The Rocks / Circular Quay

Park Hyatt Sydney

★★★★★

Park Hyatt Sydney occupies what may be the best hotel site in the world: the water's edge at Campbells Cove in The Rocks, between the Harbour Bridge and the Overseas Passenger Terminal, looking straight across Circular Quay to the Opera House. It is a low, curving building of just a few storeys, so rather than looking down on the harbour from a tower you feel part of it, with ferries, yachts and water taxis passing beneath your balcony. There are 155 rooms and suites, and almost all the reason to stay here is the view, so the room category matters. The entry-level King Rooms face Hickson Road and have no harbour view; the City Harbour View rooms have private balconies looking across Circular Quay to the skyline; and the Opera View rooms have balconies looking directly at the sails. The Deluxe categories, at about 75 square metres, add a second balcony, and the Premium Opera View rooms at the northern end of the building have the closest views of the Opera House. Above them come a series of suites, from the Cove and Quay suites with multiple balconies to the Harbour, Opera and Sydney suites, the last a two-bedroom residence with a terrace that takes in everything from the Bridge to the Opera House. Rooms are calm and residential in style, with natural timber, stone bathrooms with deep tubs and good technology. The hotel has a rooftop pool with harbour views, a spa and a gym, and its restaurant and bar look out across the water to the Opera House, which makes breakfast here one of the great hotel experiences in Australia. The Rocks, the BridgeClimb base, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the ferries are all on the doorstep.

The hotel has stood on this cove since 1990 and was rebuilt and reopened after a major renovation in 2012, which added the rooftop level with its pool and refreshed the rooms. Its scale is part of its charm: there is no grand lobby or crowds, just a quiet, polished house where staff learn your name and your coffee order. Service is attentive and discreet, and the hotel is a favourite with celebrities and visiting performers for the same reason. It is a superb base for the New Year's Eve fireworks, with the Bridge directly overhead, and rooms for that night are booked a long time in advance at very high rates.

Choosing a room: pay for the view. The Opera View rooms are the ones people dream about, with the sails filling the balcony doors; the City Harbour View rooms look across Circular Quay to the skyline and are almost as good, especially at night. Avoid the King Rooms on Hickson Road unless budget forces it, as the view is the point of staying here. The Deluxe Opera View and Premium rooms, with two balconies, are worth the upgrade for a special occasion. Ask for a higher floor if available.

Who it suits: honeymooners, milestone celebrations and anyone for whom waking up to the Opera House is the trip. The trade-offs are price, at the very top of the Sydney market, and the fact that The Rocks is busy with visitors during the day and at weekends. It is also a short walk rather than a stroll to the main shopping streets of the city. But for location and a sense of place, nothing in Sydney comes close, and the Opera House, the Botanic Garden and the ferries are all a few minutes away on foot.