The Observatory is the only member of the prestigious Orient Express Hotels group in Australia and has won worldwide recognition including a Five Star Diamond award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences in 1999.
The hotel won 10 international and Australian awards in 1998 alone. The Observatory is an intimate, opulent hotel richly furnished in an ageless traditional style which gives it a very European feel matched with impeccable service.
The Observatory is located in a prestige residential area just outside Sydney's major traffic area yet close to the city's financial district, and the historic The Rocks. It is on one of the approach roads to the Sydney Harbour Bridge which allows easy access to North Sydney.
The hotel is on the western edge of the city overlooking Walsh Bay and the Parramatta River with interesting busy views of shipping facilities, ferry and leisure boat traffic. The Rocks area begins two blocks from the hotel's front door so guests can walk easily to many of its historic buildings, shops, boutiques, pubs and restaurants. The hotel has a limousine service and is readily accessible to taxis.
Guest room facilities include a huge range of audio visual entertainment including satellite television, in-house video and compact disc libraries and 24 hour television news.
Guest room windows open for people who prefer fresh air to individually controlled air-conditioning. Every room has four telephone and two telephone lines for travellers who need modem or facsimile connections.
The hotel has a 20 metre indoor heated pool and a tennis court just across the street from its front door.
Its Day Spa, Health & Leisure Club offers an amazing range of beauty and relaxation treatments for men and women as well as computerised exercise equipment for serious fitness devotees. Many beauty treatments and a choice of massages are available in-room.
The Observatory's award-winning signature restaurant Galileo features modern Australian cuisine with an Italian influence complemented by an extensive range of Australian and Italian wines. It has been loosely modelled on London's famous Venetian restaurant Harry's Bar. It opens daily for breakfast and dinner, Monday to Friday for lunch.
The club-like The Globe Bar offers a selection of contemporary Australian dishes ideal for a light lunch or post-theatre supper. The Drawing Room is an escape for guests to enjoy a quite place to read or take afternoon tea.