Where to Stay in Sydney for a Local Experience

The suites here are split into three options – standard, heritage and terrace – and vary in size and access to outdoor space. All are stark, with just the right amount of space-age chairs and retro cylindrical lamps to lift them from dormitory to Barberella in style. The hotel is on a quiet street, walking distance to the harbour and its major attractions. Paddy’s Market is nearby and is a Sydney institution – 1,000 stalls have been trading under one roof for 150 years now.

It’s refreshing when a boutique city hotel is explicit about its small room sizes. Veriu Central rooms range from 10sqm (108sqft) – known as micro-doubles – to 17sqm (183sqft) but come perfectly formed. Each a “cocoon of comfort”, a modern design masterpiece with mattresses of cloud-like softness, bar fridge, smart TV, and a Nespresso coffee machine slotted inside. The location is key here, within creative hub Surry Hills and surrounded by eclectic cafes, emerging designers and new-found art houses. Order a cheese toastie and a coffee in the 1920s inspired Drawing room, one of five in-house eateries as part of their Central Dining concept.

You can’t go wrong with a hotel that prioritises a cheese platter with matched wine for your arrival, but it’s the location that makes this place sing. You have trendy restaurants, bars and boutiques on your doorstep. Check out the nearby Susannah Place Museum, which tells stories of the Irish immigrants who built four small terrace houses on the site in 1844, which became home to more than 100 families over a 150-year period. The hotel’s Historic Terrace Queen room is on the dated side of charming, but this feels apt for the area.

These stylish serviced apartments are designed with community in mind. First off, all the apartments (one- to three-bed) are connected by a tropical courtyard bursting with lush palm trees and herb gardens, which you’re welcome to pick for cooking. Take a moment to sink into one of the customised butterfly chairs and swap notes with other guests – should you make friends, the hotel has a fleet of bikes you can ride together for free. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, pop next door to the achingly cool and airy Deus Cafe and Bar and order a Japanese lunch tray, or a classic Deus burger – by then it will be clear that Veriu Camperdown is where to go in Sydney to feel like a true local.

Taking up space across two beautifully restored 1893 heritage-listed terrace homes, Hotel Challis (run by Sydney Lodges) offers a charming old-world boutique experience in the Parisian end of Potts Point, but with all the mod cons thrown in. Kings Cross is a short walk away, a reformed party hotspot (lockout laws quietened things down in 2014) where old nightclubs have turned into upscale gyms, high-end eateries and art galleries. Two steps from the property, the hotel runs a quaint little cafe serving decent coffee and Australian teas.

Want to work hard and play cooler? Mantra Parramatta Hotel is located in the heart of Parramatta CBD with access to corporate meeting rooms in high-rise buildings and major company HQs but on a backdrop of an emerging film and arts scene. Parramatta in Greater Sydney has become quite a hotspot thanks to a new creative collective moving in to open small boutiques, bars and eateries. The hotel restaurant, Social House Dining & Bar, serves up modern Australian cuisine and wines. Enjoy a Riverine 400g grain-fed T-bone with mushroom sauce and a glass of TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir while you catch up on emails.

Love room service? Don’t we all. But Quest Campbelltown, in southwest Sydney, has taken the concept to the next level. Order from seven local restaurants and have the food delivered to your apartment with the cost added to your final bill. If you fancy cooking in your kitchen, Quest’s pantry shopping service will deliver groceries to your apartment ahead of your arrival or during your stay. Meanwhile, the Kitchen is Quest Campbelltown’s breakfast restaurant, serving healthy dishes from 6am for an extra charge.

Trust an adult-only hotel to have its own chill-out zone decorated with LoveSacs (ultra-comfy bean bags, for those who were wondering) and an outdoor BBQ area ready for rip-roaring fun. Guests also enjoy a free cappuccino or latte from the in-house coffee house each day. Take it up to the level 6 roof-terrace for views over the quiet suburb of Ryde. The Top Ryde City shopping centre is across the road, with a supermarket, cinema and outdoor dining options.

Are you a solo traveller on a budget who appreciates nice wallpaper? The Russell Hotel, in the Rocks, could be where to go in Sydney for you. Economy rooms are small, charming and cosy with a single or double bed and a shared bathroom. You get tea and coffee, a hairdryer and bathrobes and no two rooms are the same. All feel homely in a modern way – and how about that wallpaper? It wouldn’t look out of place on the hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit.