Urban beehives on the outdoor terrace on the level three rooftop produce the hotel’s own honey
The hotel’s Chi the Spa on level two fuses Australian healing techniques and botanical ingredients with Asian and Middle Eastern therapies. A treatment unique in Australia is the Arabian Oud Renewal Therapy, using oud wood, frankincense, sandalwood and rose during a 90-minute treatment on the face and the body. There’s buzz, too, about the hotel’s celebrity pastry chef, Anna Polyviou, famous for her punk hairdo and her patisserie creations that pack a visual and flavour punch.
Time Out tip: The Shangri-la Hotel Sydney is perfectly located for access to the historical area of the Rocks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visiting the Sydney Opera House, and ferries to Taronga Zoo and Manly. But don’t forget to take a stroll through the beautiful waterfront Barangaroo Reserve just to the west of the hotel, and explore the brand new bars and restaurants of the adjacent Streets of Barangaroo.
Swissotel Sydney
Buffet high tea? It’s enough to make June Dally-Watkins spit out her Oolong in horror. But we don’t object on principle – regular high tea is just a tiered smorgasbord at your table when you think about it – and neither do the crowds of mums, daughters and girlfriends who show up to the Swissotel’s light-filled eighth-floor lobby every weekend for this heretic offering. A Bellini on arrival is a fine touch, and there’s a novelty in seeing all the staple goodies laid out at the buffet – one table holds cold savouries online payday loans in ID like the cucumber sandwich with almost petal-like cucumber slices between soft, fresh bread; another has hot food, including a mini samosa and quiche. The desserts table will delight the kid inside you, spilling over as it is with meringue tarts and cheesecake slices, but they could work on their technique: our scone is dry, even for a scone. Service here can you leave you rudderless but if you are an all-you-can-eat type, and have a high sugar tolerance, there are good times to be had above Market Street.
Parliament House
Known to locals as the Bear Pit, the New South Wales Parliament is said to be the roughest, toughest parliament in the country.
Its impressive sandstone home was built between 1811 and 1814 as the northern wing of the Rum Hospital, but was commandeered in 1829 to house the new colony’s decision makers.
The Legislative Council (upper house) meets in a building that was originally intended for use as a church; the cast-iron prefab was being shipped from Glasgow to Victoria when it was diverted mid-voyage to Sydney.
The parliament is largely modelled on its mother in London: there’s a Speaker and Black Rod, and even the colour scheme follows the British tradition of green for the lower chamber and red for the upper chamber.
Legislative sessions are open to the general public, with viewing from a public gallery. Booking is essential for the guided tours.
High Tea is held every Friday in the Strangers’ Restaurant from 12 pm to 3 pm. A selection of freshly brewed teas coffee and handmade sweet savoury delights are served on the traditional Parliamentary Crested Wedgwood plates. The fresh gourmet creations are designed to showcase a wide variety of seasonal produce sourced from throughout regional New South Wales.
Hydro Majestic Hotel
Since 1904 the Hydro Majestic has been an elegant sentinel on Sydney’s Western border, perched on a precipice in the Blue Mountains suburb of Medlow Bath. It originally operated as a health retreat before being used as a hospital for American soldiers injured in the Pacific during WWII. In 2008 the hotel closed for a major refurb, reopening those Art . And if you can’t stretch to an overnight stay, you can always visit for high tea.