A By Adina Sydney Fuses Home Comforts With Hotel Chic

Luxe hotel meets apartment living at the ultra-stylish A by Adina Sydney.

Deciding whether to stay in a home or a hotel is a dilemma many travellers face in the accommodation booking process. A by Adina Sydney in the Sydney CBD make it so you don’t have to choose, with their premium hotel apartments bridging the gap between the two options. Expect classic home comforts such as kitchens and laundries as well as the luxe amenities you get from a hotel experience.

Looking for accommodation in Sydney? Here’s everything you need to know about staying at the elegant A by Adina Sydney.

Location

A by Adina is conveniently located in Sydney’s CBD making it an ideal base for business travellers or those wanting to be close to major attractions such as Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney. Shopping and dining precinct Barangaroo is a short 10-minute walk away. Wynyard Station and the light rail are a three-minute walk away for those keen to explore other areas of Sydney.

The sleek facade of the hotel. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Style and character

Conceived by JPW Architects with interiors by Carr Design Group, A by Adina exudes modern charm. The building is a sleek glass-curtain tower, designed to optimise views.

The sky lobby makes a striking impact upon arrival. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Inside, each space is highly polished, with a moody, neutral palette of black, brass, and creams, paired with dark timber joinery, all of which were intentionally chosen to make way for the city views. Minimalist furnishings such as black leather seating and ambient lighting bring a mid-century feel that makes this hotel feel elevated yet welcoming.

The onsite bar/restaurant features a fit-out by interior architect George Livissianis. This space boasts 360-degree views and sensitively complements the rest of the build’s understated glamour with its sophisticated black and brass palette, marble detailing, and elegantly curved banquette seating.

Dean & Nancy on 22 features curvaceous banquette seating to articulate the 360-degree cityscape. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Facilities

Guests enter the building via a ramp flanked by a water feature on the left and a brass pipe feature wall on the right – a taste of what awaits inside. The striking sky lobby and reception area are 21 levels up and make a strong first impression. Here, expansive four-storey floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the city skyline, and a sweeping brass staircase and matching brass reception desk set the tone for the rest of the hotel. On the same floor, there is a swimming pool and gym, both of which also boast impressive city views. Parking is available at a cost and is a five-minute walk from the hotel.

Go for a dip while admiring the cityscape. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Rooms

The property has 194 contemporary rooms ranging from a Studio Room to a Two Bedroom Apartment. All accommodations show off city views and come with Hunter Lab products, coffee machines and pods, and luxurious Dreamcatcher Beds for a restful night’s sleep. Studio Rooms are fitted with kitchenettes, but for longer stays, consider a One- or Two-Bedroom Apartment which comes with a fully-equipped kitchen and laundry, and ample storage. There is also an option to book a One-Bedroom apartment with a furnished balcony.

An open-plan Studio Room. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Feeling fancy? Book either a larger Destination A One- or Two-Bedroom Apartment which offers Smeg small kitchen appliances, a dishwasher, a la carte breakfast, a grazing box, and $25pp credit to spend on snacks or drinks from your in-room bar – the cocktails from the internationally acclaimed Maybe Sammy team are hard to resist.

Book a Destination A Room for a more luxurious stay. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Food and drink

The food and drink offerings are a stand out at A by Adina. Breakfast and dinner are all served in one of Sydney’s most revered bars, Dean & Nancy on 22; a high-end 1950s-inspired bar from the Maybe Sammy team. Including breakfast in your hotel stay won’t be regretted with a mouthwatering menu offering ricotta hotcakes with maple glaze, wild berries, and toffee crisp, and a falafel bowl with poached eggs, roast pumpkin, quinoa, red cabbage, and hummus.

Pull up a chair at the sophisticated bar. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Later in the day, swing by for a glass of wine from their extensive menu, or indulge in cocktails like the ‘GJ504B’, a planet-inspired tipple concocted with sloe gin, Mancino Rosso, peach brandy, grapefruit juice, and plum & quandong jam. If you’re peckish, stay a while and indulge in mafalda cacio e pepe and lobster rolls followed by baked ganache and passionfruit granita.

In-room dining is available to those who prefer to stay in the comfort of their bed.

The caviar martini sees Italian white sturgeon caviar with crème fraîche on crisp tapioca paired with your favourite gin or vodka. (Image: TFE Hotels)

Access for guests with disabilities?

Adina by Adina has easy access to public areas and all rooms are accessed via a lift. Easy access rooms are also available on request.

Family-friendly?

Given its proximity to major attractions and home-like facilities, A by Adina is a great choice for families. Interconnecting rooms are available so you can stay in close proximity to one another.

Details

Best for: Business travellers, long-stay travellers, and couples.

Address: 2 Hunter St, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9182 9500

Cost: Rates start from $302 per night.

Welcome to the first instalment of Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.

Hotel stays have quietly become my thing. Long before I became a travel journalist, I was booking staycations just for a change of scenery. Some had charm, some had character, some had neither. Once, I even stayed in a hotel directly opposite my own apartment – partly for the novelty, partly because I wanted to see my life from a different angle.

For me, hotels represent a kind of mystery – I find myself wanting to know what these buildings contain. Many of them are designed with intention: lighting, materials, scent and sounds that often reflect the city they sit in. Time seems to gently pause in these spaces, which have increasingly become the destination itself for modern travellers.

It only felt fitting for the first hotel in this series to be in my home city and at the hotel that’s been at the top of my list: Capella Sydney.

A sandstone heritage building and palm trees

Capella sits within an Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building.

An email with a hotel program from the “Culturist Team” lets me know this will be a luxurious stay. There’s a guided walk around the Botanic Gardens, a weaving workshop and a Sydney contemporary art tour – the kind of addition that signals a hotel that’s tuned into the finer details, and one that’s not surprising given that Capella’s ethos centres on delivering personalised, immersive experiences.

Capella opened in 2023 within a transformed Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building in Sydney’s CBD that was originally designed by renowned Scottish-Australian architect George McRae. I often walk past this building and once attended an event inside – I distinctly remember being surprised by how beautiful it was. Bar Studio, Make Architects, and stylist Simone Haag were engaged to sensitively adapt the building for contemporary luxury while honouring its past, in collaboration with Heritage NSW and the City of Sydney.

When I arrive, I’m greeted by three different staff members along the way to reception. There’s a lovely subtle scent, which I later learn combines notes of bergamot, green tea leaves, peony, freesia, vetiver and cedarwood. This hotel strikes such a beautiful balance between grandness and intimacy, with large floral bouquets, contemporary artworks, impressively high ceilings that give it an international feel and quieter nooks to unwind in. Each space is unique, but they’re all unified by a warm, textural and layered design.

Sydney has been deserving of a hotel of this calibre for quite some time, with many of the accommodations in the city looking and feeling dated.

A modern hotel reception with high ceilings

The design strikes the perfect balance between grandness and intimacy.

I have a treatment booked at the hotel’s Auriga Spa prior to check-in. The space is ultra-luxe, moodily lit and intimate, featuring timber joinery, green walls and a sleek design that’s so perfect it almost transports me to Japan. I opt for the Replenish Beauty and LED Facial – a strategic choice with a TV segment on the horizon, and a hopeful bid to look extra fresh for the camera.

The treatment begins with me sitting in the softest robe of my life, wearing slippers and sipping chamomile tea. I’m then whisked away to my private treatment room, which has its own bathroom, a large skylight and a small Japanese-style garden. The treatment is extremely relaxing and moves through cleansing, exfoliating, massaging (arm, head, neck and face) and LED Light Therapy. There’s so much attention to detail – even at the end, the facialist puts my slippers back on me, while I’m still lying down.

Spa treatment room with a massage bed, featuring timber walls and a serene Japanese-style garden visible through a window.

A treatment at Auriga Spa might be the best way I’ve ever started a hotel stay. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

While this treatment certainly hasn’t had a Benjamin Button effect, my sister seems to think I’m glowing, so I walk away happy, or at the very least, zen.

Auriga Spa has a sauna, steam room, ice fountain and a beautiful indoor heated swimming pool. There’s also “experiential showers” – new to me, but essentially it combines water flowing from different places, changing temperatures, mood lighting, gentle sounds, and a subtle lemongrass scent.

You could easily spend the better part of a day at the spa and pool, even if you’re not a guest.

The indoor heated swimming pool with glass ceiling at Capella Sydney.

Guests outside the hotel can use the spa and swimming pool. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

I’m escorted to my room, drunk on relaxation, but I make sure to take note of how noisy the hallways are – answer: dead quiet. My room is 50 square metres, which is huge by hotel standards, but particularly for one in the CBD. It feels like a high-end apartment with floorboards, a freestanding bath and a seating/dining area. My eyes are immediately drawn to the line-up of macarons waiting for me on the dining table.

I’m thrilled to see the mini bar armoire includes a small wine fridge stocked with Minuty Prestige Côtes de Provence, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Handpicked Wines Pinot Noir, and Moët Grand Vintage. Not that I plan on using it (I simply could not justify the prices) – but it’s a nice extra that makes the room feel that much more luxurious. The drinks lineup reads like a who’s-who of local favourites – Young Henrys, Maybe Sammy cocktails, Four Pillars gin and Archie Rose gin. Snacks include Tyrell’s chips, Pringles, Natural Confectionery lollies, and a Carman’s oat bar.

Some small touches I appreciate that some hotels don’t offer: the option to choose your housekeeping time, an iron that actually works well, a Bluetooth speaker, the beloved wine fridge, aluminium water bottles and a bathroom without a glass door or screen that awkwardly exposes you. The one downside is that some of these rooms don’t offer much in the way of a view.

A modern hotel room with a monochrome paletter.

I stayed in a Premier Room which was elegant and relaxing. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

4:30pm is Swill Hour – a daily tradition that nods to the historical “six o’clock swill” in Australia. This one-hour event takes place in the Living Room and invites guests to gather and enjoy each other’s company with a signature cocktail in hand. This afternoon’s tipple is a Eucalyptus Gimlet, a clever, herbaceous little cocktail, by the multi-award-winning Maybe Sammy Team, served on coasters depicting drawings of the historic building. The canapé of the day is a tomato and stracciatella tart. I noticed several staff members chatting with guests like old friends, asking how their adventures earlier in the day went – clearly remembering previous conversations from earlier visits.

Dinner is booked for 6:30pm in Aperture – arguably the most beautiful area of the accommodation. It’s decorated with Australian flora and features a kinetic sculpture hanging from the roof that opens like flowers, with softly changing lights. Tyler, who is serving us, clearly admires the Capella brand, speaking enthusiastically about the other international properties he’s been to and sharing how he sometimes brings his five-year-old daughter here to use the pool.

Interior of Aperture at Capella Sydney, featuring lush greenery and a striking ceiling-mounted sculpture.

The scale of Aperture gives it an international feel.

I kick things off with a basil melon margarita – a winning recommendation – before tucking into the best prawn toast I’ve ever had. For mains it’s crispy Ōra King salmon and spaghetti with mud crab.

When I arrive back at my room, there’s a vegan leather journal on my bed with a note that says: “The ritual of journaling allows us to pause, reflect and focus.” This is part of the turndown service, and my slippers are neatly lined up next to my bed. Will I journal? No. Do I think it’s a nice touch? Yes.

Brasserie 1930 at Capella Sydney, where Art Deco elegance meets contemporary Australian cuisine.

Brasserie 1930 boasts Art Deco elegance.

The next morning, I make the predictable choice of smashed avo for breakfast at the on-site restaurant, Brasserie 1930. There’s also a buffet brimming with all the usual suspects.

Afterwards, I head to the pool to relax for a few hours before the 11am checkout. Despite my earlier resolve not to journal, I find myself reflecting nonetheless – an irony not lost on me – on my 21st hotel stay in Sydney. I write this with growing assurance that great hotels don’t just provide a place to stay; they create memorable moments, thanks in large part to fantastic staff. Kudos to the hiring manager.

Next stop: The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart!

A by Adina Sydney fuses home comforts with hotel chic

Luxe hotel meets apartment living at the ultra-stylish A by Adina Sydney.

Location

Style and character

Facilities

Rooms

Food and drink

Access for guests with disabilities?

Family-friendly?

Details

Sydney’s new Euro-style hotel is finally open for bookings

Sydney‘s most iconic hotel to host exclusive dinner with top chefs

This Sydney hotel offers unforgettable views and home-like comforts

Experience quintessential Sydney luxury at Pier One Sydney Harbour

I’ve stayed in 21 hotels in Sydney and this is my favourite

Welcome to the first instalment of Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.