The hotel scene in Sydney is expanding rapidly and one of the newest properties
in town is the Kimpton Margot. Join me as we take a full tour, check out my room,
the common areas and food on offer. Let’s get into it, welcome to Sydney.
If you’d like to know the exact rate that I paid or my next five videos in queue, please check
out the description below and if you’re new here, hi there and welcome, my name is Kevin.
You’ve found yourself on a channel that takes unbiased travel content seriously.
I make airline trip reports, high end hotel reviews and cruise ship tours as well.
I always film without the company’s knowledge to be sure I get a true
experience and give you nothing more than my honest unbiased opinion.
I just arrived from Manila and now we are heading across town to the
southside of Sydney’s central business district.
The Kimpton Margot is in a heritage building on Pitt street just a few steps from Hyde Park.
While the property has been a hotel since around 2009, for the 70 years
before that it was the headquarters for the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board.
The sewerage part doesn’t exactly conjure high expectations,
but I assure you the remodel of this art deco stand out has been done in the best of manners.
Modern touches have been integrated with many of the original details and
there are snippets of history on display throughout the building.
The lobby and true heart of the hotel does two things very well. It elevates the original details
of the building, such as the glass paned roof, or the scagliola pillars with classy accents such
as the brushed gold trim while also taking what could feel like an oversized space and breaking
it down into much more manageable seating areas to give it a much more intimate feel.
On the four sides of the lobby are the four distinct areas. On one side are the reception
desks with some very friendly and casual, but in that comfortable Kimpton California way.
Another side has a cafe kiosk which serves up some seriously good coffees
and small bites throughout the day. The other two sides which we’ll take
a look at later are the Wilmot Bar and the restaurant Luke’s Kitchen.
The spaces are meant to feel as if they are part of a “harmonious,
eclectic inner city hideaway” which I think is accomplished for the most part, except
for a few of the fabric choices which should have been put out to pasture with the 1980s.
There is also another entrance to the hotel off of Bathurst Street, where you’ll also find a
fleet of bicycles available for use. There is plenty to do within walking distance though.
Sydney in the state of New South Wales in the southeast of the country spans
an area that I think makes it one of the most naturally beautiful urban landscapes on earth.
The opera house in the center lower part of the screen with the harbor bridge to the right,
the core of the city is just behind, with the Kimpton on the southside.
Whether you’ve got dinner plans in Surry Hills or on the harborfront,
both are within a comfortable 20 minute walk. 20 minutes is also
how long the drive to the airport is and the closest tram stop is 5 minutes away.
Let’s head up to my room. If you support honest travel content,
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The hallways give me very very strong High School, but too nice to be a high school, vibes.
I do have to say, this is one of my favorite city hotel rooms in a while. It’s not fussy, there’s
nothing crazy going on, but it’s just so nicely laid out and leaves you wanting for nothing.
Well labeled light switches, plenty of power points and other mod cons are
dotted throughout the room and the quality of materials is very much,
acceptable. Acceptable might not sound like that sexy of a word, but with the number of
new premium hotels I’ve been at recently that just use the cheapest materials possible- including the
Kimpton in Koh Samui, it’s just nice to see that negative trend hasn’t infiltrated everything yet.
Art is a huge part of the hotel. With over 600 pieces on display throughout the property,
the name Margot is an homage to female Australian painters, including Margaret
Olley and Margaret Preston, both well admired and celebrated during their time.
You all know how much I love a nice big desk and this one left
me wanting for nothing, except perhaps a less depressing floral arrangement.
A tablet directory was on hand for all of your informational needs.
This is also the first time I’ve seen wireless charging pads on both sides of the bed,
in any hotel. And that beautiful pen, give me 20 seconds about pens.
Someone commented recently about how they love details like pens and such in premium hotels.
Someone else replied with something along the lines of, ‘who the hell cares about
pens’... my answer is, first of all, me. I do. Why? Show me a hotels in room pen and the
comb on offer and I feel like I could tell you everything you need to know about that hotel.
What to expect, what corners were cut, who they are trying to be. Every detail matters. A weighty,
brightly colored, location specific pen with a tablet cursor on the other end not only says a
lot about this hotel, but it fits perfectly. What also fits perfectly is the well stocked
chargeable mini bar and the selection of complimentary coffees and teas on hand.
Only empty drawers below though. No complimentary bottles of water in the room,
but we are in Australia, so yes I know, tap water is fine. But I’d still prefer bottles.
Loads of closet space in the room with three separate compartments
with the expected Kimpton Yoga mat and stylish robes, along with plenty of drawers and such.
The bathroom is everything that so many hotels try to do well, but many actually get right.
A great balance between clean and minimalist while
not sacrificing any of the creature comforts you’d expect from a Kimpton.
You probably know, Kimpton is owned by IHG, the parent company of Intercontinental Hotels
and currently has 75 properties with their strongest presence in the US.
This Kimpton is the first in Australia and opened on Valentine’s day, just last year in 2022.
The hotel has 172 rooms and as always with Kimpton’s your pets are allowed as well and
will be catered to if you bring them. I didn’t realize, but apparently there’s a saying at
Kimpton regarding how big of a dog you can bring. That saying is, “If it fits in the lift”...
so I guess they’ve got some pretty big dog beds on hand.
The bathrooms feature Mr Smith toiletries.
As for the view, well. We are city center so there’s nothing really to
complain about. I appreciate that they were upfront about it though.
When i make reservations I almost always add a note saying something like,
“within my room category, a beautiful view is greatly appreciated…” in this case they replied
explaining they are city center so there are no expansive views, but they would do their best.
So, who is staying here? I’ll be honest, first time since I started doing this graphic in Cape
Town- I really can’t pinpoint it. There were plenty of tourists. Plenty of business people,
maybe that’s what I wasn’t expecting. Surely some IHG loyalists and ages ranging from late 20s till
as high as you can count. They really were going for a crowd pleaser with this property
and it shows in the makeup of the clientele. It is a Kimpton though so certainly there is
a Social hour as all Kimptons have from 5-6PM where they feature complimentary local wines.
The staff who was hosting it was giving very stong “I would literally rather be
anywhere else than here right now” energy, so I just kept my distance.
Despite the hotel being pretty busy, there was just one couple here for social hour, so I’d say
they could probably communicate it a bit better. Up to level seven for a bit of a disappointment.
There is a small lap pool up here, that’s fine, though a bit small- but the rest of the space- it
looked like a generic crowne plaza rooftop that someone built and then forgot about. This venue
was supposed to open at the end of 2022, but when I was here in late March was still not operating.
Here we have the 1930s inspired Wilmot Bar and next to it is Luke’s Kitchen.
Luke referring to Luke Mangan, who I’d never heard of,
but according to his own website he is quite the culinary gift from the heavens.
He has seven restaurants, five of them named after himself with nine more venues on the way,
all of them named after himself. Kinda makes Gordon Ramsey look like quite the humble fellow.
I had breakfast here, which was included in my rate. For the included rate you
chose from the central “The Real Deal” which included a croissant,
fresh fruit or granola, plus a main dish and two coffees.
I had the granola and the perfectly cooked herbed eggs. Definitely didn’t stinge on the herbs.
Last but not least is the small yoga room and fitness center both on the basement level.
The Kimton Margot is a very specific flavor of city hotel that I love- one that puts comfort,
design and functionality all on equally high pedestals and does
so without the slightest whiff of pretension. After my less than stellar visit to the Kimpton
in Samui, I’m glad I didn’t end up canceling this property as I almost did. The Kimpton Margot is a
great new addition to the Sydney hotel scene and a good place for Kimpton to start in this region.
I really hope you enjoyed this video today. If you did, please give it a big thumbs up and subscribe
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I’ll see you next time on my mildly disastrous Philippine airlines flight
which brought me down to Sydney. Oh and thanks for watching until the end.