Australia's largest hotel opens in Sydney

Australia’s largest hotel has opened its doors in Sydney’s Darling Harbour after a $250 million redevelopment. Designed by Cox Architecture, Hyatt Regency Sydney has added a new 24-storey tower and 222 premium guestrooms to the former Four Points Sheraton, making it the country’s largest five-star hotel with 892 rooms.

Cox Architecture was appointed for the Hyatt Regency project in early 2013, while fellow Australian design firm Bates Smart was engaged to undertake the interior design for the renovation. The Darling Harbour hotel design features extensive floor-to-ceiling glass to maximise natural light and uninterrupted water views of the harbour.

The architects have also added vertical louvres and low-reflection materials to the design. Inside, Bate Smart’s objective was to create hospitality spaces which make the most of the considerable assets of the site, while minimising structural limitations imposed by the existing architecture.

Made up of suites and club facilities, the 222 new rooms will occupy the first 15 floors of the hotel’s new tower, while the remaining floors will be leased as office space. Other offerings at Hyatt Regency include all-day dining, meeting spaces, two ballrooms, a contemporary lobby bar and a club lounge. A rooftop bar completes the hotel and is the central business district’s only premium hotel rooftop bar with views of Darling Harbour that is open to the public.

Construction of the hotel tower saw some 11,500 cubic metres of concrete poured and 635 tonnes of steel used to create the building’s structure; and over 1,380 glass panels installed to form the hotel’s facade.