Gourmet Traveller unveils Australian hotel awards
There are some big surprises in this year’s Australian Hotel Awards announced by Gourmet Traveller.
First, there is the 1940s-era brown building in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, known as the Paramount House Hotel.
It has been named Hotel of the Year in the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Awards.
What was so surprising about it was that the 29-room hotel in Commonwealth Street only opened in January after a four-year renovation.
In another era, it was the Sydney headquarters for Paramount Pictures Studios and the old film storage warehouse next door.
It is well-located too, sitting next to the Paramount Coffee Project cafe and the stylish Golden Age Cinema and Bar.
It also shares space with a health club, co-working space and, coming soon, a new restaurant and bar.
And being located in Surry Hills, it is only minutes from Sydney’s top city attractions.
As Gourmet Traveller’s reviewers put it in their notes, “It takes a village to make a great hotel”.
They said its “unique appeal lies in the strength of the building’s creative community and the immediate neighbourhood.”
And the hotel’s big drawcards, they said, were the featured pure linen bedding, potted plants, indoor-outdoor spaces and minibars featuring a range of delicious, locally sourced treats. These included cheese from Formaggi Ocello, charcuterie from LP’s Quality Meats and wine from William Downie and Tom Shobbrook.
The 2018 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Guide always the nation’s top 50 hotels.
It is published in the June issue of Gourmet Traveller and it is on sale today.
The reviewers producing the guide visit the venues unannounced.
And they pay for their own stay.
Australia’s top 50 hotels come with 11 award categories.
Large Hotel of the Year and best mini-bar went to Hobart’s Macq01 hotel.
And the award for the Boutique Hotel of the Year, plus the spot offering Australia’s best club sandwich, went to Jackalope, in Victoria’s picturesque Mornington Peninsula.
Leon Getler 30th May 2018.
