Capella Sydney is a five star hotel in the historic sandstone precinct of Sydney near Circular Quay. Capella has transformed a former government building into an ultra luxe hotel offering unparalleled service and rooms. So what is it like staying at Capella Sydney? And is this Sydney's most beautiful hotel?
"Some even say that the Capella is like an art museum," says Luke, the staff member taking me through Capella. I can't help but agree. What used to be the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education has been transformed into a space with sculptures, art pieces, beautiful textures and highly covetable items. I inhale the hotel's sweet signature scent made of bergamot, green tea, peony, freesia, vetiver and cedarwood.
The Capella chain of hotels numbers 8, mostly located in Asia. Capella Sydney is Australia's first taste of the luxury chain named after the Capella star, the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. The hotel has been a long time coming. Whispers of this hotel build were heard many years ago BC (aka Before Covid) and it was completed after 7 years of renovation. The hotel celebrated its first birthday in March. The Capella Hotel Group is part of Pontiac Land, a Singapore based company owned by the billionaire Kwee brothers.
The outside of Capella is an Edwardian Baroque-style sandstone façade originally designed by George McRae, the Scottish architect whose name graces the Capella's hotel bar. He also put his name to the Queen Victoria Building and Sydney's Town Hall. The building's warm, toasted biscuit colour and rectangular shape belies the luxury that lies behind the original cast steel doors. I've walked past it many times in the past year not knowing what lay inside as it still bears the Department of Agriculture sign high above with a small rectangular plaque on the side with the name Capella.
One half of this building was reserved for the Department of Education while the other was the Department of Agriculture. The two separate buildings required some renovation to optimise circulation. Make Architects also added an additional 3 levels to make the hotel 11 levels. There are 192 rooms, suites and prestige suites.
We arrive on a rainy Wednesday at midday for my birthday and even the rain doesn't dampen my mood. There are two entrances for Capella, one at Farrer Place and one on Loftus Street. I pass beautiful art works by Judy Watson, a First Nations artist displayed in the building's original gilt frames.
When you step foot inside, the staff take care of everything for you. My bags are whisked upstairs to my room that is ready early in anticipation of my noon arrival. Check-in is quick and smooth and within minutes and I'm invited into the Living Room to enjoy my first taste of life at Capella with a glass of Forager's Fizz made with Davidson Plum and rose petals. These are picked by the staff forager who looks for in-season, abundant ingredients around Sydney.
The Living Room is like a club lounge where people are invited to work, have coffee or tea or just relax. There's also an enormous art work depicting what used to be in the sandstone precinct including samples of pieces of ceramic and other items that were dug up during the excavation of the site.
We pass by Aperture, the hotel's gorgeous café bathed in light. George McRae originally based the hotel design on an Italian Palazzo with a hollow centre. He envisioned the space as a garden but it was only ever used as a carpark and storage facility by the Department of Education. Now it is the most captured part of the hotel with the mechanical flowers that open and close high above diners. This feature is called Meadow by Dutch art duo Studio Drift.
I go up to the third floor to my room #3001, a deluxe king room. All of the rooms are generously proportioned with the smallest one coming in at 46 square metres or 505 square feet. The first six floors of the hotel have extra high ceilings and tripled glazed windows while floors 6 to 9 have floor to ceiling windows dubbed "Skyline views".
The high ceilings transform this from a hotel room into what feels like a large apartment. It's the seamless blend of the old and the new that is striking and welcoming. Modern art deco style windows are set against sandstone with patterned soft furnishings and leather chairs. Everything is quality from the Frette sheets custom made for Capella to the furniture. Not only that, but they're thoughtfully chosen. The kettle isn't just a kettle, it's like a piece of art and the lampshades cast off a warm glow into the room. All of the room controls are via the tablet on one side of the bed including room service, spa bookings, housekeeping requests and requests for pillows. Blinds are closed with a press of a button.
The marble bathroom is spacious and airy with double sinks and aromatic Haeckels products, a natural skin care and wild fragrance company. A complete amenity kit including everything from toothbrushes to exfoliating mitt are housed in a drawer. A large egg shaped stone tub with a touch lantern and bath salts awaits but there's also a spacious shower too. The mini bar includes complimentary soft drinks or if you want something harder, there's a single malt whisky, gin and vodka as well and snacks. There's a coffee machine and teas by Australian Botanical Tea and there are no single use plastics in the room.
Other extras for guests are complimentary wifi, use of hotel bikes, wellness centre, evening turn down and complimentary pressing of 5 laundry items per stay. And although you are in the city, it's noticeably quiet from the quiet air conditioning that isn't really needed as the room maintains a perfectly comfortable temperature thanks to the triple glazing that also ensures that your slumber will be sound. The only thing that is missing on site is parking as it is a heritage building. There is however a paid car park across the road.
I head downstairs for lunch with Monica. Brasserie 1930 is one of Capella's two in house restaurants and is under the charge of The Bentley Group. We are having their new express lunch. For $70 you can have 2 courses or 3 courses for $85. The chef is Niroshan Richards.
The meal starts with fat wedges of fresh, soft sourdough with a whipped cultured butter.
Then we segue into entrees with an ocean trout rillette with dill crème fraiche and rings of pickled onion with paper thin, crisp crackers to spread the rillettes on.
When we saw braised brisket tart we were expecting a meat pie sort of entree but this is more elegant. The brisket and crisp, tart shell is served warm but the smoked beetroot slices with fresh horseradish grated on top and watercress are cold. It's an elegant, unexpected turn.
For the main we select a Five Founders Scotch fillet with bordelaise sauce and three roasted Dutch carrots on top. It's a sizeable steak served already sliced and is made even more luscious with the Borderlaise or bone marrow sauce. As a chef Monica takes one look at it and quips "200grams".
The dark chocolate tart is a classic bittersweet chocolate tart with a punchy star anise ice cream and spiced pineapple The tart itself is classic but you do really have to love licorice for the ice cream accompaniment.
We both swoon for their version of bannoffee tart with a bottom layer of banana bread, banana ice cream, dulce de leche, wattle cream and creamy yogurt to balance the sweetness of the dulce de leche.
One of the stand out points at Capella Sydney is the service. Everyone gets treated like a VIP here and as soon as I walk into the Living Room, Alan calls me Ms Elliott even though this is the first time I am meeting him. He lets me know that the team have printed out a form I emailed to them. I watch the staff treat everyone else with exactly the same deference. 5pm begins the nightly ritual called ‘Echoes of Eternity’ where guests are invited to take a seat and sip on a cocktail and listen about a local legend. Capella is all about connecting people to history so tonight we are learning about Arthur Stace, the creator of the Eternity sign that he used to draw all over Sydney in chalk. Alan calls him Australia's first graffiti artist or the "original Banksy".
Tomorrow there is an architecture tour on offer as well as an option for a run around botanical gardens or a Saturday visit to Eveleigh markets. During VIVID they will take guests out on a boat to see the harbour. All of this is free and included in the room tariff. There are also paid experiences through their "Capella Curates" offering like sailing on Sydney Harbour, a coffee roasting experience or "Wine, Dine and Crime" that takes you on a tour heralding The Rock's less salubrious past ending off at dinner at Le Foote. We listen while sipping a delicious cocktail made with Mr Black, Starward Whisky macadamia, coconut cream and passion fruit and nibble on a truffle mousse vol au vent.
As for us, we are headed off site for dinner but return to see housekeeping has laid out slippers, water and a rejuvenation pack with a set of eye masks and a linen spray on the bed. The lighting system is easy to use - Mr NQN has completely conked out on the Frette sheets so I turn off all the lights. Helpfully, there are nightlights that sense when you step off the bed at night and gently illuminate your way to the bathroom.
The next morning I wake up after one of the best night's sleep ever. This hotel and a Vila Vitorino in Sintra, Portugal are memorable to me for the two best nights of sleep I've ever had. Even the sore shoulder that I've had for 4 days is markedly less painful. We head downstairs for breakfast at Brasserie 1930. I've never been one for breakfast at breakfast time but I had an inkling that the breakfast spread would be a bit extra and it does not disappoint.
There is an a la carte selection of hot dishes with eggs as well as juices. The buffet is also plentiful with hot and cold offerings. Make sure to nab one of the house signature jam donuts; these soft, downy donuts are straight from yesteryear. The blueberry custard Danish is crisp and glazed generously and I also make us a large fruit plate using the selection of ripe, sweet fruit and help ourselves to some tomato and capsicum quiche, smoked salmon and prosciutto.
From the a la carte menu, Mr NQN enjoys the croissant bun filled with smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and salmon roe while I adore the buckwheat crumpet topped with a poached egg, ham and truffle hollandaise. All washed down with a perfect chai latte and a mixed beetroot juice.
After breakfast I bid Mr NQN goodbye as he heads off for work and I head to Auriga spa on level 6. Located next to the 20 metre pool, both the spa and pool make use of abundant natural light. The neutral palette spa is relaxing from the moment that you step in. My spa therapist Sunee guides me to one of the rooms. There's a bathroom, shower and a little Japanese garden in there just thrown in for contemplation.
Treatments are based on moon phases or return to country as themes. I'm booked in for a 90 minute Australian Elemental Facial spa treatment. I slide into the warm embrace of the heated bed and look up and see the skylight above. I am ensconced in layers of warm blankets while she performs the treatment.
This treatment usually starts with a hot stone massage but Sunee changes it to work on my shoulder which I appreciate. She uses products by Synthesis Organics in Byron Bay that smell divine and although they're natural and use essential oils, she selects the most soothing products for my reactive skin. At many points I fall asleep dreaming of honey and chamomile as she applies the products only to wake up 90 minutes later to three gentle chimes of the bell.
My skin glows after this. All I need to do now is (reluctantly) check out. It's a perfect ending because birthdays are a time of contemplation and of being reborn for the year ahead. Everything old is new again.
So tell me Dear Reader, is there a hotel or hotel chain that you like the best and why?
NQN and Mr NQN stayed as guests of Capella Sydney but all opinions remain her own.
Capella Sydney
24 Loftus St, Sydney NSW 2000
https://capellahotels.com/en/capella-sydney
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