Located in the heart of Darling Harbour, the Novotel Sydney Darling Square Hotel is a mid-scale hotel appealing to both business and leisure travelers and part of the Accor Hotels chain.

Bates Smart won a design competition to reposition the hotel in early 2016. With a modest budget, the Novotel’s owners, Frasers Hospitality Asset Management, wanted to achieve a fresh, streamlined identity and a feeling of ‘easy modernity’ in keeping with the Novotel brand platform. The brief required a streamlined check-in and lobby experience and a new look, feel and functionality for the ground level bar and all-day dining.

Our design team opted to retain and reuse existing materials wherever possible, this was achieved by overcladding the existing balustrading, columns and double height walls. In order to broaden the hotel’s appeal to a wider market, a refreshing youthful palette was employed and overlaid with pattern, texture and natural materials inspired by the local context. Natural dry stone walling, limed oak and white washed timbers are enhanced with low level lighting.

A local artist was commissioned to create a series of birds for the dining room wall in a subtle gesture towards the Accor logo.