Presenting North Sydney’s new North Star: The Ascott Limited’s Citadines Walker
City living at its best! The new Citadines (French for ‘city dwellers’) is now complete, offering 252 rooms across 19 levels
Citadines Walker is the latest offering from The Ascott Australia, it stands as the tallest tower and boasts the highest room count in North Sydney.
A member of Ascott Australia’s leading portfolio of brands, Citadines (French for ‘City dwellers’) blends the best elements of cities into hotels through the property and the property team, referred to as ‘Citazens’.
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Citadines Walker combines comfort and flexibility to provide business and leisure guests with the best of city living. It offers a modern accommodation mix of stylish studio rooms and spacious suites with separate living and kitchenettes.
Managing Director Ascott Australia, David Mansfield told us: “Citadines Walker North Sydney will connect guests with comfortable and flexible accommodation in a blue-ribbon location, and a friendly team of ‘Citazens’ to connect guests with the very best experiences North Sydney has to offer.
“Citadines offers guests an attractive location to mix business and leisure. You can get work done, enjoy dinner and a drink, and immerse yourself in the surrounding cityscape. The mixed-use nature of 88 Walker St means it is a hub of activity compared to neighbouring mono use buildings.”
“Through brands like Citadines and lyf, Ascott Australia is investing in the infrastructure to grow the lucrative bleisure travel market in Australia, which is primed for growth across the APAC region. Ascott continues to build market share at speed through our hub and spoke approach, weaving our brands like Citadines and lyf together into a network that meets the needs of all travellers. With Citadines Walker North Sydney, and the upcoming lyf Sussex Sydney, Ascott Australia is supporting Sydney’s economic growth and the wider visitor economy.”
Citadines Walker’s innovative design embraces a unique two-story mezzanine featuring impressive double-storey windows. Level 5 houses reception and a guest lounge. Level 6 includes a Fitness Centre with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a business centre with a Boardroom and workstations.
A relaxed restaurant lounge and bar offering is set to open on level 5 next year.
This is the second Citadines Hotel to open in NSW and the fourth in the Australian market. and is a key part of the revitalisation of the North Sydney CBD, strategically located adjacent to the upcoming Victoria Cross metro station, which will connect North Sydney with Barangaroo in three minutes, and Martin Place in five minutes.
Currently, the Citadines brand represents 193 properties and over 33,500 rooms globally. The resurgent business travel market has seen Citadines become the fastest-growing hotel brand in The Ascott Limited’s global portfolio, with 21 new Citadines hotels opening this year.
According to the latest Tourism Research Australia National Visitor Survey results, Australians spent $2.4 billion on business travel in June 2023, a 41 percent increase on June 2022.
North Sydney is a key centre for business and Citadines Walker will serve a range of local industries including finance, professional services, media, healthcare and education. In 2022, the Business Services sector accounted for 61.0% of employment in the North Sydney Council area.
88 Walker St Architect and Partner at Fitzpatrick + Partners, Paul Reidy said: “The brief for the Citadines hotel was all about comfort, and the design brings a grounding minimalist feel. You feel connected to the beating heart of the city. We kept the bedrooms warm to dark, creating a cosy aesthetic that cocoons guests. The darker tones in the public spaces enable the strength of the concrete walls to feature prominently.”
“The Citadines brand signature connects you with cities, and with Citadines Walker the ground floor lobby serves as a public space. The mezzanine design across levels 5 and 6 uses impressive double storey windows to bring the surrounding cityscape inside the hotel. Within these public levels there are spaces for a shower if you arrive early, and spaces to work.”
“Blending the hotel amenities and reception together with the restaurant into a single vibrant space creates a unique atmosphere at Citadines Walker. The elaborately lit petal soffit to the tower above the eye-catching cantilever work to command attention and breathe life into the hotel exterior, providing a ceiling to Walker street, and a new North Sydney landmark.”
Mandy has over 17 years of accommodation and tourism industry writing experience and is Editor of AccomNews & Resort News, Publisher of SchoolNews & Director of Multimedia Pty Ltd. She is a retired registered nurse with a 25-year NHS career that followed a few unforgettable years in hotel housekeeping.
