InterContinental Sydney's $120 million refurbishment takes full advantage of its harbour views

For a city obsessed with harbour views, Sydney hotels, with a few notable exceptions, have never really quite maximised them or even incorporated rooftop spaces into their designs.

Take the 32-level, 509-room InterContinental Sydney where the rooftop floor, with its arresting views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, once could only be enjoyed by houseguests and those who paid the premium for exclusive Club InterContinental Lounge access.

Well, that's all changed, and, er, hasn't. Allow us to explain: thanks to a $120 million refurbishment by interior design dynamos Woods Bagot, the original Club InterContinental space has been absorbed by the new and plush — and open to the public — Aster bar, while Club InterContinental has moved to level 31, effectively the floor below.

Far from a sleight, the new lounge, which offers exclusive privileges for houseguests only, comes with blooming good views of the Royal Botanic Gardens, resplendently green from the recent incessant rain, as well as the harbour and Opera House.

In design terms, both Aster and Club Intercontinental receive the blue end of the Woods Bagot colour palette, designed to accentuate the watery tonings of the harbour. Other parts of the hotel are infused with dark greens in tribute to the adjacent 30-hectare historic harbourside gardens.

The hotel's enclosed rooftop pool, near the lounge, is another asset, with the establishment's upper level's spruced-up suites and rooms, some with club access, also offering some of the city's best vistas.

Among privileges for lounge guests is breakfast served with Club-only access to Aster, with lunches and dinners hosted in the new Club InterContinental reserved for Club guest-only use.

While Aster, with its own al fresco terrace, has been operating for some weeks, the new Club InterContinental is set to open on December 28, just before Sydney's world famous New Year's Eve fireworks display.

The writer was a guest of InterContinental Sydney. See sydney.intercontinental.com