Modern Elegance, Aussie-Style: The New Hilton Sydney Opens as a Vibrant City-Center Destination for Business, Leisure, Dining and Events

Business Wire, July 15, 2005

SYDNEY, Australia -- The Hilton Sydney will re-open for business today in the heart of the city, with a spectacular and ambitious new design, contemporary dining, exclusive bars, and state-of-the-art conference and events facilities.

Revitalizing the iconic 1970s building and 1980s interior into a contemporary, modern space has been a 30-month and a $200 million undertaking. The 577-room hotel has undergone a dramatic rooftop-to-basement reconstruction to produce a complete re-think on hotel form and function. Combined with the initial purchase cost, the hotel is the largest single site investment made by Hilton International in the group's history.

"After five years of hard work and dedication, we're thrilled to announce that the Hilton Sydney is complete and that this exceptional building is ready to make its mark on Sydney," said Koos Klein, President, Hilton International Middle East and Asia Pacific. "Situated on an entire city block between George and Pitt streets in the heart of the CBD, Hilton Sydney will be the leading upscale hotel in the city, offering corporate and leisure travellers a true Sydney experience."

Designed by Johnson Pilton Walker, the architects behind landmark projects such as the Sydney Opera House makeover, the Art Gallery of NSW, and Governor Phillip and Governor Macquarie Towers, Hilton Sydney has been redefined to become a contemporary hotel of this time.

The new-look hotel adds an abundance of space, natural light and capacity to the existing structure and was developed in sympathy with the grain, texture, scale and materials of the Town Hall and Queen Victoria Building heritage precinct.

From material choice to furnishing styles, Hilton Sydney's aesthetics will please guests with an eye for quality. Limestone lobby floors and walls create feelings of space and light, while extensive use of timber combined with plush fabrics provide a luxurious feel. State-of-the-art digital lighting has also been installed to create an ambient mood.

Features of the new Hilton Sydney include the removal of the original blank box five-story podium building to create a dramatic, sun-filled 20-meter lobby in the heart of the site that proudly displays Australian sculptor Bronwyn Oliver's aluminum masterpiece. Oliver's coiling spiral design is suspended from the lobby ceiling and twists down four levels into the spacious atrium. The breathtaking sculpture, featuring thousands of tiny aluminum pieces, took Oliver, an engineer, and a meticulous team of welders almost nine months to assemble.

Hilton Sydney is also home to a restaurant and bar designed by New York-based designer Tony Chi. Glass brasserie will be run by highly awarded local chef Luke Mangan, while renowned Sydney bartenders Grant Collins and Mike Enright will manage exclusive Zeta bar.

EVENTS & CONFERENCING

Located in the very heart of Sydney with immediate access to the city's vibrant attractions, the new-look Hilton Sydney offers the largest hotel conference space in Australia. Purposely designed and built for the conference, events and exhibition industry, the hotel offers four dedicated levels of space totaling 4,000 square meters and with a combined capacity for 3,000 delegates.

Hilton Sydney now features 23 events and conferencing spaces, including seven meetings rooms, two boardrooms, six specialty function rooms, a grand ballroom, a business center, and conference secretariat offices. The ballroom is the most sophisticated and technologically advanced in the Australian hotel market. With capacity for 1,200 theater-style delegates, it features animated lighting, concert-level sound systems and WiFi networking. Motorized trusses enable unprecedented event turnover to save you time and money, while our glass walls open to allow vehicle entry into the ballroom, three floors up.

An exhibition hall adjoins the ballroom offering space for over 100 exhibition booths and allows immediate access between events, while plasma-screen directional signage guides delegates to their meeting spaces. Multiple doors, expansive breakout space and numerous escalators are designed to transfer delegates smoothly and efficiently between all areas. Guest check-in and check-out facilities are located on two of the conference levels and in the spacious ground floor entrance lobby. Ample facilities can be found on every level with excellent access for those with special needs.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

At Hilton Sydney, food and beverage facilities include the Tony Chi-designed glass brasserie and Zeta bar, the heritage-listed Marble Bar, a street side casual eatery called Cafe Cino, and the contemporary George Adams Bar overlooking the streetscape.

An Australian first in hotel food and beverage, glass brasserie combines the internationally acclaimed interior design of New York designer Tony Chi, the exceptional culinary expertise of highly awarded local restaurateur Luke Mangan and the inspirational palette of Master of Wine Dr. Ron Georgiou to create an Australian evocation of the classic French brasserie.