FEATURED IN: BEST NEW HOTEL GUIDE
It’s evening at The Eve Hotel and the place is bustling, not just with hotel guests but with Sydneysiders. Unusually for an Australian hotel, the locals are here to eat and drink – at Bar Julius, the all-day street-level bar warmed by the earthy tones of Louise Olsen’s ceiling mural, to roof-level Mexican restaurant and mezcaleria Lottie, and Olympus, the stylish and deservedly popular 200-seat Greek taverna that’s independently run but directly attached to the hotel.
The fact that the wider community is embracing The Eve is part of what makes this new hotel such an exciting place to stay. A central component of the casually chic Wunderlich Lane precinct in Redfern, the hotel embraces an excellent emerging trend that sees hotels consciously and deliberately designed to reflect and connect with the cities in which they open.
There’s a literal element to this embrace at The Eve. All the rooms and suites feature balconies (some Juliet, others larger terraces with outdoor seating), so that your accommodation can be open to fresh air rather than being hermetically sealed. You can even catch a breeze in the hallways where lush plants rustle in open windows as the elevator doors slide open.
Greenery is a big part of The Eve’s attraction, whether you’re talking the teeming planter boxes, gardens and vines that are a key ingredient of its design, the resort-style rooftop pool area with its cabanas and lounges shaded by palm trees and local plant life, or the 50-year-old bougainvillea that’s the centrepiece at Olympus. The urban resort vibes are strong in this one.
There’s a distinctly Australian mood in the rooms, too, decked out in either eucalyptus greens (including the bathrobes) or clay-toned reds. Though not palatially sized, the rooms feel spacious through clever design that invokes a distinctly local incarnation of casual luxury with soft curves, cool terrazzo, textured tiles and timber panelling and joinery. Surfaces are a delight to walk on barefoot, the rooms flooded with natural light. Excellent minibars further emphasise the local with top-notch snacks like salted caramels made by local butter powerhouse Pepe Saya.
The hotel is very much part of the Wunderlich precinct too, which not only offers some strong on-trend eating and drinking options (pan-Asian Island Radio, cocktail and wine bar Baptist St Rec. Club, a branch of Gelato Messina) but also an outpost of The Parlour Room that acts as The Eve’s de facto salon and spa, providing everything from massages to tanning, dermaplaning and facials.
Like The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, with which it shares a passing resemblance, The Eve feels like something of a reset for what a Sydney hotel can be. The relaxed but efficient service style; Bar Julius where you can grab a suitably excellent coffee in the morning through to an expertly constructed cocktail at night; and the fresh air-embracing rooms all seem entirely logical given the location and the climate. More like this please.
All winners in the Gourmet Traveller Hotel and Travel Awards have been determined via an esteemed panel of industry experts, including Goumet Traveller editor Joanna Hunkin and seasoned travel contributors Michael Harden, Lee Tulloch, Alexandra Carlton and more. Led by Hunkin, the judges and an expert team of critics also reviewed and endorsed more than 50 hotels across Australia to deliver the Gourmet Traveller Hotel Guide.
How we pick the Gourmet Traveller Hotel and Travel Awards winners
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