Consummate host created Sydney hotel where the rich and famous liked to stay

In the 1970s and 80s it seemed like there was only one hotel in Sydney. Everybody who was anybody would use the Sebel Town House. Abba gave their press conference there in February 1977 while fans assembled outside. Rod Stewart arrived the same year. American actor Lauren Bacall was there in 1979, the Harlem Globetrotters in 1982, and the Moody Blues two years later.

So what was the appeal? It wasn’t the most extravagant hotel in town. What it was very good at, however, was looking after its guests. The man who made it all happen was Michael Hall, who has died aged 80.

Hall was born in

Romford, Essex, to parents who owned and ran a butcher’s shop. At the age of 17, he left

Britain for New

Zealand, and at 19 ventured across the

Tasman to Australia. He first worked for

Mary Kathleen mining in Cloncurry, Queensland, before he landed the job of food and beverage manager at the massive Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme.

Finding hospitality in his blood, he travelled to Canada to train at the Chateau Lake Louise in Banff. Returning to Australia in 1965, he started at the Sebel Town House as a storeman, in purchasing and then front office. But he is best remembered as its longtime general manager.

With a likeable personality, a great knowledge of catering, a natural appreciation of the needs of guests, plus an extremely street-savvy attitude, Hall was the consummate ‘‘mein host’’.

Along with his former general manager Henry Rose, he helped to create an icon for the Australian hospitality industry − a home away from home for celebrities and the wealthy.

In truth the Sebel Town House facilities were not much more than a three-star property but the service, attention to detail and utmost care extended to guests by Hall and his staff elevated it well above its station.

Even when new and more luxurious hotels opened their doors in competition to the

Sebel, they were unable to knock it off its perch. The Sebel was the first and for a long time the only member of Leading Hotels of the World within Australasia. Hall held the Sebel’s reins tightly and ensured that every guest was recognised and warmly looked after – a winning formula.

When Mirvac bought the Sebel Town House in the late 1980s, Hall also became the managing director of Mirvac Hotels, a brand that would grow immensely in the years to come. He was instrumental in helping this author found Select Hotels & Resorts International in the mid-1980s.

Through his strong presence and congenial personality, he was an ideal first chairman for the group. He was also a savvy investor and worked on several international and domestic