Central and sparkling

This city offering is vast, trendy, vibrant and right in the middle of Sydney, writes Nicky Park.

Ilove staying in places and pretending they are my own. At ADGE, I was a trendy, innercity cool mum, putting snacks in my Smeg fridge, eating food from the cool Korean place downstairs and sipping sundowners on the balcony. Living my Sydney dream.

The place

ADGE Hotels and Residences, 212 Riley St, Surry Hills, Sydney.

Thespace

Vast, trendy and vibrant, the main doors open to a cool Korean cafe, then we walk past a massive rainbow dragon mural to the lobby.

The room

If I were a real estate agent, I would call this an “entertainer’s delight”. But I’m a sweaty mum of two with snacks spilling out of my bag. While the sprogs ran off to bags which side of the king-sized bed they would steal in their room, I took the chance to pretend we lived in this cool, clean, urban apartment.

I filled the 50s-style lime green Smeg fridge (in our fully-equipped kitchen) with aforementioned snacks before opening the doors to a huge wraparound balcony that took in views from two sides of the city. This is one of a dozen roomy, two-bedroom apartments.

Open-plan kitchen, living and dining with modern appliances and plenty of air flow, we had ample room for all the baggage that comes with a travelling circus of young kids. They even had their own bathroom to spread out in.

For us: A king-sized bedroom and ensuite with bath and all that balcony to sit and sip red wine after dark.

When the ADGE is fully finished, it will boast 242 bold guest rooms with pod-style bathrooms and a memorable design that was actually conjured up as an escape from Covid lockdown.

“We were all stuck at home feeling miserable and physically restricted ... designing ADGE was an escape from what was happening in real life,” said designer Andrew Parr.

The amenities

On-site you won’t find a pool or gym, but walk outside and there’s a Fitness First gym five minutes away and transport to all the activities you need.

The food

We rose early and ran down at opening for a (spot on) flat white from Soul Deli at the hotel’s entrance and once we saw the menu at the Korean cafe, we had to come back as soon as the cook arrived. Korean chicken porridge, KFC hot cakes, soup bowls and sandwiches – I’ll take one of everything.

The kids went with big, bouncy buttermilk hotcakes, while my partner and I both had to wrap our lips around the KFC roll – Korean fried chicken stacked with iceberg lettuce, white radish pickle and Korean mayo in “famous Martin’s potato bun”.

Our stay was brief so this was the only fare we sampled on-site.

There is a 10-seat Japanese restaurant called Raita Noda Chef’s Kitchen, which was closed when we visited, and when the hotel is finished next year, they tell us an Italian restaurant with a well-known chef will be worth returning for.

There was no room service when we visited in October, but it will kick off by the end of the year with a limited food and drinks menu.

Worth stepping out for

ADGE sits a short stroll from the vibrant Oxford and Crown streets. It’s the perfect spot for eating, drinking and – if you’re in the mood – cutting loose. You can feel the good vibes in the area. While we couldn’t step out after dark this time, I’ve spent plenty of time in the area and can vouch for its delights.

Bus stops nearby can take you out to the beaches of Bondi and Coogee via sports grounds like the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium. Head in the other direction and you’ll hit the downtown area with shopping and, of course, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Other essentials: There’s a supermarket in spitting distance and a sunny playground we found nearby.

Worth staying in for

Pretend for a moment you live here. Grab some cool seltzers from the store down the road, put on your best threads and waltz around as the sun sets.

The highlight

The location – we didn’t need to get back in a car once. Which was lucky because ...

The lowlight

The car park was hard to find, a very tight squeeze to manoeuvre around and difficult to get to from our room.

The essentials

A two-bedroom apartment at ADGE starts from $480 a night.

See: adgehotel.com.au