Capella Hotel in Sydney, Australia Review With Photos, What It's Like

In March 2023, I found myself in Sydney, Australia, for a family wedding.

While that alone was the main draw for making the trip, I've also been a full-time travel writer since 1999, and have reviewed hotels for a living for almost 25 years.

So I was very happy to learn that my trip happened to coincide with one particular hotel opening that excited me: Capella Sydney.

I reserved the hotel for two nights, at a rate of $500 per night, which included breakfast and Wi-Fi.

Despite my day job, I booked in as a regular guest so I could experience the hotel as any person would. And after staying here, I not only thought that the hotel was well worth the money, but I would go as far as to say that in nearly 25 years of reviewing hotels, it was one of the best I've ever seen.

The Capella Sydney opened on March 15, 2023 in downtown Sydney, Australia. It was widely heralded as a major new hotel opening for the city that followed a $225 million renovation of the former, heritage-listed Department of Education and Agriculture building, first constructed in 1912.

The 192 rooms, suites, and public spaces include four newly-built floors and a striking lobby with modern art. There is also a restaurant, bar, swimming pool, and spa.

The hotel is part of the Capella Hotel Group, which has 14 hotels open or scheduled to open, largely in southeast Asia.

I've been fortunate to stay in many outstanding luxury hotels in Sydney — The Langham, The Park Hyatt, and The Establishment were all wonderful — but in my opinion, the Capella stood out to me as a very notable new addition to the city's hotel portfolio.

Indeed, I was met with impressively high service levels, and an incredible eye for detail. Here's a closer look at why I loved Capella Sydney so much, and would gladly pay more to stay here again.

Before I arrived at the hotel, I received an email confirming the booking, and then another as a welcome message asking about special requests, food allergies, or transportation needs.

I thought the historic sandstone building stood out against a backdrop of adjacent modern glass and steel towers in downtown Sydney.

As I entered the lobby, uniformed staff waited at the door to assist with my luggage.

One of the first things that I noticed at Capella Sydney was the high number of staff to guest ratio. The staff was seemingly on hand at all times, even though the hotel appeared full. Suited floor and front-of-house managers greeted me, and quickly learned my name. From then on, I was referred to as Mr. Oswell throughout my stay, which I thought was a welcoming touch.

It also made me think that the staff had been very well trained. I've been to hotel openings before and there are usually, and understandably so, lots of things that go wrong or need tweaking over the next several weeks and months. But here, the operations seemed seamless, as if they had been welcoming guests for years.

At check-in, I found out that I had been upgraded to a Skyline Room as a generous opening week gesture. My new room was a level above both the entry-level Deluxe that I booked, and Premier rooms.

I was escorted up to my room on the 8th floor by the front of house manager, Anthony, a service that seemed to be offered to all guests.

My original Deluxe Room rate was, as noted, around $500 per night. I saw on the hotel's website that Skyline Rooms were available for around $775.

The rooms actually all have the same amenities, but with increasing levels of floor space and improved views the more you pay.

My eighth-floor room was unusual in design, in my experience, with a miniature curved hallway with a working area that was separate from the bedroom and bathroom. According to the hotel's website, the entire accommodation was around 540 square feet.

I thought the floor-to-ceiling windows along the curved wall let in a lovely amount of natural light. There was also a desk with a chair, a leather lounge chair, and a small sofa, all in neutral earth tones.

My king bed was extremely comfortable and I slept very well both nights.

The linens were from the high-end Italian brand, Frette, and I noticed that the stacked pillows were of all different densities. This was a lovely touch that really made a difference for me in terms of comfort.

Now that I've experienced it, I would genuinely and gladly pay $775 per night for the Skyline Room, and believe that this rate is well worth the money.

My room overlooked the hotel's gym, pool, and spa building, and had great views of downtown Sydney.

I learned from hotel staff that the roof of the pool and spa maintained some original building features, such as historic copper-lined heritage lanterns.

Skyliner rooms are on higher floors than entry-level rooms, which I thought allowed for a more panoramic view, which is one of the key reasons why it commands $250 extra per night.

The windows seemed soundproofed to me, and the noise of downtown was not audible.

Much of the room's ambiance, such as the air conditioning, lighting, curtains, and blackout shades were controlled from an in-room tablet.

I was still somewhat jet lagged, and being able to close the curtains and blackout screen at the touch of a button was very helpful.

The tablet also made it easy to request various guest services such as in-room dining orders, spa reservations, or to ask about general hotel information.

While most luxury hotels I've experienced offer this service via a smartphone app, I preferred the tablet as I didn't have to download or install anything onto my phone. And just being able to reach for the tablet from bed and control almost every aspect of the room was a real boon.

I also noticed that the room's free Wi-Fi connection was very fast and reliable for my entire stay.

I would go so far as to say that these were the most comfortable robes and slippers I've ever used in a hotel room.

The robe was incredibly soft, with a plush, crushed velvet feel, a material that was also replicated on the slippers. I thought the metallic gray-blue color was striking, and I wore the robe almost the entire time I was in my room.

I was overjoyed to find out that I could take the slippers home with me for free. Sadly, the robes are not for sale at this time.

Like the room, the bathroom felt spacious to me. I loved the modernist, eggshell-shaped standalone tub, and that it came with scented bath salts for a soothing soak.

There was also a walk-in rain shower with great water pressure that was stocked with luxe Haeckel's bath products, a high-end UK brand.

On the double vanity, I was provided with items such as a hairdryer, cotton balls, a nail file, and shower cap.

The room featured plenty of storage, including a small, walk-in closet with two clothes rails and space for suitcases.

The felt-lined wooden hangers struck me as a a luxe touch to prevent added wear on clothes, and it was very unusual to see these in hotels, in my experience.

I was told by the hotel manager that I could have up to five clothing items pressed, free of charge. I didn't have a suit pressed this time, but I did borrow an iron and steamer.

In the corner of the room was a fridge and minibar. It had shelves full of glassware, including flutes, rock glasses, tumblers, and wine glasses.

I learned from the manager that all non-alcoholic beverages were complimentary, as was a jar of cookies, and water bottles that were reusable. I filled the bottles up and took them on strolls around downtown. I'm used to hotels charging for everything from the minibar, so this was a welcome feature, and saved me spending $7 every time I wanted a bottle of water.

There was also a Nespresso coffee machine, a wine cooler with a few bottles of wine, a variety of sweet and savory snacks, as well as spirits and beers for purchase.

While the room itself impressed me, it was the small details that really wowed me.

The pillow varieties, plush slippers, bath salts, and free cookies were just the start.

Shoe trees were also provided to keep my formal shoes in shape, as well as a shoe horn, polishing shoe bag, and clothes brush. It felt like every aspect of grooming and clothing care had been anticipated.

I also loved the rechargeable heated shaving mirror, under bed lighting, a dedicated bag for jewelry in the safe, a bluetooth Bose speaker, and a bath pillow.

While I've seen these individual items in luxury hotels before, I've never seen so many in one place. I thought it was the most comprehensive collection of upscale amenities that I'd perhaps ever experienced in a single hotel room.

Outside of my room, I was looking forward to exploring the hotel's facilities and amenities.

My first stop was Aperture, the lobby cafe. I grabbed a coffee and took some time to appreciate the space.

I noticed an abundance of greenery, including a 21-foot-high green wall with many species of local flora, and a leafy canopy of two weeping fig trees.

Tables were positioned beneath a bespoke kinetic sculpture "Meadow" by Amsterdam-based Studio Drift. I loved seeing the colorful, umbrella-like flowers opening and closing above my head.

I found it to be a bright, comfortable, and stimulating space to read and work, and one that felt classy but not stuffy. The staff were also attentive, refiling water glasses and checking on guests.

Brasserie 1930 is the hotel's signature restaurant, and according to their menu, they serve modern Australian cuisine with locally-sourced meat and seafood.

Sadly, this being the opening week of the hotel, I was unable to secure dinner reservations as they were all booked up. At the time of writing, there seemed to be around a 10-day wait for dinner reservations.

However, I did dine in the restaurant each morning for breakfast, which was included in my rate. I found it to be an elegant, European-style dining room with an unmistakable, high-end brasserie aesthetic.

My breakfast included choices from both the buffet and an à la carte menu, and I tried both. The buffet had fresh fruit, cereals, and pastries, while the menu offered crab meat congee, Tasmanian trout, buckwheat pancakes, and crumpet Eggs Benedict.

According to the hotel's website, the building's original architect was George McRae, who is now honored through the name of the hotel's cocktail bar, the McRae Bar.

The website refers to the aesthetic as "a modern twist on a Victorian drinking den," I agreed. I noticed glass cabinets with antique books and historic artifacts alongside Art Deco designs that I thought came together to create a classy but unshowy space.

I celebrated my stay with an Eternity cocktail made with coffee liqueur and whisky.

Another place to congregate was the guests-only Living Room. I thought it was a comfortable space with sofas and lounge chairs, and had the feel of a private club or lounge.

Each evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., a special hospitality team in the hotel, self-described as "culturists," presented cocktails, aperitifs, wine, and hors d'oeuvres here, free for guests.

On the evening I attended, the culturists mixed up the same Eternity cocktail I tried at the bar the night before. They shared the story of Arthur Stace, known locally as Mr. Eternity, an anonymous graffiti artist who daubed the word 'eternity' around Sydney for 30 years.

We ate cheese and canapes, and I thought it was a lovely way for the hotel to further welcome guests and allow them to socialize in a beautiful room.

One of the hotel's crown jewels, in my opinion, is the indoor heated pool. This is not a rarity in Sydney in my experience, but I thought the pool was larger and more stylish than others I have seen.

Housed in the building's former art gallery, it's a sleek, 65-foot-long pool that sits under a copper-clad roof. I found the pool room to be incredibly quiet and tranquil, lined with loungers.

There's also a smaller heated pool with vibrating massage beds in the pool and various jets to soothe muscles.

In the single-sex changing rooms, I found a steam room and sauna, as well as a multi-jetted shower with colored lights.

Polite attendants were on hand to attend to any needs, and the 24-hour gym was flooded with natural light.

The hotel also has an on-site spa, though I was not able to book a treatment due to opening week demand. Next time, I'd love to try one of the moon-inspired spa journeys, or a treatment featuring Indigenous rituals.

In addition to the hotel's luxurious amenities and impressive small details, the thing that stood out to me the most, and has stayed with me since checking out, is the level of service.

I found the staff were incredibly polite and friendly, hitting the sweet spot between formality and familiarity, something that I've often thought is hard to do.

Greeting guests by their name when possible is impressive, as is the fact that this took place over the actual opening days of the hotel.

In my mind, there was no need for a grace period as the property worked out any weak spots. Everyone seemed well trained, enthusiastic, and confidently welcoming guests as if they'd worked there for 10 years, no matter their position or level of seniority.

If I like a hotel, I usually come away with one or two highlights of the service or amenities that stay with me. However, the Capella Sydney delivered the whole package.

From the historic building to the contemporary design, as well as the wonderful staff, and of course, all of those luxe room details, these elements combined to deliver a comprehensively luxurious hotel stay.

The thoughtfulness was especially striking to me as someone who stays in 50 hotels a year or more. While I typically see individual instances of these amenities in high-end hotels, rarely do I ever see so many in just one property.

I can confidently say that a nightly rate of $775 is more than a fair price for Skyline Rooms, and $500 a night is reasonable rate for the entry-level Deluxe Rooms.

If someone told me that this hotel had been open for six months, or even six years, I would have said that the service was impressive, but to have that professionalism on day one is, in my estimation, incredible.

When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

Read next