Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour

Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour opened on 9 November 2017 with 590 rooms, 35 of them suites. Accor describes it as the first newly built international luxury hotel in the Sydney CBD this millennium. It faces the International Convention Centre across Darling Harbour, and its mix of conference delegates and leisure guests explains most of its design.

The place

The tower stands at 12 Darling Drive on the western edge of the CBD, directly opposite the International Convention Centre and a short walk from Cockle Bay Wharf and the harbour ferry terminals. Floor-to-ceiling windows give most rooms a view over the harbour or the city.

The address suits a delegate with a morning session across the road as much as a visitor who wants the water on the doorstep. Sydney's older luxury hotels sit around Circular Quay and the Rocks, on the other side of the CBD.

The concept

Lend Lease built the hotel for A$500 million. Richard Francis-Jones of Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp designed it with Dreamtime Australia Design and A+ Design Group. The 35-storey glass exterior carries triangular sail-shaped accents and a red ochre and blue palette that Accor says honours the Eora nation. About 6,000 LED lights light the facade at night, and the hotel carries a 6-star Green Star rating.

Inside, timber refers to Sydney's wharf heritage, and rope and sandstone motifs appear in the carpets. Sofitel pairs the hotel with Marseille, a port city that also reinvented its waterfront.

All 590 rooms use the Sofitel MyBed. The 35 suites have a television in the bathroom, double shower heads and soaking tubs; the Bellerive suite, the largest, adds a separate living room, dining room and butler's pantry. Club Sofitel rooms and suites occupy levels 28 to 34, and the Club Millesime Lounge on level 35 handles private check-in and has a small meeting room.

The event side is substantial: nine meeting spaces, including the 450-person Magnifique Ballroom, which explains why the hotel is so often booked around ICC events.

Dining & wellness

Atelier by Sofitel, on the third floor, is a French-inspired rotisserie and grill. Executive chef Matt Coates led it at the opening, with a deconstructed bouillabaisse among the signature dishes, and the restaurant has since held two Chef Hats in the Australian Good Food Guide.

The Champagne Bar, which the hotel bills as the largest in Sydney, lists around 20 champagnes. It displays a 2009 Louis Roederer edition made with Philippe Starck and a three-litre Jeroboam of Cristal valued at A$22,000. Esprit Noir is the ground-floor lobby bar. Le Rivage Pool Bar on the fourth floor, in the Mediterranean style, sits beside a 20-metre infinity pool and the SoFit gym.

Sofitel SPA Darling Harbour has seven treatment rooms, couples' suites among them.