Former home of Fairfax Media remains a stunning building (and an excellent hotel)

The hotel

Paradox Sydney

Check-in

There’s some fine heritage here. This hotel is the ancestral home of the very publication you are reading, the place where the Fairfax family trod the floors and harvested the rivers of gold (classified advertising). Alas, those rivers now flow to the likes of Google and Facebook. If only they shared the social conscience of some of the newspaper proprietors of old. But we digress. Check-in is fast and simple and with a smile. We’re here on a Luxury Escapes package and reception make sure we know all the benefits that come with that (see ‘Essentials’ below).

The look

This sandstone, beaux-arts style building was completed in its current form in 1930. In 1955 it was vacated by the newspaper publishers to become home for a bank and then, after a major renovation in 2000, it became the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel. The Vancouver-based Paradox Group took it over in July 2025. There are nods to heritage throughout – a typewriter is a curio on display at reception, breakfast is in the Lady Fairfax restaurant. The colour scheme is monochrome or subdued, through the halls and with the staff uniforms. The shape of the building, the way it curves to meet the corner of O’Connell and Pitt streets, makes for an interesting interior, with art-deco style light fittings leading you to the lifts as though you’re walking along a velodrome.

The room

We’re in a Deluxe Balcony room up on the 11th floor. It’s a generous 34 square metres and features glass doors for city views and if you happen to forget which city you’re in, you could open those doors and step out on the small balcony for a glimpse of that fabulous Harbour Bridge. The room comes with a desk and coffee table and big flat screen TV for live TV or streaming. In the cabinet below there’s an empty bar fridge (big tick there) and beside the TV is a pod coffee machine. The bed is a comfortable king and there’s a pillow menu if you’re into that. The bathroom is big, with the sense of space enhanced by multiple mirrors. It comes with a bath and separate shower and plenty of shelf space around the vanity. The products are in refill dispensers and come from UK-based Miller Harris.

Food + drink

The Fax Bar is the place for a drink and anything from light snacks to a full meal (the menu mirrors the in-room dining options) and the chicken and avocado tacos are a highlight. Breakfast is buffet style in the Lady Fairfax room with plenty of fresh fruit, pastries, cereals, cold cuts and a chef at the station to cook omelettes to order. You can make friends at the conveyor-style toaster which a snail could easily outrun. Breakfast can get crowded, but tables turn over quickly. The more formal Bentley Restaurant is part of the building but with a separate entrance, here it’s fine dining either a la carte or with a tasting menu from $240 a head. For weekday guests, there are food courts every which way in this part of the city.

Out + about

There’s a pool and fitness centre on site, but if you need to leave the hotel, then walk out the Pitt Street entrance, turn right, and Circular Quay is just 10 minutes away. From there, you can trace the harbour through the Royal Botanic Gardens or head west toward Barangaroo. The Art Gallery of New South Wales is a 15-minute stroll across the Domain, while the retail heart of the CBD is right on your doorstep.

The verdict

An excellent base for a Sydney city stay – they’ve embraced the building’s heritage and deliver their hospitality with friendly and efficient service.

Essentials

Paradox Hotel Sydney, 27 O’Connell Street. For Traveller readers, the Luxury Escapes package here for two includes daily breakfast, two drinks at Fax Bar, a $50 credit at that Bar or for in-room dining or the Lady Fairfax Room and a 1pm check-out. From $599 for two nights, on sale until June 29.
See luxuryescapes.com/paradox

Our rating out of five

★★★★½

Highlight
A seat, a snack and a drink in the Fax Bar, with the city and Pitt Street framed by those arched windows.

Lowlight
Not much wardrobe space, if you’re of the kind who likes to unpack completely.

The writer was a guest of Luxury Escapes (luxuryescapes.com) and the Paradox Sydney.