The originally decorated ADGE Apartment Hotel is without doubt Sydney’s newest chic hotel. I should know, I was there just last week, enjoying its unique individuality and ‘pizzazz’. Popular rumour once held that every room offered by a ‘certain international hotel chain’ was designed, furnished and laid out in exactly the same way so that guests of these hotels, wherever they were in the world, would feel at home in familiar surroundings. This is fine if you like bland, corporate ‘identikit’ accommodation but I like my hotels to be ‘kitted-out’ with a certain panache!
Colourful and contemporary, the ADGE has character by the bucket-load and it seems it’s not just me that’s impressed. Even though the ADGE only opened in 2013 it’s garnering rave reviews from folk spending their holidays in Australia and has already picked up a ‘2014 Travellers’ Choice Award’ from TripAdvisor.
So far, so good – but what’s the ADGE actually like? Let’s start with the location because there’s nowhere I like staying better than a hotel that’s close to everywhere you want to go in a city. Although you can easily pick up an inner-city train or regular bus nearby I’m not a huge fan of public transport, so the ADGE Apartment Hotel’s location in Sydney’s bohemian Surry Hills district is perfect. You’re a ten-minute walk from the heart of the city, and from there you can easily get to the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Hyde Park, Chinatown and all the other lovely stuff that Sydney has to offer. You might not want to stray far though; Surry Hills is packed with classy restaurants, gourmet food shops, vibrant coffee shops and wine bars and a thriving artistic and cultural scene.
Anyway… back to the apartments. The first thing that struck me as I walked in is just how colourful and striking the ADGE Apartments really are. The cartoon-style graffiti mural on the lobby walls might not be to everyone’s taste but boy does it make a difference from the dull, cheerless décor of many hotels. The second thing that struck me is just how immaculate, clean and light the place looks. In fact everything in this luxury boutique hotel looks fabulous, including the views of the city it affords.
Each of the ADGE’s spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments is equally gorgeous. Cutting-edge stylish and supremely comfy, there’s plenty of room to spread out in the open-plan lounge and dining area. Whilst the kitchen has everything you need to rustle up something tasty, I bet you’ll probably be keen to explore the culinary area of Surry hills – just minutes walk of the building. In fact, the clever folk behind the ADGE Apartment Hotel have thought of pretty much everything that the modern traveller or holidaymaker might need for a great stay and have equipped their apartments with it. That means free Wi-Fi throughout, air-conditioning, a state-of-the-art TV, soundproofing for a peaceful night’s sleep, an iPod docking station and no trouser-press; this isn’t some fuddy-duddy business hotel, you know!
The bedrooms and bathrooms? I’m glad you asked. Both are immaculate. The beds are generously-sized and super-sumptuous thanks to high-quality bed linen, pillows and duvet and mattresses. The bathrooms are spotless and sparkling, provide everything you need including a decent hairdryer, bathrobes and even some rather lovely complimentary toiletries.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking by now. We’re talking about a luxury boutique apartment hotel with all mod-cons in one of Sydney’s classier suburbs; it’s going to cost a packet, right? Guess again – I think you’re going to be surprised. Given the amazingly high quality of the service, apartments and facilities on offer at the ADGE Apartment Hotel, it’s no wonder that so many guests have consistently given it top-marks for value-for-money in reviews all over the web. For a lot of travellers a holiday to Australia is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. You could stay in one of Sydney’s perfectly acceptable but unmemorable chain hotels, but if you want true luxury accommodation that’s a little bit special, that ‘dares to be different’, I recommend staying at the Adge as part of your tailor-made holiday to Australia.
For Reservations, please contact London based Australia specialists Bridge & Wickers for a tailor-made itinerary and booking on 020 36427962 or email sales@bridgeandwickers.co.uk Alternatively, you can email the ADGE Apartments directly: concierge@adgehotel.com.au Address: 222 Riley Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia. Phone: +61 2 8093 9888 Fax: +61 2 8070 7868