With its red velvet curtained lobby and dramatic black and white portraits of Australian actors, Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point delivers a showstopping welcome. It’s the sort of welcome you’d expect in a neighbourhood that has long been a playground for artists, performers, misfits,and colourful characters.
Tucked away in the surprisingly quiet Kings Cross Road, near Pennys Lane and just a few steps back from the Cross’s iconic Coca-Cola sign, the hotel’s theatrical vibe is a fitting backdrop for a night of Australian theatre. We checked in ahead of seeing the Griffin Theatre Company’s production of The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin.
Even more fittingly, our stay and theatre visit coincided with Sydney Mardi Gras. The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin caused a huge stir when it premiered 50 years ago with its story of the persecution of a gay elocution teacher. Two years later, the first Sydney Mardi Gras was held to highlight injustices experienced by the LGBTQIA+ community.
Thankfully Australia today is a very different country from that time and as we returned to the hotel after seeing The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin – blown away by the performance we had just seen — there was nothing but joyful celebration amongst the Mardi Gras revellers.
In the public spaces and 105 guest rooms of the Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point, there’s a playful nod to the bohemian and LGBTIQ+heritage of Kings Cross. Pink furnishings and neon accents add pops of colour to our 11th floor room, while the wall mural at the head of the bed is a black and white image of local doors,balconies and archways illuminated by a red light (of course).
A copy of the Robin Dalton classic, Aunts Up The Cross, rests in a bronze bookend shaped like a hand. I barely get past the first chapter during our one-night stay but I earmark the book as one I need to order from my local library.
Sydney’s first Hotel Indigo
The Potts Point hotel opened in January 2024 and is Sydney’s first Hotel Indigo. Part of the worldwide IHG Hotels & Resorts chain, it has views of Sydney Harbour and the Bridge, but the Opera House is obscured by a tall building in front of our window.
Our room isn’t overly spacious – there’s one bright pink chair and a bench-style settee in addition to the king-sized bed — but there’s a clever use of space with an open wardrobe and a bathroom basin set into the bench doubling as a room divider, such that it’s all very comfy and practical.
There’s clever use of space in the hotel lobby too, with the lounge area converting to a breakfast room each morning.‘The X’ offers a generous array of buffet breakfast options, despite being arranged in a relatively small space. There are hot and cold dishes to choose from, cereals, fruit, pastries, and barista coffee.
Within walking distance of the hotel, there’s no end of bars and restaurants to choose from. We loved the meal we had at Grape Garden Restaurant in nearby Bayswater Road. Everything from the dumplings to the duck pancakes was seriously good and it wasn’t expensive. This neighbourhood eatery is unlicensed; you can bring your own alcohol.
Pet-friendly hotel
The hotel is pet-friendly. You’re allowed one dog per room as long as it’s under 30kg. There’s also a teeny amount of car parking. Public transport and Ubers are easy from here.
As part of its ongoing support of the local arts community, the hotel is currently collaborating with the Griffin Theatre Company in a Stay & Show package that includes tickets to The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin.
This landmark play, a dark comedy-tragedy about an elocution teacher who is a closeted gay man, is marking its 50th anniversary with a run at the Belvoir St Theatre, where it premiered in 1976.
It’s being staged by the Griffin Theatre Company, one of the country’s most respected homes for new and significant Australian theatre. The Griffin Theatre Company normally plays at the SBW Stables Theatre on Nimrod Street, a block from the hotel, but that site is currently under major development and is not due to reopen till next year.
In the meantime, you get to see The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin at the Belvoir in Surry Hills. The downstairs space at the Belvoir is very intimate, seating just 80 people, which means you’re sitting just metres from the play’s solo performer, Simon Burke.
Burke holds the floor for 90 minutes straight and is truly outstanding in the role. To say that we were mesmerized is an understatement – by the range of emotions, the powerful delivery, and the constant changing of clothes and props. How on earth did he remember all the lines and which props to use?
On the evening we saw the play, Burke got a standing ovation along with audible declarations of “wow”, “amazing”, “incredible” from the audience. Those were our thoughts too.
Stay & Show package
To celebrate the production of The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin, the Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point has partnered with the Griffin Theatre Company to launch a new Stay & Show package.
From $320 per room per night, the package includes overnight accommodation, two CINCiN Bellini cocktails, breakfast for two, and two tickets to the play.
The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin continues until March 29 and the Stay & Show package is also available until then. For more information and bookings, visit here.
Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point
14 Kings Cross Road, Sydney, NSW
Australia
Tel: +61 (0)2 9295 8888
hotelindigo.com/pottspoint
