New Hotels On the Horizon in Sydney & Surrounds

One of Australia’s most significant infrastructure projects, the Western Sydney International Airport, has spurred the development of several new hotels in the Aerotropolis precinct and surrounding areas. Most notable is the A$70 million Courtyard by Marriott Western Sydney Airport hotel which is expected to be completed in 2026, to coincide with the opening of Nancy-Bird Walton Airport. The 200-room hotel is being designed by Australian architecture firm Hassell, and plans include an all-day restaurant, bar and café, along with a fitness centre, ballroom, and meeting spaces. The new airport will have the benefit of not having a curfew, allowing for increased passenger and freight capacity to Sydney. 

• Category: New build 
• Keys: 200 
• Projected opening date: 2026 
• Total event space: 580 sqm (6,243 sq ft) 

One of the world’s most renowned and highly coveted luxury brands, Waldorf Astoria – owned by Hilton - is set to make its debut in Australia with a new-build hotel at Sydney’s Circular Quay. Boasting unrivalled views of the city’s famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House, the hotel will occupy its own 28-level tower and share 430 sqm (4628 sq ft) of ground-floor retail with the adjacent 59-level luxury residential tower One Circular Quay. It will feature 179 guest rooms and 41 suites, two full-service restaurants, a rooftop bar, day spa and wellness facilities, indoor swimming pool, ballroom and a boardroom. The hotel is proposed to have a First Nations art influence, with international art and design advisors The Artling appointed as the official art consultants. 

• Category: New build 
• Keys: 220 
• Projected opening date: late 2026 
• Total event space: TBC 

Soon after the Moxy Hotel brand’s Australian debut with Moxy Sydney Airport in August 2023, the new-build Moxy Sydney Pitt Street is set to open in 2025. Marriott International’s eighth Sydney hotel, Moxy Sydney Pitt Street will feature 314 rooms in the heart of Sydney’s central business district. In keeping with the Moxy brand’s youthful style, the hotel will offer interactive guest experiences, a range of communal spaces and a playful, high-energy design. Guests can expect high street retail offerings, a restaurant and bar, a gym, meeting rooms and Sydney’s highest outdoor rooftop bar on level 34. The hotel will offer convenient access to precincts like Pitt Street Mall and Martin Place and is a 10-minute walk to International Convention Centre (ICC Sydney). 

• Category: New build 
• Keys: 314 
• Projected opening date: August 2025 
• Total event space: TBC 

On the New South Wales Central Coast, just 75 minutes north of Sydney, IHG Hotels & Resorts is soon to open a new voco hotel at Gosford. Part of a landmark mixed-use development overlooking the picturesque Brisbane Water estuary, the design-led hotel will feature 130 guest rooms of up to 41 sqm (441 sq ft) in size and executive suites up to 54sqm (581 sq ft). Key features include a podium outdoor pool with swim-up bar, a wellness centre and an extensive hospitality offering with a street level pub and pizzeria, a rooftop sky bar and lounge on level 28, and a signature restaurant led by renowned chef Dany Karam, formerly of Sydney’s award-winning restaurant Black Bar and Grill. The hotel will also offer 610 sqm (6,566 sq ft) of conference and event facilities.  

• Category: New build 
• Keys: 130 
• Projected opening date: early 2025 
• Total event space: 610 sqm (6,566 sq ft) 

Accor is set to open Australia’s first 25hours hotel on a heritage-listed site in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Paddington. The treasured West Olympia Theatre building is being reimagined as a 109-room boutique hotel, which will boast six levels of luxury accommodation, a Levantine restaurant, a ground floor café, and a rooftop bar offering panoramic views of bustling Oxford Street, Sydney Harbour and surrounds. A lush, landscaped central courtyard has been designed to host live music and events, and guests can take advantage of the hotel’s meeting spaces plus ground floor and subterranean retailers and wellness facilities.  

• Category: Restoration  
• Keys: 109 
• Projected opening date: early 2025 
• Total event space: TBC 

Early 2025 will see the opening of the Crowne Plaza Macquarie Park, 25 minutes northwest of Sydney’s central business district. Transitioning from the Courtyard by Marriott to the Crowne Plaza brand, the rebrand will include a comprehensive refurbishment of the lobby and guest rooms, enhancing the overall guest experience. Macquarie Park is one of Australia's premier business districts and the hotel's prime location attracts significant demand from nearby Macquarie University, Macquarie University Hospital, and Macquarie Shopping Centre, as well as the Australian headquarters of several leading pharmaceutical and technology companies.  

• Category: Refurbishment and rebrand 
• Keys: 196 
• Projected reopening date: Early 2025 
• Total event space: 193 sqm (2,077 sq ft) 

The TFE Hotels-operated Adina Apartment Hotel Sydney Town Hall is undergoing a major transformation. Due to reopen in December 2024, the refurbishment is set to span all 20 guest and public floors, with the brief to award-winning sustainable design firm Bates Smart to “leave no area untouched”. The hotel features 145 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, four versatile conference spaces, a pool, and a gym – all of which will be refreshed as part of the hotel’s reinvention. The Adina Apartment Hotel building stands 27 storeys above Sydney’s central business district and boasts sensational views across Darling Harbour and the cityscape – including a bird’s eye view of Sydney’s iconic Town Hall and historic Clock Tower. 

• Category: Refurbishment  
• Keys: 145 
• Projected reopening date: December 2024 
• Total event space: 222 sqm (2,390 sq ft) 

A new boutique hotel is due to open in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Surry Hills in late 2024. The 102-room The EVE Hotel Sydney – operated by TFE Hotels – will feature a landscaped rooftop deck and swimming pool, bar and restaurant with a fully operable glass roof and walls, operated by Liquid & Larder (The Gidley, Bistecca). Set amongst a labyrinth of lively laneways at the crossroads of Surry Hills and Redfern, the hotel will be part of the vibrant Wunderlich Lane precinct which by December 2024 will be home to a collective of restaurants and all-day dining, bar, beauty, wellness, and boutique retail by some of the city’s best operators, alongside event spaces, creative office space and luxurious residences. 

• Category: New build  
• Keys: 102 
• Projected opening date: Late 2024  
• Total event space: TBC 

The time-honoured Sofitel Sydney Wentworth – Australia’s first international five-star hotel - is undergoing a significant refurbishment in 2024. Sofitel is making a A$60million enhancement to all 436 guest rooms and suites, its 15 event spaces, the future Sofitel Club Millésime, the wellness and fitness centre, and all public spaces, including the grand entrance. Two new restaurants and bars are being added, including a Rooftop Terrace Bar, one of the largest in Sydney’s central business district, a seafood grill, and a 250-seat French-Vietnamese inspired restaurant. Leading the reinvention of the hotel’s dining offering is prominent Sydney hospitality group House Made Hospitality of renowned city venues Hinchcliff House and Bar Mammoni, and Bondi’s Easy Tiger and Promenade Bondi Beach. 

• Category: Refurbishment   
• Keys: 436 
• Projected opening date: September 2024 
• Total event space: 2140 sqm (23,035 sq ft) 

The 252-room Holiday Inn Sydney Airport, owned by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), will be transitioned to the Crowne Plaza Sydney Airport in 2024. The rebrand involves a refurbishment to its guest rooms, lobby, conference spaces and food and beverage outlets, following a A$15 million renewal in 2022. The transition will elevate the hotel from the midscale to premium segment, and further solidify its longstanding reputation as one of Sydney’s top airport hotels. Independent hotel management company Trilogy Hotels has been appointed to manage the transition and plans to increase efficiency by embracing new technology systems, building on service touchpoints, and introducing an exclusive new airport shuttle service for hotel guests. 

• Category: Refurbishment and rebrand 
• Keys: 252 
• Projected reopening date: September 2024 
• Total event space: 585 sqm (6,296 sq ft) 

Located 10 minutes from Sydney Airport and 25 minutes from the city centre, the 296-room Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach is undergoing a multi-million-dollar refurbishment and expansion. The project includes the construction of 11 additional new hotel rooms, a refresh of the drink and dine precinct with the addition of two new restaurants and a whiskey bar, plus new meeting and event spaces. In addition to the existing ballroom which seats 550 guests, a brand-new ballroom with capacity for 650 seated guests will offer spectacular views over Botany Bay through its floor-to-ceiling windows, and a new outdoor event terrace will suit cocktail-style events. An exclusive adults-only beach club will accommodate 300 guests, featuring cabanas, plunge pools and a purpose-built outdoor bar with DJ booth.  

• Category: Refurbishment and expansion  
• Keys: 307 
• Projected reopening date: late 2024 
• Total event space: 2,827 sqm (30,430 sq ft)