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Capella Sydney

Capella Sydney occupies a sandstone government building on Farrer Place, in the heart of the city. Built in 1912 by the architect George McRae — the same hand behind Sydney Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building — it once housed the Department of Education. The Edwardian Baroque facade is unchanged; above it, a modern extension in fluted stone and curved glass sets back from the original roofline, adding height without disturbing the street. Inside, 192 rooms and suites are fitted around the building's original proportions, many keeping their arched windows and carved cornices. Brasserie 1930, Aperture and McRae Bar sit at ground level, opening onto Farrer Place and Loftus Street. On the sixth floor, Auriga Spa holds a 20-metre pool, lit from above through the building's original roof lanterns. Circular Quay and the Opera House are a short walk away.

The 1912 sandstone facade on Farrer Place
The 1912 sandstone facade on Farrer Place
A Deluxe King Room at Capella Sydney
A Deluxe King Room at Capella Sydney
Brasserie 1930 at street level
Brasserie 1930 at street level
A Skyline Room, looking onto the city towers
A Skyline Room, looking onto the city towers
McRae Bar at street level
McRae Bar at street level
Twin beds in a Premier Room
Twin beds in a Premier Room
The seating corner of a Deluxe Room
The seating corner of a Deluxe Room
The restoration took seven years. Make Architects and BAR Studio kept as much of the original fabric as possible — the sandstone walls, the ceiling heights, the weight of a building that has stood on this block since Federation-era Sydney. Local wood, wool and stone run through the interiors, set against mid-century furniture and custom linens. It is one of the few hotels in the city built inside a heritage building, rather than beside one.
Aperture — the garden atrium under its lantern pendants

Sandstone, restored

A government building since 1912, reimagined as a hotel without losing its bones. Capella Sydney sits inside the city's heritage, not beside it.

Farrer Place, Sydney CBD — a sandstone government building on a full city block

192 rooms and suites, across eleven storeys

Brasserie 1930, Aperture and McRae Bar, at street level

Auriga Spa — a 20-metre pool beneath heritage roof lanterns

Opened 2023 — the 1912 building, restored over seven years

A treatment room at Auriga Spa

Auriga Spa, level six

A Tower Room at dusk, facing the sandstone clock tower
A Tower Room at dusk, facing the sandstone clock tower
A Skyline Room above the terrace planting
A Skyline Room above the terrace planting

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