The Best Boutique Hotels to Book in and Around Sydney, Australia

Chic Veriu Broadway is close enough to the Sydney CBD to be convenient, but far removed enough that guests can get a taste of daily life in Sydney’s less-visited neighbourhoods. The hotel provides complimentary bikes that guests can use to ride into the city or to the nearby Glebe Markets, University of Sydney campus and Victoria Park. It’s in a refurbished old warehouse and makes the most of its industrial past through exposed beams and concrete. Try to bag one of the rooms with a balcony and skyline views.

If the views at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay weren’t enough – like the Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens and Circular Quay – the chandeliers and antique furnishings at this boutique hotel will have you extending your stay. English-style high teas are held on Saturdays, and the whisky bar takes its inspiration from Scotland. And did we mention the Italian silk-covered walls in the Presidential Suite?

St Marks Randwick focuses on longer-stay guests, with exclusive weekly rates making this boutique stay a great choice for students, business travellers in town for conferences or families seeking a comfortable base in the city. The Randwick neighbourhood adds to the homely appeal, with cool leafy streets – so important during a Sydney summer – and a sleekly designed, art deco cinema. The soft sands and warm shallows of Coogee Beach are just a short stroll away, too.

History buffs will especially enjoy staying at the Harbour Rocks Hotel, a boutique hotel in an 1887 building in the heart of one of Sydney’s oldest European areas. You don’t even need to step beyond the hotel for top-notch dining: the on-site Tayim Restaurant specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine, and Creperie Suzette offers the French classic for breakfast and lunch. It’s just a five-minute walk from Circular Quay, so Sydney’s vast ferry and train network is right on your doorstep.

Surry Hills is one of Sydney’s most stylish inner-city suburbs, and the Crystalbrook Albion hotel is a handy base for exploring the nearby cafes and restaurants. To have a local show you around their neighbourhood, the hotel can arrange – for a fee – private walking tour guides. Domestic travellers who want to travel with their four-legged friends are also in luck, as the Crystalbrook Albion welcomes dogs and cats.

Come for the location, stay for the bathroom accessories. The Haven Glebe equips its guest rooms with luxury L’Occitane toiletries, so you won’t need an excuse to take extra showers – although a workout session at the on-site gym would count. The outdoor common areas, shaded with plants, create an inviting atmosphere for catching up on some work. Then, the nearby Glebe Markets, Glebe Foreshore Walk and Darling Harbour will tempt you out to go exploring.

Just around the corner and over the hill from Circular Quay, Watsons Bay feels like a totally different part of Sydney. Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, on the foreshore, makes exploring this coastal neighbourhood easy. Stand-up paddle boards are available to hire nearby, and walking trails lead as far afield as Bondi, along coastal paths. Between May and October you don’t even need to leave the hotel to see thousands of whales and dolphins migrating right past the window.

In an old stately home built in 1886, the Albert Hotel Mosman is a convenient option for access to both the city and the Northern Beaches. Cast iron bathtubs are a reminder of the hotel’s Victorian-era past. Balmoral Beach is the local strip of white sand, perfect for a summer swim, and Taronga Zoo is a five-minute drive away. Buses from Mosman travel up to the Northern Beaches, including Palm Beach – also known as Summer Bay – and the Barrenjoey Headland in the north.

The complimentary evening canapes at Spicers Potts Point are just what you need after a day on nearby Bondi Beach – or to get you ready for a night out at Kings Cross, Sydney’s lively nightlife area that’s right on the hotel’s doorstep. With just 16 rooms, this is an intimate and homely boutique hotel that makes a quiet haven from the partying outside. It even offers a remote office day package for local workers needing a change-up from working from home – join them with your laptop and a flat white.

With almost 300 rooms, Sydney’s Little National Hotel is actually anything but small. But the outdoor rooftop terrace, lounge and winter garden, with a fireplace and bar, provides an oasis of intimacy. The library, complete with USB ports and a wireless printer, is ideal for business travellers. It’s all just above Wynyard Walk, a futuristic pedestrian tunnel that links Wynyard Station to the CBD – so getting around the city centre is a cinch.