Ace Hotel Sydney

Standing tall at 18 storeys high, and with 257 hotel rooms kitted out with guitars, in-room vinyl collections and custom robes designed by Deiji Studios, Ace Sydney instantly became one of Sydney’s leading destination hotels when it opened in 2022. Based in Seattle, the Ace Hotel Group has been leading the way in the ultra-cool five-star hotel space since it launched in 1999, and counts locations in major cities including New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. This is the group’s Southern Hemisphere debut.

The hotel is built on the site of a former brick factory, Tyne House, which was built in 1916 and is considered to be one of the first ceramic kilns in the country. Architecture company Flack Studio has taken inspiration from the colours of the Australian desert, installing an ochre-red marble staircase from the lobby to level one. The public areas of the hotel have artworks by local artists Tony Albert, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Nadia Hernández and many others. Plus, there’s an homage to 1970s suburbia with a burnt orange and tan sunken lounge on the ground floor.

Even bigger than the announcement of the hotel itself was the news that Sydney chef Mitch Orr (of seminal, now-closed Rushcutters Bay restaurant Acme) would be leading its eighteenth floor diner, Kiln. Here, Orr unleashes his imagination on a menu powered by wood fire and world-class produce, drawing on native ingredients and flavours from Italy, Japan and Southeast Asia. The room is a tribute to the colours and textures of Australia’s landscape, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views rarely seen in Sydney.

For something more casual, head to Loam, the hotel’s lobby-level restaurant. While executive chef Heidi Flanagan's menu does include sustainable meat and fish, it’s plant-forward and driven by produce from independent farmers and producers. Think charred octopus, portobello tonkatsu burgers and brined-and-roasted Mandalong Valley chicken.

Mike Bennie, co-owner of drinks retailer P&V, who has shaped both Sydney and Australia’s dynamic drinks scene, has curated the booze offering across the entire hotel, from the minimal-intervention wines to the cocktails infused with native ingredients.

The last piece of the Ace puzzle is laneway cafe and bar, Good Chemistry, located on Foy Lane. Its name pays tribute to the building’s history as the former factory and distribution centre of Washington H. Soul Pattinson Chemists. Come for an all-day menu of pastries, salads, toasties, and light bites, along with brews from Mecca Coffee and Tea Craft teas, as well as wine and beer.