Hotels by Susan Kurosawa

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

WHO EEDS Manhattan? I'll take Sydney, thank you kindly. The four refurbished Signature Suites at Four Seasons Hotel are being billed as 1930s New York apartment style, which is all very well until you look out the windows. On the top Boor- a soaring 34 storeys above the northern end of th e CBD- and each covering a sumptuous amou nt of space, these are indeed penthouse digs, big enough to live in and lovely enough to want to stay put.

The hotel's full accommodation inventory was overhauled in 2009 by ace designer Joseph Pang, who also oversaw th e lobby's soft refurbishment in 2010. These suites are the last, and most dramatic, component of the refresh and have just been unveiled after a $1.6 million makeover by architectural and interior design firm Bates Smart.

The Presidential Suite has a contemporary linen­canop ied four-poster and a moody palette. T he other suites have ton es in silvery greys and greens and rainy-clay blues with deco-black deta iling and highlights. There's a residential edge in th e built-in cab inetry, cush ioned window sea ts, shelves of books and coloured glass vases; th e complete effect is tai lored and sophisticated, complementing, rather than competing with, the harbour and cityscape views.

The travertine marble bathrooms are particularly groovy, with their limed parquetry Boors, interlocking wall tiles, double showers and row of closets inset wi.th pale toil e or swirled fabric. There are enough Bulgari toil etries provided to fill , well , a Bulgari boutique, and the piece de resistance is the round stone tub, custom-made by Melbourne's Apa iser, set beside a full glass window, like an oversized bird bath in which to splash, with a seagull 's­eye vi ew of th e harbour c ity.

Divided into the two-bedroom Presidential, one­bedroom Royal Deluxe and two Royal suites, this lofty quartet must surely be Sydney's most glamorous accommodation. With curtains closed against those icon ic vistas, I imagine this as a Madison Avenue advertising guy's pad (sans the smoking) or even a re-imaginecl version of the fastidious Hercule Poirot's art deco Bat at s6B Whitehaven Mansions, C harterhouse Square, London, as seen in the televison series with David Suchet. The temptation to consult a pocket-watch and ring secretary M iss Lemon for a tisane is almost irresistibl e.

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Dining Since January last year, Sydney-born Jeffrey De Rome has been at the helm of Kable's, the hotel's long­time fin e dining room and, in the 198os and '9os, the domain of Serge Dansereau before he opened Bathers' Pavilion at Balmoral. Ex-Rockpool Sydney and London's Lanesborough Hotel, De Rome cites French Michelin masters Michel Guerard and the Troisgros brothers as his inspiration, plus Rockpool's Neil Perry.

His food is confident and inventive, his servings neat an d comfortably light. Dinner is ava ilable as a nine-course tasting menu with optional matching wine or choose small er dishes across an <1 Ia carte selection (four per person seems just right). Among the standouts on a menu that reBects th e seasons are lobster ravioli with tomato

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vina igrette, braised shin of vea l on soft white polenta and a guava panna cotta with popping candy.

If it's a cosy night in, room service has a Home Style Cooking section with the likes of beef and Guinness pie with mash and there's a well-conceived Billabong Bob's All Day Diner for kids that has dishes for various age brackets, including vegetables pureed to order for under-twos. Hot tips If you are not staying at the hotel, yo u'll receive up to five hours' free parking when you book an appointment at the Spa at Four Seasons Sydn ey, which is an amazing bonus in this premium neck of the city. The spa, rather tucked away on level three, is small and treatment rooms have no naturallight but such defici encies hardly matter considering th e scope of th e therapies, the

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personalised service and access· to steam room and sauna. Also note it's worth the extra for an Executive Club

room as included in the tariff is access to the 32nd-floor lounge for hot and cold breakfast buffet (eggs cooked to order), drinks and nibbles from 5Pm-8pm, complimentary. drinks and snacks all day, pressing and internet access. Everyone's talking about If you have one hour and 45 minutes up your (bathrobe) sleeve, try the new Sodashi Samadara Age-Defying Facial. Unique to the Spa at Four Seasons, it includes a face massage with rose-quartz crystals, a clay mask and liberal applications of Australia's 100 per cent natural Sodashi unguents, all rich in natural plant oils. You'll float back to your room (or to the heated outdoor pool) smelling faintly of rose petals and shining nicely.

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Stepping out It's not so much a matter of where to go as where to go first. The hotel is in pole position for access to Sydney Harbour attractions, Circular Quay ferries and trains and the historic Rocks precinct (dining tips: Sake in Argyle Street for mod-Japanese; Cafe Sydney atop Customs House at Circular Quay for brasserie bites). It's an easy walk to CBD shops and cafes or hop on a bus south along George Street to Chinatown. The Sydney Theatre Company at Walsh Bay is also within striking distance.

If catching taxis to and from Four Seasons, you might find the odd older cabbie who remembers the hotel as The Regent. When it opened under that name in 1982, it gave the Sydney accommodation scene a big lift, such was its style and size. I attended the opening night all those

01 The lobby in the newly refurbished Four Seasons.

02 An Opera View Premier Room, one of the 531 accommodation options.

03 The four-poster bed in the Presidential Suite.

04 The gloriously appointed Signature Suite bath­with-a-view ensuites.

05 Sleep regally in a Royal Suite bedroom.

06 The lounge in the Presidential Suite has unbeatable views.

years ago and can recall how utterly sophisticated it felt, as if we were on the brink of a new era for Sydney. There was nothing more chic in those days than to command a taxi driver: "Take me to The Regent." On second thoughts, maybe it's always been a little bit Manhattan. Essentials · Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George Street, Sydney; its 531 rooms are priced according to view and in ascending price scale from categories of Guest and Premier through to Executive ·Suite and the four Signature Suites. Last-minute providers, such as wotifcom sell rooms from about $250 a night, depending on availability; · Signature Suites start at $1925. More: 02 9250 3100; fourseasons.comlsydney. ~ Susan Kurosawa is The Australian's travel editor.

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