Holiday Goddess editor Sue Ostler ducks into Sydney’s QT Hotel and describes it as Captain Chaos meets Alice in Wonderland.
Aperitif Hour 5.00pm – 7.00pm Prosecco with Complimentary Sea Salt & Olive Focaccia $6.00.
“Where have you been all my life?” I thought as I blinked my eyes and clicked my heels upon entering Sydney’s newest city-centre hotel – QT – an extraordinary theatrical creation where retro and contemporary art, design, fashion, entertainment and society come together as guests are greeted by vampy film noirish red-lipped girls and a slick bow-tied concierge.
Recently opening its doors on the landmark old Gowings site with the Market Street level offering passers by a host of restaurants, bars and cafés leading into the astonishing hotel (above the new Topshop which rocks hard below), the QT is the talk of the town.
This site was an icon for many years and will no doubt be so for many more years thanks to the award-winning architecture, sassy staff and décor – all designed to blow your tiny little mind.
The ‘look at me!’ blend of gothic, art deco and European architecture is sprinkled with layers of stardust which have been missing from Sydney’s CBD for too long.
With quirky, eclectic design (I was just waiting for someone to burst out and invite me to tap-dance) the lower levels house Sydney’s hottest new bar, Gowings Bar & Grill. Upstairs, you will find SpaQ, a rooftop pool and that hotel.
Spend as little or as much as you like. Go upstairs for a chic dining experience at the Bar & Grill where a European brassiere menu offers Free Range Pork Chop with Paris Mash. Upstairs you’ll find Sydney’s best kept secret – the Gilt Lounge for sexy after-dinner tête-à-tête till very, very late.
If you don’t want to spend big bucks, you can just as easily soak in the ambience of the quirky Parlour Lane Roasters, QT’s pleasantly affordable streetside café which has taken over the space that was the big old foyer leading into the State Theatre. Here you’ll find a candlelit haven to chill out with a barista coffee and all-day breakfast, or late afternoon chablis and baguette for under a tenner. With its original ornate shop display cabinets and covetable design objects, the quaint café has a feel quite unlike any other.
The hotel has 200 guest rooms. It’s a sprawling rabbit warren oozing luxury in every possible way, from the bedding to the walk-in showers and indulgent oversized soaking tubs. It’s a whole other world.
In a world of grim CBD greys and bland beige QT is a delicious visual feast and just what the doctor ordered. It’s light, bright, loud and proud. Go upstairs, downstairs and sideways and stick your nose into every nook and cranny. Whatever you spend on food and drink will be money well spent for the sensory experience alone. Everything is in Technicolor here. It really is the most astonishing place from top to toe. It will make you smile and want to dance. Just go!
