At the heart of Australia’s most visited city, Darling Harbor has long been Sydney’s most popular place for fun-seekers. But where is the best place to stay?
Christina and I have always loved being tourists in our own city and staying is one of the best ways to do that.
It gives you a chance to really see the city through the eyes of a visitor and enjoy all the things that people travel so far to live here.
Over the years we’ve found some amazing places to stay in Sydney (you can check out some of them here) and this time we’re in Darling Harbor in Novotel Darling Square.
Not to be confused with Novotel Darling Harbour, which houses the excellent Ternary restaurant and overlooks the water, but is actually not so well located, Novotel Darling Square has everything, including Darling Harbour, right on its doorstep.
Check out the quick 45-second video taking a look at the hotel:
What is close to Novotel Darling Square?
As well as the city in general, you have Darling Harbor and all its delights in front of you, including the International Conference Center (ICC) and theatre, a huge range of restaurants and bars, Cockle Bay and further on the Aquarium.
Even closer though, you have Darling Square, a relatively new dining area with even more (and better options IMHO) than Darling Harbour. This leads to Chinatown with so much to choose from, even if we haven’t been to every part of Australia’s largest Chinatown.
Novotel Darling Square is also close to ferries, buses, trams and taxis, so if you want to go further afield, it’s very easy to travel from here.
How are the rooms at Novotel Darling Square?
Like many modern hotels in Sydney, the rooms here are small by SE Asian standards but large by European standards. Our room is newly decorated with lots of well designed features including bedside USB sockets – a pet peeve for us with hotels that don’t have this.
The bed is huge and very comfortable with a choice of pillows. The bathroom is quite spacious with a large shower and sink. There is also a desk, an office chair and an armchair in the room.
But it’s what’s outside the room that really impresses us. The view from the eighth floor over Darling Harbor is magnificent and they keep us in the room longer than we expect. In fact, we pull up the chairs and enjoy a glass of wine by the windowsill to watch life go by below.
Professional advice on the best rooms
As for a room on levels six, seven or eight on the north side of the hotel for great views over the Chinese Friendship Gardens and the city and harbor towards Barangaroo.
Probably because of its location, the Novotel Darling Square it feels more like vacationers staying here than conference-goers or business travelers. And although there are conference facilities on the first floor, the guests we see are all here for leisure.
Other Facilities
The hotel has a pool and gym, but those aren’t necessarily its best features. The lobby bar is comfortable and welcoming and the breakfast restaurant behind it – Pier St. Grill – it’s large and well-stocked with all the usual hotel fare, but also has an açai bowl station and a giant jar of Nutella that you can pour over your make-your-own pancakes.
Dinner at the Pumphouse Sydney Bar and Restaurant
Once a pumping station that supplied water power to the town, the Pumphouse, built in 1889it still has a lot of old world charm.
I’m ashamed to say I’ve been the Pumphouse Bar and Restaurant several times but never realized it was part of the hotel. But it is. In fact, there is an intermediate door that leads directly from the first floor of the hotel to the beautifully renovated Terrace bar.
The food here is as well-priced as it is well-made, and the beer selection is excellent, which is as good as a microbrewery. The bar’s Thunderbolt Strong Ale is worth a stop if nothing else. Although you should really consider ordering the flatbreads and tacos here too.
We have the flatbread with burnt chilli and garlic toum, sobressada, mozzarella and salsa verde, which is quite frankly impressive. The tacos come loaded with slow roasted beef brisket and chipotle and are just as great.
We also try the flank steak, which is very good but not our favorite, a bowl of crispy fries finished in rich melted butter and, in a nod to salad, the iceberg wedge, which is topped with crispy pancetta, buttermilk ranch, ‘ nduja breadcrumbs and parmesan!
We return to our room at the Novotel Darling Square, mercifully close to the Pumphouse, and make the most of the luxurious comfort of the king-size bed.
