Add CategoryIF YOU’RE not a local, you might not think there was anything particularly interesting about this 1940s-era brown building in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills.
But what’s inside is not only one of the city’s newest and most talked-about boutique hotels, but it’s officially the best in Australia.
Paramount House Hotel has been named Hotel of the Year in the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Awards.
The 29-room hotel in Commonwealth St only opened in January after a four-year renovation of the former Sydney headquarters for Paramount Pictures Studios and the old film storage warehouse next door.
It shares it space with the Paramount Coffee Project cafe and the stylish Golden Age Cinema and Bar, as well as a health club, co-working space and, coming soon, a new restaurant and bar.
And situated in trendy Surry Hills, it has a neighbourhood feel while being minutes from Sydney’s top city attractions.
“It takes a village to make a great hotel,” Gourmet Traveller’s panel of expert reviewers wrote as they announced Paramount House Hotel as hotel of the year.
“[It’s] unique appeal lies in the strength of the building’s creative community and the immediate neighbourhood.”
Gourmet Traveller noted the hotel’s rooms featured pure linen bedding, potted plants, indoor-outdoor spaces and minibars that featured a range of delicious, locally sourced treats including cheese from Formaggi Ocello, charcuterie from LP’s Quality Meats and wine fromWilliam Downie and Tom Shobbrook.
The hotel’s co-owner, Russell Beard, said it was designed to give guests “a sense of place ... something that doesn’t feel generic and offers a real slice of the area”.
The awards were part of the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Guide featuring the nation’s top 50 hotels, which is published in the June issue of Gourmet Traveller, on sale today.
The guide was produced by a team of reviewers who visited the venues unannounced and paid for their own stay.
Their experiences led them to select Australia’s top 50 hotels and offer 11 award categories — with a couple of repeat winners.
Another newcomer hotel, Hobart’s Macq01 hotel, took out Large Hotel of the Year and also the award for Best Minibar, thanks to its “maxibar” of Tasmanian wines.
And Jackalope, in Victoria’s picturesque Mornington Peninsula, was named Boutique Hotel of the Year as well as the place where guests could find Australia’s best club sandwich.
“It’s called Drunk in Da Club (they love a quirky name at Jackalope) — an unholy marriage of drunken chicken, crisp chicken skin, pickled green tomatoes (made on site, with tomatoes from the garden), bacon jam and fresh lettuce on white bread, soft and fluffy but sturdy enough to avoid sogginess,” Gourmet Traveller wrote.
ALL THE WINNERS
Hotel of the Year: Paramount House Hotel — Sydney, NSW
Large Hotel of the Year: Macq01 — Hobart, Tasmania
Boutique Hotel of the Year: Jackalope — Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Regional Hotel of the Year: Lake House — Daylesford, Victoria
Best Service: Spicers Clovelly Estate — Montville, Queensland
Best Breakfast: Halcyon House — Cabarita Beach, NSW
Best Pool: Elements of Byron — Byron Bay, NSW
Best Bar: TWR Crown Towers — Perth, Western Australia
Best Bed: Mayfair Hotel — Adelaide, South Australia
Best Club Sandwich: Jackalope — Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Best Minibar: Macq01 — Hobart, Tasmania