Much like Melbourne, Sydney is a city of hidden laneways. Head down Abercrombie lane in the CBD, hang a right and you’ll discover the heavy iron door to The Establishment hotel lobby, if the calming scent of burning incense doesn’t hit you first. Merivale’s only hotel property in Syndey housed within the centuries old former George Patterson House, the building’s industrial bones date back to 1890 when it was home to an ironmonger, hardware, and furnishings merchant. The Establishment block is not only home to the 31 room boutique hotel but also a handful of their notable restaurants and bars including Mr. Wong’s, Palmer & Co., ‘est’, and Hemmesphere cocktail lounge to name just a few.
The lobby is cozy and inviting with large velvet sofas with tapestry throw pillows, marble floors, a giant bowl of phaleanopsis orchids, and stacks of design books casual strewn beside large imperfect wooden sculptures. Upon entering our Establishment room, smooth sexy jazz set the tone for luxury which continued throughout the space. An elegant chaise lounge and cushy arm chair were grouped around a marble coffee table with an adorable Jade plant. The space was at once tranquil and industrial with wooden pillars and exposed ceilings leading into the bathroom which housed both a gracious soaking tub as well as a seriously powerful glassed in rain shower. Bvlgari bath products were generously centred in between the lava stone double sinks, perfectly separating you from your travel companion during morning and evening ablutions.
The room housed a queen sized bed with a lavish amount of pillows and two cookies at the end paired with T2’s “Sleep Tight” blend of tea to help you settle into a good nights sleep. The room was equip with all the luxurious bells and whistles you’d expect of a boutique hotel including a Bose sound system, full mini bar and fridge, an in-room iPad, high speed internet, and an impressively sized closet. Needless to say we felt instantly at home for our stopover in Sydney at The Establishment, which is also walking distance to various tourist destinations like the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the Sydney Opera House, and the Strand Arcade, to name a few.
If you manage to make it out of the hotel’s one stop shop of amazing restaurants and bars at night we recommend heading to Ms. G’s out in Potts Point, which is also owned by Merivale, to try some of their amazing modern Asian food and interesting cocktails. Stay tuned for our feature on Ms. G’s in the coming weeks.
We sincerely enjoyed our short stay in Sydney at The Establishment and would highly recommend it for those travelling to the city looking for a tranquil alternative to the often-contrived luxury chain hotels which saturate the CBD.
Take a look through some of our photos from our stay at The Establishment below.
