Stay Here: No Two Rooms Are The Same In This Playful Inner-City Hotel
The latest edition to our newly conceived #StayHere series is Sydney's own The Collectionist Hotel, which puts an avant-garde spin on the traditional hotel formula. You won't find any cookie-cutter amenities here—there are no stark white bed linens and most definitely no beige walls in sight. In fact, this new addition to Sydney's growing accommodation lineup allows you to take a tour of the rooms before you decide which one you'd like to stay in, offering thirty-nine individually-designed spaces conceptualised by some of the best names in interior design, architecture and art. This boutique hotel is playful, fun, and like nothing you've ever experienced.
When Andrew Cliffe of design studio The World is Round was tasked with developing an overall design and feel for the hotel, he instinctively knew that he could accomplish something completely unique and exciting by inviting other creatives to collaborate on the process. He looked to Amber Road, Willis Sheargold and Byron Bay-based Pattern Studio to round out his design team—some of the most impressive young names in the Australian interiors landscape. They each were given ten rooms to complete, using their own signature style to conceptualise spaces that transport the hotel's guests to a specific time and place in the world.
With playfulness and an element of surprise at the forefront of the design brief, the talented Australian interior designers employed clever use of unexpected and tactile textures and rich, layered colour palettes to convey the intended atmosphere. For example, Amber Road's use of oversized, chunky terrazzo flooring combined with deep ochre walls and strips of black marble gives you no indication you're on the fringe of Sydney's CBD in a once-industrial building. In fact, you instantly feel as though you've stepped inside a luxurious Italian palazzo. On the other hand, in one of Pattern Studio's rooms, you'll find a soothing display of contemporary oak furniture that perfectly offsets a pale pink handpainted mural behind the bed. Inspired by the idea of creating a collection of sophisticated spaces that heavily contrast with the building's urban past, the team at Willis Sheargold opted for decadent wood panelling, ornate frames and luxurious carpets for an opulent stay.
If the idea of trying before you buy sounds appealing, even if it's just to get a peek at the incredible selection of expertly-designed suites on offer, consider this quirky hotel for your next Sydney stay. Wedged between the popular food and entertainment hubs of Newtown and Glebe, and within earshot of the hustle of the CBD, this anything-but-normal boutique accommodation option is the ultimate creative collaboration we didn't know we needed and is firmly placed at the top of our hotel bucket list.
Images Courtesy of The Collectionist Hotel. Photography by Terence Chin.
For more hotel goodness, check out this former Belgian convent that's now a minimalist haven.
