Introducing Aiden Darling Harbour:
Curious, characterful & current Lobby and Wayfarer's Bar and Cafe, Images coutesy of Aiden Darling Harbour
By Mandy Clarke, Editor
With a shared love of travel, Nicolas and Frank talked about creating their own hotel featuring the finest elements from their favourite hotels around the world.
A boutique hotel “built for travellers by travellers” has opened in Sydney, and its proud team are warmly welcoming guests into Aiden Darling Harbour, a beautifully remodelled Art Deco building that’s future focused while respecting its past. Created by Sydneysider Nicolas Chen, the hotel offers guests a quintessential “local experience” inspired by the “people, produce and past of the neighbourhood”. The interiors cleverly reflect the hotel’s location, from the Sydney Harbour blue plush velvet bedheads, to fluted glass touches mirroring the shape of Pyrmont Bridge, the 200-piece sculptural light feature in the lobby emulating dappled sunlight through eucalyptus leaves, to the locally made furnishings, décor, and art works. The Art Deco building was originally erected in 1938 as
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AccomNews - Autumn 2022
In 2018, Nicolas quit his career as a lawyer and devoted time to the transformation of Aiden Darling Harbour, which officially opened on February 1, 2022.
Nicolas Chen
a modest cereal and grain storage facility on Pyrmont’s Murray Street, directly opposite the historic Pyrmont Bridge. At the time Pyrmont was a hub of working wharves, sugar refineries, a worldclass incinerator, sandstone quarries and railways. In the following years, the property accommodated various commercial businesses until 2006, when Nicolas and his father Frank, a seasoned property developer, purchased the building.
Nicolas told us: “My father and I love travel and love the world of hospitality. We’ve always wanted to create something like this, and after some 30 years of property development, we finally took the plunge and decided let’s do it, let’s create our own hotel. “The great cities of the world where space is at a premium, Paris, London, New York, Hong Kong, all do hotels so well. Considered, well-appointed hotels with personalised service and all the tech features savvy travellers look for. We wanted to bring the same sort of experience to Sydney.” Nicolas’ vision was to create a hotel “compact in nature, curious in character, and personalised in experience”. He worked with Sydney interior design studio
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Tom Mark Henry to achieve a design which continues the story of the building, honouring its heritage by maintaining original features and framework and introducing contemporary interiors across its eight floors. The “old-meets-new” design combines exposed brickwork, original windows, and a curved Art Deco facade. The interiors also have art deco motifs such as reeded glass and bronze accents that are partnered with contemporary soft furnishings, bespoke artworks, and high-quality modern bronze fittings, in the bathrooms. The hotel’s 88 guest rooms have been thoughtfully designed to maximise every inch of space with curved-cornered furnishings, smart storage, intelligent room layouts, dual-use features and sliding fluted glass bathroom doors. The light and bright interiors feature vibrant murals of native flora handpainted by artist in residence, Jessica Le Clerc. Select rooms also have exclusive views of an otherwise hidden 25-metrehigh "evergreen" mural of lush subtropical rainforest. P20