Porter House Hotel launches

Accor Hotels hosted key industry partners at an event in Sydney on Wed to formally launch the new Porter House Hotel ( TD 07 Sep).

The CBD property on the corner of Bathurst and Castlereagh Streets offers 122 rooms and about 130 residential apartments, as well as a funky F&B precinct set to become one of the city’s new watering holes.

Part of Accor’s boutique MGallery Collection, the newbuild project was originally mooted for fledgling brand Silkari and scheduled for completion by Dec 2020 ( TD 25 May 2017).

It’s the first official hotel opening for Accor Asia Pacific Managing Director Sarah Derry, who told TD it was also the group’s landmark 400th hotel in the Australia/Pacific market.

The boutique Porter House Hotel occupies the first 10 floors of a 36-storey mixed-use tower, which integrates a restored 1870s heritage-listed building which houses the property’s multi-level food and bar destination.

Starting its life as Dixson & Sons tobacco factory and warehouse, the original building was later a retail shopfront under the WW Campbell & Co and later George Johnson & Sons banners, and has been sympathetically restored with the help of expert heritage tradespeople who worked on the original pressed metal ceilings.

Derry said the opening came as the hotel industry continues to accelerate towards a full post-pandemic recovery.

“Sydney is experiencing its fastest growth since Mar 2020, with recovery in corporate, conference and events business, and continued strength in the domestic leisure market.

“We are seeing similar revivals in other key cities around the Pacific, complementing the success of regional holiday destinations in Australia and NZ.”

Pictured from left are Sarah Bush, ATPI; Sharyn Kitchener, Mosman Travel; Sarah Derry, Accor Asia Pacific CEO; and Lachlan McGregor, ATPI.

And inset are Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox and Tourism Australia MD Phillipa Harrison.