{"id":42210,"date":"2016-06-16T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T01:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=42210"},"modified":"2018-05-14T05:59:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T19:59:12","slug":"the-newish-old-clare-hotel-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/the-newish-old-clare-hotel-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The (newish) Old Clare | Hotel review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cChippendale? Never heard of it. Where\u2019s Chippendale<\/a>?\u201d\u00a0Cool Sydney friend says to me (from Brisbane).<\/p>\n

*Feeling smug* I say, \u201cWell, I can tell you all about it\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chippendale<\/a> is right on Sydney\u2019s<\/a> city fringe \u2013 only a short cab ride to work for me (or a slightly longer walk for those so inclined) \u2013 but it feels like you are well out of it.<\/p>\n

Chippendale is home to so-cool-it-hurts boutique hotel The Old Clare<\/a> by the hospitality group Unlisted Collection. I only know this fun fact because the pens gracing each room bear Unlisted Collection branding – they are damn good pens and I\u2019m building up a little collection.<\/p>\n

I first stayed in The Old Clare a few months after it opened in 2015 and\u00a0I felt like\u00a0I\u2019d uncovered a hidden gem. Alas, the best places CANNOT be kept secret and at time of writing this (draft written old-school-style with aforementioned pen) the folk at Gourmet Traveller had just awarded\u00a0The Old Clare<\/a> Hotel Boutique Hotel of the year in their 2016 Hotel Guide Awards.<\/p>\n

But you want to hear about the hotel, right?<\/p>\n\"\"\n

It\u2019s built on the site of an old hotel called, unsurprisingly, The Clare, and a Carlton United Brewery building. But instead of ripping down two old gems (which, I guess they couldn\u2019t, being heritage listed) and popping up a new building in their place, the design adapts the two buildings, turning them into a hotel where the history is still evident at every turn, but where the gritty rawness of exposed bricks and old fittings is mixed with lush, beautiful details.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

It\u2019s a boutique hotel so it\u2019s not huge, but every room feels like it\u2019s been given some special, individual attention.<\/p>\n

And they have attitude.<\/p>\n

You know those generic-hotel-room-folders with room service menus, emergency contacts, pool opening hours and how-to-dial-an-outside-line instructions? Well at The Old Clare, they call it what it is, a Curated Selection of Informative Stuff AKA Random Crap. And sitting on top of this black folder was THE PEN!!!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The rooms are a fab combo of timber, vintage scandi-style furniture, exposed concrete walls and pops of colour.<\/p>\n

I only have time to do a quick reconnoitre around my room before we duck out for food.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

There are three restaurants (plus The Clare Bar) connected to The Old Clare<\/a>:\u00a0Automata, Silvereye and Kensington Street Social. Between them, they will satisfy whatever hunger or thirst you\u2019ve got. Whether you want to do it with a seven-course wine matched degustation or with a sharing plate and a cocktail called Vegemiteini. There\u2019s also a cocktail at Kensington Street Social called Hipster Breakfast which seems to combine two of my favourite things: banana bread and cold drip coffee\u2026<\/p>\n

But I digress, because none of these had opened when I visited!<\/p>\n

Instead, we stumbled across this cute alley, which was reminiscent of Asian hawker culture.<\/p>\n

Spice Alley was a paved street which was loud and bustling, with the tang of spices and smoke in the air. We spotted all the street food classics: Vietnamese rolls, laksa, roti, sambal and curry.<\/p>\n

My dining bud chose Gado Gado but I couldn\u2019t go past a\u00a0Hainanese chicken rice dish.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

We walked back the twenty-odd steps to the hotel and briefly contemplated a nightcap at The Clare Bar. It was tempting, but our beds were more so.<\/p>\n

Happily we were rewarded for our decision, because back in our rooms were pre-mixed, cork-stoppered glass bottles of The Clare Bar\u2019s Negroni. One of the world\u2019s best cocktails of gin and vermouth \u2013 and this version had Aperol rather than Campari \u2013 definitely an improvement.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Drink in hand I explored the bathroom. For me, toiletries might not break a hotel experience, but they can definitely make it. At The Old Clare<\/a>, they were by made by Triumph and Disaster and were large pump bottles rather than miniatures \u2013 perfect for a generous slather up under the rain shower. The fragrance took me straight to my hairdresser\u2019s chair \u2013 bliss.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Hair in towel-turban and terry towelling robe on (forgive me \u2013 it was actually fancy microfibre), next step was bed. Not just a bed, a Super King Sized Bed with the Best Pillows I\u2019ve Ever Slept On.<\/p>\n

Investigation proved I was floating in goose down, but there were definitely some clouds in there too.<\/p>\n

I slept the sleep of a girl who\u2019s lying on clouds, but also one who\u2019s gorged on Asian street-food and negronis.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The next morning, the morning of checking-out, I hopped back into the rain shower and was again transported back to my hairdresser\u2019s chair. I wrote the name of the toiletries down with THE PEN and vow to track them down,\u00a0because obviously they\u2019ll change my life.<\/p>\n

As always happens when travelling, my stuff refuses to jam itself back into my suitcase. Wrinkled clothes take up So Much Room. Happily, there\u2019s a bag in my room custom designed for this purpose. The Old Clare\u2019s bag for Odds & Ends AKA Random Crap (they totally GET Random Crap! My husband does not\u2026)<\/p>\n\"\"\n\"\"\n

Since that first visit I\u2019ve been back twice and have spread the word like I\u2019m the hotel\u2019s own roving sandwich board. I\u2019ve got three reasons for returning to The Old Clare again. Firstly, I never did track down the toiletries, and The Old Clare<\/a> is probably a bit more fun than the hairdressers. Secondly, the restaurants have all had raving reviews from my buds. And thirdly, THE PEN has run out of ink \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

\u00a0Have you stayed at The Old Clare? What was your favourite thing?<\/em><\/h2>\n