The Kimpton Margot Hotel in Sydney is ideally located for someone who wants to be close to great shopping, and Sydney's iconic Harbour. The Kimpton Margot Sydney is a relatively new addition to Sydney's hotel portfolio. It's the first Kimpton property in Australia (part of the IHG group), and has been open about two years.
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Booking the Kimpton Margot Hotel
Kimpton hotels are part of the IHG group, and can be booked with cash, points, or a combination of cash + points. As I have an IHG credit card, if you book for a minimum of 4 nights, the 4th night is free. The daily rate for a paid booking was $US193, but as I had a large number of IHG points, I decided to book on points. A 4 night stay ended up costing me 90k IHG points.
Kimpton Margot location
Kimpton Margot Sydney is a heritage-listed hotel, located in the former Sydney Water Head Office, an office building located on Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district. The hotel is a short stroll (500 metres / .3 mile) from Darling Harbour, and the Queen Victoria Building.
For first time visitors to Australia, I will always recommend a hotel closer to the Harbour for outstanding views; the Kimpton doesn't fit the bill there, but with it's central location, there are no complaints. There's a light rail service within a 2 minute walk of the hotel, which will get you to Circular Quay and Sydney Harbour in under 10 minutes, and the hotel's location on Pitt Street puts you in the heart of Sydney's business and shopping district. You must make time to visit the historic Queen Victoria Building (QVB) between George Street and York Street for some retail therapy.
Lobby & check-in
I entered the hotel from the main lobby on Pitt Street, but upon leaving the hotel the first day, I discovered another entrance on Bathurst Street, which is a more convenient entrance if you've coming via the light rail on George Street.
The lobby was an expansive area, with high ceilings, and marble columns - you could definitely see the influences from the time when it was an office building.
The front desk was staffed by two people, and check-in was very straightforward. I was offered a late checkout (2pm) based on my status, and was given two bottles of complimentary water (another perk of having status with IHG).
There was a lot of seating in the lobby area, together with a restaurant (Luke's Kitchen), a bar, and a coffee counter. The lobby was definitely a place where people could sit and relax after a day of exploring.
Premium King Guest Room
My room was located on Floor One (the second level of the hotel), overlooking Pitt Street at the front of the hotel. There was an office building directly across from the hotel, and a construction site (a new office building and underground train station). The noise from the construction site did not disturb me.
I had been upgraded to a King Bed Premium room, which measured about 450sf. Upon entering the room, there was a closet, in-room safe, mini-bar and a serving station for coffee and tea on the left, and a large bathroom on the right.
In line with the styling of the hotel lobby area, the bathroom felt somewhat "industrial", with white subway tile and maroon subway tile trim. There was a separate bath and shower (which is so much better than the dreaded "shub" - shower over bath like many hotels). The shower was not enclosed at all, but half the bathroom was marginally higher than the rest, allowing for water flow-off from the shower.
The bedroom area was spacious, with a king size bed and a full couch at the foot of the bed. The TV was set atop a console, which offered desk space with a seat and a small round table. There was a tablet on the desk which controlled room lighting etc.
During my stay, there was a technical issue which caused the power to go out in the room. A quick visit down to the lobby to explain the issue got the issue taken care of very rapidly; absolutely no complaints there!
Kimpton Margot Hotel restaurant
The hotel offers a number of venues for grabbing a meal, mostly located in the lobby area. Additionally, there is a roof-top bar area.
The largest restaurant is Luke's Kitchen, where guests who are eligible for the free breakfast would take advantage of this benefit. As I didn't have status for free breakfast, I didn't eat in the restaurant, but usually grabbed something outside the hotel, or in the "Pantry at Margot's" which served coffee & other cafe drinks, and freshly baked pastries.
Kimpton Margot Hotel roof-top pool
Although the weather wasn't warm enough for swimming (in my opinion), I did wander up to the the 7th floor to take a look at the rooftop pool. The pool is heated, and is the perfect place to spend an afternoon if you've had enough of sightseeing for the day. There's also a bar, and plenty of seating options, so if you feel like spending time outside, this is a great place to do it.
Final thoughts
For a first-time visitor to Sydney looking to wake up to views over Sydney Harbour or the Opera House, this hotel is not the place to be, but if you're looking for a location convenient to shopping, dining, and public transport, this location can't be beat.
If you are traveling with a pet, the hotel is very pet friendly with the slogan "if it fits in the lift" encouraging owners to bring their pets for a visit. As I was checking in, I met a couple from Melbourne who were traveling with their very friendly Golden Retriever. The receptionist prepared a "goodie page" for the canine guest, including a small box a dog food.
There are 18 IHG-branded hotels in Sydney, so a member of their loyalty program has a lot of options if choosing to stay within the brand. When the prices are similar, it would be my preference to stay at the Intercontinental rather than the Kimpton Margot.
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