Floating beds and pink sunsets: our stay at Sydney Harbour's five-star showpiece

Located right next to the Harbour Bridge, the hotel offers sweeping water and city views. We walked in just before sunset, when the sky was awash with soft pinks against the blue harbour - with ferries and even an old wooden ship sailing past in the evening glow. As the sun set, lights illuminated the harbour and the wharves around us, giving the place a magical glow. The sounds of people chatting and enjoying drinks at the bar below wafted upwards, mingling with the soft clanking of waves knocking against the dock. We headed down to the Pier Bar and the amazing view continued.

Walking into the hotel you can see the history - from wooden beams to the high ceilings to the pitched roofs, everything speaks of its past. The interiors are a beautiful fusion of old and new - with original flooring and heritage beams on the pier. The hotel's most recent refurbishment was in 2019, when the rooms received a $15 million glow-up. The restaurant and bar both have a mix of indoor and outdoor seating and there are a range of event spaces, with a wedding being held on the Saturday we stayed.

The hotel has 189 rooms and suites. Our room was awash with deep, rich colours - from a dark blue armchair settled near the window, to crisp white pillows on the bed and gold wardrobe fixtures and drawers to mix in with the gold and blue carpet. The bed seems to float off the floor thanks to well-placed under-bed mirrors and some strip lighting. The bathroom featured wood-look floors and was accessed via double swing doors. The room looked out over the wharves and water with a tiny balcony to let in the sea air. It's worth noting the hotel is also dog-friendly, and features pet-friendly items on the in-room menu, such as steak with carrots or chicken breast with green peas.

We enjoyed drinks and oysters by the water at the Pier Bar - with happy hour drinks on Friday night. This included $2 oysters, $12 cocktails, and $8 draughts (if you've brought along your four-legged family member, there are also $5 doglatos). We opted for in-room dining with the In The Roundhouse, In Your Room experience the following night. This included oysters, marinated olives and Linguine Napolitana with prawns, along with a cheese and cured meats board and a baguette. It also featured In The Roundhouse Coloured Napkins, which you can take home as a memento.

The hotel is in the Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney, making it a short walk, tram or metro ride to most of the city. We enjoyed the Rocks Markets on Saturday and did a harbourside walk around to Barangaroo and then wandered to the other side of the city to check out the Navy ships at Garden Island. There are plenty of restaurants and bars within an easy stroll for a night out.

The view from the room. You could sit and watch the boats and ferries cruising past from dawn until another gorgeous pink sunset filled the sky and never grow bored.

The writer was a guest of the hotel