When Ace Hotel opens in Sydney soon, it will bring a community feel to the market
After three years of construction and Covid delays, the Ace Hotel in Sydney is almost ready to open its doors.
The 264-room hotel in Surry Hills is built on the site of a historic brick factory called Tyne House.
To keep the historic feel, local architect Bates Smart has incorporated the façade into the $350 million design.
In charge of development is local developer Golden Age, which has partnered with Ace Hotel Group.
Taking care of interiors is Melbourne designer David Flack and his namesake studio in Fitzroy.
The Ace Hotel Group has been active since 1999, when it first made waves in Seattle in the US. The Seattle hotel was designed to create a place where everyone from locals, tourists and business travellers could hang out in the lobby, catch-up with friends or even work.
“Our hotels tend to be part of the neighbourhood they live in and a lot of what we do in our process is we try to localise,” president of Ace Hotel Group Brad Wilson said.
“What the founders, Alex Calderwood, Wade Weigel and Doug Herrick, did in 1999 was create a place for their friends to come and hang out. They were all doing nightclubs and experiential marketing things and bringing people out to Seattle, but there was no place for them to stay. So, the idea was to make one where all their friends would love to stay. It was very residential, very casual, but chic enough to feel special.”
“So, we work closely with local designers and artists to make our spaces really be of place. David is amazing and his eye for colour and space is completely singular. He is a dream design collaborator for our first hotel in Australia.
“There is a lot of indoor-outdoor living and references to natural materials,” said Wilson, referring to the ground floor restaurant, lobby bar, coffee shop and rooftop eatery and bar.
“I think it’s really special and beautiful. I think it is not something people have seen before and I really love that. It feels residential and I think it’s going to be a place where people want to be. And I think it brings something to Sydney that isn’t available right now when it comes to hotels.”
Apart from eateries and bars, there will be entertainment: from live music to art shows and poetry readings.
Irit Jackson, 8th February 2022
