Is this the most beautiful hotel in Australia? The experts think so

The old Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific was reflagged as Manly Pacific Hotel Sydney – MGallery Collection after a swift $30 million transformation in 2023. It was a necessary facelift for a dated hotel with a coastal design language aligned perfectly with the famous beach sitting opposite. But was it enough to make it one of the world’s most beautiful hotels?

Apparently so.

Manly Pacific Hotel Sydney – MGallery Collection now sits proudly as one of only 16 hotels honoured for its aesthetics at the prestigious Prix Versailles World Ceremony.

The award ceremony took place at the iconic UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on December 2, nodding to the world’s most beautiful museums, hotels, restaurants and airports. A panel of prolific global architects, designers and cultural leaders curated the shortlist. According to the ceremony, “all winners must exemplify outstanding design, while reflecting local heritage, innovation and sustainable practices.”

So the honour going to a hotel in Manly comes as surprise, especially since, from the outside at least, it looks like any other modern apartment building. But that’s not to say this isn’t a beautiful property inside, especially compared to what it used to look like.

The pool at Manly Pacific.
The rooftop pool is a major feature for Manly Pacific (photo supplied).

Is Manly Pacific one of the world’s most beautiful hotels?

Designers Coco Republic were brought on board to craft a hotel with an “elevated coastal vibe” that speaks to the natural beauty of the northern beaches. The soft, neutral palette and local references, such as custom surfboards, mirror the gentle coo of the nearby waves and help the hotel feel like an extension of the beach. Yet aside from that, there’s not much unique or show-stopping about the hotel’s design.

The Prix Versailles is often seen as the Nobel Prize of Architecture and Design, making it one of the most esteemed design prizes in the hospitality industry. The judging panel seems to take a more profound view of design in this sense, seeking buildings and spaces that have the “power to transform our society [and] make our lives more harmonious and connected, and inspire us to better inhabit the world.”

Does the Manly Pacific Hotel inspire its guests to inhabit a better world?

One of the world’s most beautiful hotels? Manly Pacific looks like any other from the outside (photo supplied).

A controversial history and several rebrands

After the original Hotel Pacific was demolished in 1977, the building became Manly Pacific International in 1982, Sydney’s first luxury seaside hotel and a symbol of the area’s sophisticated beach culture thanks to new owners, brothers Andrew and Tony Kalajzich. The duo built the hotel’s current form for a reported $17 million before selling it on in 1987.

Just one year after, the hotel made international headlines when Andrew Kalajzich was convicted of hiring a hitman to murder his wife, Megan, as she lay sleeping next to him at their home nearby in Fairlight.

The years following brought various rebrands, spinning the property through everything from ParkRoyal and Novotel but the shifts in identity squeezed all the personality out of the hotel. For years, the Novotel in Manly was considered one of the most uninspired properties in Sydney; a sad state of affairs and a box-ticking exercise for Accor.

Seeing the building now join the likes of Raffles Al Areen Palace in Bahrain and Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel in France is a shock.

“Winning the Prix Versailles is an extraordinary honour for the team at Manly Pacific, and is a testament to how design can elevate hospitality into an art form,” said the hotel’s General Manager, Dylan Cole.

“We are proud to be recognised on the global stage for creating a space that not only delights our guests, but also contributes meaningfully to the community and the environment.”

The Manly Pacific most recently kicked up its dining scene by welcoming Cibaria, a costal Italian restaurant by chef Alessandro Pavoni of a’Mare and Ormeggio at the Spit fame. With a dining scene rounded out by the hotel’s 55 North Lobby Bar and a simple rooftop pool overlooking the beach, and awards like this sitting behind it, it’s fast becoming one of Sydney’s most recognisable lifestyle hotels.


Manly Pacific Hotel Sydney – MGallery Collection

Address: 55 N Steyne, Manly NSW 2095
Contact: (02) 9977 7666
Average Nightly Price: $570

manlypacific.com.au


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