Street cred
Sydney’s fashionable Kensington Street
Chippendale’s Kensington Street in Sydney, Australia, is a hip new downtown destination and the Old Clare Hotel is the cool boutique charmer at its heart centre.
It’s not obvious which came first, but the combination is a winner for Air Niugini passengers in Sydney. This once dead-end of town, with vacant industrial buildings and a whiff of being too close to the grunginess of Central Station, has been transformed into an inviting mix of intriguingly new and lovingly old.
The boutique hotel, opened in 2015, is the street’s most notable landmark. It’s the creative vision of Loh Lik Peng, the Singaporean founder and owner of Unlisted Collection hotels, who took two iconic heritage-listed buildings – the former Clare Hotel pub and the Carlton and United Breweries administration building – and joined them by a glass link-way.
The 62-room and suite hotel retains the charm of old while embracing the eccentricities of the hip and new. Its ground level, street-accessible venues have been designed to put guests among locals.
The former indie rock pub (a favourite for the area’s many university students) has been turned respectfully into an art deco-inspired retro 40s cocktail bar – with all the heritage features intact.
Two restaurants, Jason Atherton’s Kensington Street Social, and hatted restaurant, Automata, attract foodies from far and wide.
The rest of the street is continually evolving. Red lantern- lit laneway Spice Alley, a hawker- style food strip selling Hong Kong and Cantonese cuisine, has been book-ended by Holy Duck, a Chinese street diner and burger joint. At the other, queue- inducing Koi Desert bar has an Asian-inspired menu where the flavours of savoury and sweet are harmoniously balanced.
Kensington Contemporary, a gallery for emerging and established artists, resides in one of the street’s beautifully
This once dead-end of town, with vacant industrial buildings and a whiff of being too close to the grunginess of Central Station, has been transformed.
restored two-storey terraces, while a lovely row of colonial worker’s cottages has (long- term) pop-ups including Kakawa Chocolates, specialising in single origin chocolate from Madagascar to Venezuela, and artisan cobbler EOD, dedicated to stylish shoes with an emphasis on comfort.
Further along the street Handpicked Cellar Door is a new winery concept where visitors can taste and buy wine cellar- door style, or sit and sip like you would in a wine bar.
Not far from Kensington Street, Chippendale Green is an urban renewal project featuring Jennifer Turpin and Michael Crawford’s Halo, a huge kinetic sculpture, and One Central Park, a new-age building with a cantilevered heliostat and green walls with 250 native plants.
Specialising in contemporary Chinese art, White Rabbit Gallery is one of more than a dozen arty havens hidden in the leafy Chippendale streets. If you’re hungry, Ester and LP’s Quality Meats are local hits, and don’t go past the Persian love cakes at Brickfields bakery.
Air Niugini flies from Port Moresby to Sydney three times a week. See airniugini.com.pg.
LOCATION
Once a hive of activity, the town of Rabaul was evacuated and destroyed by volcanic eruptions in 1994. Now, it’s popular for stunning scenery and beaches, with scuba diving and snorkelling one of its tourist allures.
THE PLACE
Established in 1952, Rabaul Hotel is a classic, with all the old-school charm and a sprinkle of eccentricity that you’d expect in an older property. Steeped in history, it even harbours its own secret Japanese war tunnel, more recently used as a wine cellar. Hiding behind a humble front is the hotel’s charming and expansive courtyard, complete with an all-year swimming pool and lush lawns. Flowers bloom in the well-tended garden, and the sweet scent of frangipani fills the air. Buildings in cottage cream with navy woodwork bear a few cracks around the edges – but this is to be expected, given they’ve survived a world war and two major volcanic explosions. After both eruptions, the Rabaul Hotel was the first in the town to reopen its doors.
in the ROOMS
Rooms are bright, spacious and fully furnished. My executive king room came with a mirrored dressing table, as well as a sofa and coffee table. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of the tropical coast. Bathrooms are clean and there is endless hot water. Tea and coffee-making facilities are provided, and there is a fridge stocked with chilled water and milk. Rooms also include a TV and safety deposit box.
FOOD AND DRINKs
In the aptly named Phoenix restaurant, crisp white tablecloths and dimmed lighting create a cosy, elegant ambience. The chef has been working for the Rabaul Hotel for decades. He serves Asian-inspired dishes, excellently executed and in plentiful portions. Above diners’ heads, is the largest tabu wheel in the Pacific, believed worth more than PGK30,000. Breakfasts are a la carte – the French toast smothered in maple syrup is highly recommended. Fresh fruit smoothies are made to order, and fine local coffee and cafetières are provided for guests to help themselves.