A couple of months back, I had the pleasure of attending an Appelles Skin event at Pier One Sydney Harbour Hotel. I was instantly impressed with the rustic feel to the lobby and couldn’t help but look up at the wooden beams and take in the homely smell of cooking drifting from the kitchen. I instantly knew I wanted to spend a few nights there, so last weekend I headed with my boyfriend for a relaxing weekend.
Champagne on arrival is not a bad way to start the day, and valet parking is definitely a bonus if you know how annoying parking is in Sydney! We were lucky enough to stay in the most swish room in the hotel: The harbour view balcony suite. This room is absolutely breathtaking for a number of reasons:
- Freestanding bath tub over looking the harbour (cue romantic movie music)
- Extensive Balcony directly next to the harbour bridge
- King sized plush bed on looking the water
- Delonghi coffee machine for endless caffeine hits
- Double shower and double sink
- Plenty of wardrobe space
As soon as we made our way to the room, we were greeted with more champagne (I swear they were trying to get us tipsy!) and a fresh fruit bowl. Arriving at the hotel for 2pm with dinner at 6pm, this tied us over nicely as we didn’t want to spoil our appetite at The Gantry Restaurant which we were looking forward to the most! After a couple of hours shooting a style post, it was an hour of relaxing and then dinner time!
For those who have never dined at The Gantry, it is highly recommend. The executive chef knows a thing or two about cooking. He was The Beckham’s private chef, has worked at the palace for the British Royal family and sources all ingredients from local farms. Are you sold yet? Having worked at restaurants in the past, you always know a guest has had an enjoyable evening if still at the table 3 hours later! And this was the case for us. We started with The Gantry Gravalax which was served with a delectable jalapeño salsa. For Mains I opted for The barramundi and Chris had the sea trout. As we had lamb for lunch, the fish was the right option. Cooked to perfection. Dessert was a struggle but we had to finish with the chocolate torte, which was rich and sweet. Chris actually thinks that might be the best chocolate dessert he has had in a long time! That says it all! The service was 10 out of 10, and our waitress Zoe couldn’t do enough for us.
After feeling content and impressed, it was an early night watching the Vivid light show from our room. At that point, we felt lucky to live in such an amazing city.
It’s hard not to sleep in when the bed is super cushy with the best view of Sydney, but my body must have known the sunrise was going to be breathtaking and woke up at 6:30am! I was so warm and snug in bed, but had to grab my camera and get a snap of the amazing contrasting sky and reflection on the water. No sound, no one around. Perfect! Just wish I grabbed the fluffy dressing gown instead of braving it in my PJ’s!
We opted for a late breakfast. I was adamant I wanted a bubble bath to admire the view, and secretly because my plug hole has been misplaced in my house, that’s the truth! To put this into perspective, the bath tub took 25 minutes to fill up it’s that big! A nice cup of coffee and luxe toiletries from Appelles Skin was the perfect excuse to melt and watch the boats go by. Just what you need on a crisp winter’s morning.
Breakfast was a relaxed and delicious buffet! Heaps of food to choose from: the standard hot Aussie style breakfast and a selection of pastries and cereals. I liked that we could choose whether to sit in the restaurant, bar, or outside tables. We chose the bar as it was overlooking the water. The waiting staff were serving fresh coffees and tea’s and this is table service so it was nice to not have to keep getting up once eating.
I’m sure you can gather from this review, that there’s not a bad thing about this place. If you are after a luxurious city break, this is the place to go. It’s great for a romantic weekend. We didn’t feel the need to venture out the hotel the whole time, as we wanted to absorb the view and relax. Even though you are in the city, there’s calmness and tranquility to Pier One which makes the experience so much better, especially if you work in Sydney like Chris and I.
Here’s a link to their website and restaurant:
All photography is my own. To use this imagery, please email me and I will be more than happy to share the imagery with you in exchange for full photo credit. Thanks.
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