After a two-day road travel from New South Wales’ Northern Rivers to Sydney (a journey of more than seven hundred kilometers), my friend and I giggled our way through 57 Hotel’s automatic sliding doors (really convenient when you’re hauling your gear plus your preggo friend’s entire wardrobe luggage chock-full of two week’s worth of clothes). I had just told her that we’re checking in a room called Dancing Queen, and because we were going on an Abba Tribute Cruise with Rhythmboat Cruises that weekend, she thought I was joking.
“For real. I brought a bodysuit and lace bell bottoms to stick with the theme. I’ll prolly do the Fawcett curls too…”
“Okay, I get it. You’re serious.”
While outside was bright and sunny but cold, inside 57 Hotel was warmly lit and balmy. The interiors, though styled under the influence of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub (from the 70s), was looking very fashionably current. The black and (hints of) gold combo gives the space the right amount of glam touch. Not tacky at all. Its hip character truly belongs in the creative cluster that is the Surry Hills precinct.
The front staff greeted us as we approached the counter. Their welcome was even warmer.
Check in was a breeze. We were informed about the all-day complimentary hot drinks (self-serve), in the corner of the lobby, plus bottled water from the fridge beside the coffee machine. Also, the WiFi password and breakie. The lift was a pleasant surprise, with its fun disco lights (not the kind that’s an affront to one’s eyesight) and pipe-in disco music. We boogied out of the lift and into our Dancing Queen Room.
57 Hotel has 92 rooms. All of which designed according to the theme, but with modern creature comforts. Aside from the Dancing Queen Room, they offer six other rooms (photos courtesy of 57 Hotel):
Also available, the The King Plus One (king bed plus single bed) and Dancing Queen Twin (most spacious room, with two queen beds perfect for families). Certainly, there is something for every type of traveler.
All rooms feature luxurious bedding, HDTV, personal safe, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, overhead shower, toiletries, and in-room iPads (playing “Sounds of 57” when we arrived).
As we entered, our eyes were immediately drawn to the cheeky glass-walled bathroom. Clever design, as it makes the room look bigger. Two curtains, a translucent and opaque one, may be drawn for privacy.
There’s no closet in the room, but there’s a coat rack — which makes more sense to me cause who puts his/her entire wardrobe inside a closet during a short stay anyways? Also, saves you from leaving that coat behind (which I almost did in another hotel two days after).
Wi-Fi was fast and stable. My roomie and I was able to do a bit of work before we prepped for our night out. At twilight, we got our groove on, thanks to the Sounds of 57 from our in-room iPad. 57 Hotel sits within a trendy Sydney neighborhood, and that means there are heaps of chic pubs around. That eve though, we were on a mission to go all out disco. So it was Darling Harbour for us, a quick train ride (plus stroll) away.
57 Hotel is about 500 meters from Central Station. And from Central Station, it’s a quick ride to Town Hall Station (for Queen Victoria Building and Darling Harbour), Circular Quay (for Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanical Gardens and views of the Harbour Bridge), and Milsons Point (for Luna Park). There’s also a supermarket around the corner, so really, you can get everything you’ll ever need nearby.
Our sleep was undisturbed that night. Although our window’s facing Foveaux street, the noise amazingly didn’t get to creep in our room. We asked the night staff for late check out (an extra hour), because my preggo roomie finds it difficult to get up early in the morning (and well, we assumed it would be difficult to peel ourselves away from that luxurious bed) and we were allowed to do so.
And that allowed us to recuperate from last night’s shenanigans.
We wanted to stay longer, but on our itinerary were more distant places to go to.
57 Hotel
57 Foveaux St
Surry Hills, Sydney
Australia
