Light-filled spaces, industrial architecture and smart design details are the hallmark stamps of Ping Jin Ng, Russell Beard and Mark Dundon, the team behind Reuben Hills, Paramount Coffee Project and now the neighbourhood hotel on Commonwealth Street. From the website through to the minimalist lobby, every detail in the Paramount House Hotel has been carefully considered, meticulously placed and kept affectionately local.
The 29-bedroom hotel straddles the former Australian HQ of Paramount Picture Studios and its former film storage warehouse; the latter is where you’ll the timber floored, terrazzo-tiled guest rooms (some with chic Japanese timber bathtubs). Time Out stayed in the Sunny Room ($300p/n), which has a garden terrace built into the corner of the room with tall fiddle leaf figs and a metal table, so you can feel like you’re outside without enduring the sound of city traffic. It’s a beautiful, bare-brick space that adds to the open feel of the room.
Inside, there’s a green velvet-touch daybed and a selection of magazines if you’d rather not spoil the plush custom-made linen on the double bed. We’re straight into it, snuggling under the Seljak wool blankets as the air-con had been set to fiercely cold on a hotter than average April day. Plants and tree-trunk side tables soften what would otherwise be quite a cold warehouse space – and the golden orb lights give it a warm ambiance.
The room is kitted out with Aesop hand soap and cream, but also shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in the shower and toilet compartment. We say ‘compartment’ as the washroom is built into the space using frosted glass and black metal doors. It’s private enough that you’re not scaring the office workers in the building opposite – but probably more intimate than you might like with a first-time Tinder date. Shrug off that prudity by popping open one of the sour beers by Wildflower, brewed in Marrickville, and found in the mini-bar fridge that’s tucked away under the sink, which doubles as your dresser, kitchenette and bathroom mirror.
They’ve stocked it with a mini cheese platter from Ocello, cold cuts from LP’s Quality Meats, handmade marshmallows by Black Pantry and Hunted + Gathered organic chocolate – celebrating the diversity and sophistication of Aussie produce. The hotel staff, who are available 24 hours a day, are also happy to receive food deliveries as room service or arrange for a filtered coffee wake-up call from Paramount Coffee Project, downstairs.
For a more social evening, you’ve got the bar and independent cinema Golden Age downstairs, and across the road renowned restaurants Longrain and Chin Chin. Plus, from June 2018 there’ll be a new restaurant, Poly, also opening up in the Paramount building – which will be led by the team at five-star Chippendale eatery Ester.
The hotel’s in prime location for access to the city, but if you need to escape the bustle, you also have access to the new rooftop wellness gym, Paramount Recreation Club, where there’s health-focused Kiosk and fitness classes, ranging from calming yoga classes to a more strenuous run club. There’s no hotel pool, but borrow a beach towel from reception and you’ll find Prince Alfred Park Pool or Andrew Boy Charlton Pool 15 minutes’ walk away.
