Kimpton Margot Sydney

Kimpton Margot Sydney occupies the 1939 Art Deco former Sydney Water Board headquarters on Pitt Street, previously the independent Primus Hotel from 2015 before IHG rebranded it as Australia's first Kimpton in February 2022. Luke's Kitchen, Cellar By Luke and The Wilmot Bar handle food and drink. IHG opened the 172-room hotel on 14 February 2022 and presents Kimpton as its luxury boutique brand.

The place

On the corner of Pitt and Bathurst Streets in the Sydney CBD, opposite the southern end of Hyde Park, the hotel occupies a heritage-listed Art Deco tower a block from Town Hall station.

IHG's opening release places it on the southern side of the city centre, near the State Theatre and the Queen Victoria Building, and within walking distance of Surry Hills and Darlinghurst. The entrance sits back from the noise of Pitt Street.

The concept

Designed by Henry Budden & Mackey and built in 1938-39 as the Sydney Water Board's head office, the building served that role until Sydney Water relocated to Parramatta in 2009. It was converted into the independent Primus Hotel in December 2015, then rebranded Kimpton Margot in February 2022 as IHG's first Kimpton in Australia: the third identity for the site in under a decade, though the Art Deco lobby, lift cages and stone facade carried through each conversion.

The lobby has a pillared scagliola design and a signature installation by the artist Tony Twigg. Upstairs, close to 600 artworks hang across nine levels, many of them playful wall pieces by artists from several countries. IHG describes the interiors as Deco-inspired.

There are 172 rooms and suites, most with bathtubs, all stocked with Mr Smith toiletries. A pool on Level Seven and a rooftop bar sit at the top of the building.

The daily programme includes Social Hour, complimentary drinks between 5 and 6pm. Yoga mats from the Egg of the Universe partnership are free on request, guests can borrow Lekker bikes, and the hotel allows pets under the brand's rule that an animal is welcome if it fits in the lift. A service called Forgot it, we've got it has the lobby team bring forgotten items to the room.

Dining & wellness

Luke's Kitchen, chef Luke Mangan's restaurant, runs the main dining room with an open kitchen and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. IHG describes the menu as a mix of Asian, European and modern Australian influences, with dishes such as prawn toast with spanner crab salad, grilled sirloin and seared tuna. The share dish on which the kitchen leans is a Wollemi duck, dry-aged for two days and served in an Indonesian-style curry.

Cellar By Luke is the hotel's wine experience, with Australian and international bottles. The Wilmot Bar plays a 1930s cocktail-bar register, with velvet lounges, that matches the building's era.