It’s a fine line to walk: exuding sexy Sydney glamour, while being sandwiched between a busy expressway, and rooms filled with irreverent touches (signature pillows in the shape of a stuffed shark, bold waratah wallpaper prints in a nod to its NSW roots).

Somehow, W Sydney manages it. It’s a confident brand, in a confident city. Rising out of the clash and clamour of Darling Harbour amid its ongoing transformation, like a curved, shimmering cloud (or is it a wave?), the W Sydney is serious about service, but also making guests smile. 

After opening a little over a week ago, and battling through multiple construction delays, the property that cost more than $1 billion to build and began work in 2016 finally launched with a bang (literally – there are fireworks in Darling Harbour every Saturday night). Designed by London-based firm Bowler James Brindley (BJB), W Sydney and the resulting hype had already lured a full house when I checked in, but the staff couldn’t have been more excited to see me. 

The unconventional entrance set the scene: an obligatory oversized W – decorated in luscious red waratah petals – greets guests before they ascend to reception via either a polished concrete stairway illuminated by a zigzag of blue lighting, or a golden honeycomb-like lounge that leads to an escalator. Rather than shy away from its controversial position straddling a freeway, the urban grit is embraced: concrete pylons hand-painted by Sydney-based spray artist and muralist Sophi Odling create artistic centrepieces. On the ceiling of the elevators and corridors, a ‘constellation’ of glimmering lights was sketched by local tattoo artist Stanislava Pinchuk to create the illusion of stars in the sky. Similarly the dining room, BTWN, on level three is unapologetic about its position, using graffitied pylons, track lighting along the ceiling and chevron prints to echo traffic signals.  

While originally the designers debated papering over the windows to block out the highway, they eventually decided to bring the outside in. You can’t hear or feel a thing and after the initial shock of seeing cars zoom past as you eat (and let’s hope no accidents), diners quickly forget about it. Freeway chic becomes a novel part of the scenery; perhaps the kitchen could make a good breakfast business out of selling Traffic Jams. BTWN is ultimately a modern multi-functional space that occupies an entire floor and serves a buffet that can seat 240 at breakfast, but divides into separate spaces to serve 150 for lunch, cocktails or dinner. 

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The kitchen, run by chef Chris Dodd (formerly of Aria), services the entire hotel, including the room service menu. It’s a tasty, clever and bold nod to Australiana, but without competing with the surrounding area of Asiatown, which truly features some of the best high-to-low food eateries in Sydney. From the cocktail list – an ambitious but delicious collection of native ingredients and local spirits – to the focus on relationships with local suppliers, sustainability and NSW produce heroes, it’s a surprisingly deft lineup that will satisfy food critics to hotel guests that just want a great cheeseburger. 

Dodd actually nominates the cheeseburger as his pick of the room service menu, and his culinary director Richard Millar even rates it as Sydney’s best. “We use the best potato buns, patty, cheddar and pickles,” explains Dodd. “There’s also a great duck liver pate on the room service menu, that we feature in collaboration with local butchers Feather & Bone, and we use Egyptian bread and sourdough from local bakery Pioik.”

There is plenty of fare that followers of the Delicious Produce Awards will be well familiar with. I devour the sustainable and delicious Paroo Kangaroo tartare ‘cheeseburger’ hash browns, creamy spanner crab on Myrna’s Crumpets, lobster sliders and a handful of Appellation Oysters. My cocktail, a Bush Tomato, features Seven Seasons Green Ant Gin. The fries have arguably the best seasoning I’ve ever tasted, and our mains of Harissa Rubbed Spatchcock and a Spicy XO Mushroom Ragout with Malfadine pasta are sensational. I notice micro herb gardens around the hotel, provided by the vertical garden at Green Square run by local grocers, the Parisi family. 

The piece de resistance is the 2am dessert bar, brainchild of Singaporean Janice Wong. Culinary director Millar realised that Wong could bring something sweet and unique to the setup that surrounding hotels were not offering. Her five-course dessert degustation is a master class in balance, with theatrical flourishes, wine matching optional, and custom made Kevala ceramics used to showcase every dish. The courses are named Bubbles, Energy, Fire & Ice, Moss and Water, and yes, it’s an influencer’s dream. 2am is not actually open until 2am (10pm rather), and it opens at 6pm every evening, when it converts from a cafe aptly called Bean to Bar. 

It takes a superhuman feat to make it through dinner and five courses of dessert, and we stagger back to our room, which is ultra stylish, comfortable and irreverent. At the top tier of pricing is the Extra WOW penthouse. We were fortunate to be the first guests to stay in a WOW suite on level 25, which is priced from $4500 per night. It lived up to its name, with an enormous hallway, curved burnt-orange velvet lounge, two baths, two bars, a dressing room (there’s that waratah print again) and powder room with GHD. There were sparkling views from every angle, and blackout curtains operated by the touch of a button. Skin Regimen and Momo toiletries are good quality and generous sizes. Pre-made cocktails from Sydney’s favourite bar Maybe Sammy, and local spirits fill the well-stocked bars. The only minor quibble was a slightly harder bed than I prefer, but I guess that makes me sound like something out of The Princess and the Pea. 

A few floors above sat the 30m infinity pool, emblazoned with a vivid jellyfish mosaic floating along its floor and overlooking Darling Harbour. It abuts the buzzy 29/30 bar, which means the pool sadly closes at 5pm. However the hosts assure me that if guests want to continue swimming, a second pool on level 22 will soon be open to accommodate them. And, there’s a DJ and cocktail den to soothe the dissatisfied.

The Away spa is compact and features smart subway tiles and artful colour clashes of pinks and blues. My daughter happily christens the pink mani/pedi pods, curved and cushioned for comfort AND the ‘gram, while I enjoy a massage. We’re offered a shot of detox elixir at the bar before our treatment starts – chilled in a cocktail shaker, the refreshing combination of apple, kale, spinach, lemon and celery hits the spot. The spa bathrooms are well stocked with complimentary products, including dry shampoo and hairspray, for guests to use. 

There are 588 rooms and suites in total. While not every level was open when we stayed, including the second pool on level 22, and the bar above the WET Deck on level 30, it was easy to get a glimpse of its potential. Level 30 is awaiting new furniture, after the owner’s change of heart, but will offer Dom Perignon and Ruinart by the glass, and a cocktail priced at $275. Ritzy indeed. With layers of intrigue, and brilliant energy, ‘The Ribbon’ is a welcome and different addition to Sydney. It may be the largest W in the world, but as any harbour city resident knows, when it comes to water views size does matter.

The writer was a guest of W Sydney. W Sydney is now open for guest room and event bookings. For more information, please visit wsydney.com.

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This article originally appeared on escape.com.au and has been reproduced here with permission.

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