Above: The lobby.
One of the guest rooms.
Taking over two of Sydney’s historic buildings—the 1920s heritage-listed State Theatre and the former Gowings department store—QT Sydney might just become a new landmark in the harbor city. The first member of Design Hotels in Australia, the property features 200 rooms in 12 different styles, each with bright splashes of color and unique touches that bring to life the building’s past incarnations.
Guests enter the hotel through what used to be the State Theatre. The open-plan, Art Deco lobby still features the original timber floors and stone cladding, as well as stage lights and heavy curtains that lead into the rest of the building. Other striking decor additions include gargoyles, vintage shop front signs, and geometric patterns on the ceilings and windows.
The upper floors, which used to house parts of the Gowings department store, have been converted into the guest rooms. Keeping in line with the revamp, each room boasts unique design elements, including light fixtures shaped like bowler hats that softly illuminate the rooms’ rich orange, red, and maroon hues.
The hotel is QT’s third property in Australia, following QT Gold Coast and QT Port Douglas, which opened earlier this year.
