look. The project turns a building that had simply housed a restaurant into a compact, full-service boutique hotel, with the couple's whole-fish cooking as the organizing idea behind a stay rather than an add-on amenity.

Dining & wellness

Guests eat at Saint Peter, Josh Niland's three-hatted, whole-fish-focused restaurant, plus its ground-floor bar, and have access to a private dining room and chef's table. Breakfast is served in the bar; rooms include a complimentary minibar and snacks. No spa or pool.