Room at the inn
The age-old question of what to do with demanding relatives when they visit Paddington has finally been answered — spectacularly so — with the opening of the Saint Peter hotel on Underwood St.
The launch of the hotel in late January follows the unveiling of the Saint Peter restaurant in August. Both the hotel and the restaurant exist in what was the heritage-listed Grand National Hotel.
The 14-room hotel component, with rooms starting at $600 a night, is designed as a complementary product to the restaurant — or, as owner/chef Josh Niland puts it, Saint Peter is now a “restaurant with rooms”. The hotel has been put together with care and love, with heritage elements such as ceiling roses and fireplaces preserved and restored, and the hotel exuding a historic, old world feel, but with luxury finishings and new fixtures.
Niland and his wife Julie Niland have created the space with the assistance of Belinda Chippendale and Dimity Chitty of Sydney’s Studio Aquilo. Together, the designers and owners have leaned into the property’s heritage by working with Australian suppliers on the interior elements.
Key among these are Catherine Martin, who has supplied the homewares, Woollahra’s Olsen Gallery, which has provided the paintings and prints by Australian artists including Ken Done, Cole & Son for wallpapers, and Melbourne’s Bonny for doona covers. Bathroom amenities are by Aesop and there are Saint Peter soaps, made from fish fat, in the baths.
The rooms vary in size and shape, and are nestled into the first and second floors of the old pub. Most, called queen studio rooms, are 20sq m but there are a few special category spaces including the corner heritage suite, a beautiful offering of 30sq m that comes complete with an original marble fireplace, a view of Paddington and glimpses of the city skyscrapers. The bathroom boasts a clawfoot bath, another fireplace, and a full-size rainwater shower that has the sort of water pressure most local terraces can only envy.
Of course, there is an emphasis on food, with a fully stocked complimentary minibar loaded with treats. Try coconut ices and jellies from Kellys Candy Co, peanuts from Chunky Dave’s, chips from Chappy’s, chocolate from Hunted+Gathered, mixed olives from Mount Zero and Yumbo soft drinks.
As well, guests are delivered a welcome snack from the Saint Peter kitchen on arrival, presently a fermented rice blini topped with 14-day aged yellowfin tuna and Kaluga caviar.
Perhaps the best thing about the hotel is its easy access to the restaurant and bar, where Niland is producing the nation’s finest seafood. Go for the tasting menu ($275) or call into the bar for excellent casual dining that ranges from a yellowfin tuna cheeseburger ($32) or an abalone schnitzel sandwich ($24).
Then in the morning, there’s breakfast — a three-course experience in itself that may well be the highlight of a stay here. Start with coconut water and filter coffee, followed by an exotic fruit platter using produce from Niland’s suppliers, a pot of bircher muesli, and then a spectacular dish of whole marron poached and served with scrambled eggs and hollandaise sauce. It is a work of art. If all that is not enough, finish with croissants from Nick Tabet’s Thoroughbread bakery. It’s a lot, but all of it is good.
So a night here will see you — or your relatives — returning home with a very full belly and potentially some bathroom envy. It is a refined, and very Paddington, experience.
