Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Superior room balcony
Sydney is home to a story that’s been written over decades, and it’s still not finished
When Qantas opened The Wentworth in 1966, it claimed two titles at once: Australia’s first international five-star luxury hotel, and the largest brick building in the southern hemisphere. The buzz around its opening was so electric, close to 20,000 Sydneysiders turned up that first weekend just to see inside. They wandered the hotel’s ground floor, foyers, and public areas, taking in the futuristic design and sheer luxury of the city’s new landmark.
A sterling guest list followed, including Queen Elizabeth II and other royals, Audrey Hepburn, Sir Elton John, and Bill Gates. Reportedly, so did Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, who visited Sydney as part of their world tour following the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The Wentworth has been proving hotels can be more than somewhere to sleep ever since, with the ballroom as much of a draw as the luxurious rooms above. It’s been the space where Sydney marks its biggest occasions since the doors opened, host to six decades of weddings, launches, and milestones for generations of Sydneysiders, not just the famous names who’ve stayed the night.
Now Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, it remains one of Sydney’s prime places to gather.
Dinner, with history attached
You feel this most in Tilda, the hotel’s One-Hatted, 110-seat restaurant, where the menu is contemporary Australian and produce-led, with dishes cooked over a charcoal oven. The room itself transports diners to an alternate universe of sorts, a world away from the hum of Phillip Street outside. It’s a heady atmosphere with a side of occasion refined over decades, muted yet present in every bite, every sip of Champagne.
This October, it’s more literal than usual. The Wentworth Cheesecake has been a part of the hotel’s story since its opening year, once so beloved that its recipe found its way into The Australian Women’s Weekly, whisked out of the hotel and into kitchens across the country. For the 60th anniversary, pastry chef Ashleigh Otto worked with Sofitel Sydney Wentworth’s Pastry Team to relaunch the recipe, bringing back the soft, buttery dessert, delicately laced with lemon zest and vanilla bean.
It returns as the final course of Tilda x Pommery Champagne Month, a degustation that moves between the hotel’s past and present. Expect Sydney rock oysters, duck liver parfait, and Murray cod, each course matched to a different expression of Pommery. Then, the cheesecake arrives, and the longevity of this legendary dessert becomes a lot easier to understand.
The 60th birthday celebrations continue into November, when MasterChef favourite Tommy Pham takes over Delta Rue, the hotel’s Vietnamese-French restaurant, for a month of Vietnamese-inspired menus, from a one-night seafood feast to long Saturday lunches.
Old bones with new life
The hotel’s iconic architecture and curved facade remain, all twenty storeys still rising above Phillip Street. What has changed is almost everything else. A $77 million transformation completed in 2024 brought redesigned rooms and suites, refreshed event spaces, and contemporary interiors, all while keeping the hotel’s distinctive architecture intact. The tower remains the anchor, with everything around it brought into the present.
Art on the side
Known as a Hotel of the Arts, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth has long had a piece of Sydney’s cultural life, with a relationship with the city’s arts scene that goes back almost as far as the hotel itself. That history takes in theatre, opera, and live performances. The longest-running link is a partnership with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, now in its third decade, which recently brought Wayne Tunnicliffe, the gallery’s Director of Collections, together with first-time Archibald Prize finalist Camille Olsen-Ormandy for a Paint and Sip evening at Tilda.
It’s a cultural connection that’s become part of the hotel’s identity, earning the Wentworth its Hotel of the Arts reputation.
Today, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth continues to add new chapters to the story, one guest, one evening of degustation or celebration at a time. And this month, one of those chapters comes with a cheesecake whose recipe has travelled close to a lifetime to reach the table in front of you.
The details
Tilda x Pommery Champagne Month runs throughout October for $249 per person, including the full menu and three Champagne pours. Available to the public and Accor+ Explorer members.
From Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October, Bar Tilda and Tilda will also mark International Champagne Day with L’Apero Pommery. Guests can enjoy a glass of Pommery for $28, or pair it with a snack for $37, choosing between Golden Potato Pave with taramasalata and chives, or Prawn Toast with Marie Rose sauce and green shallot. For something more generous, the Tilda Grand Seafood Platter comes with prawns, scallops, oysters, and trout on ice, alongside a bottle of Pommery, for $210.
Tommy Phan x Delta Rue launches on 29 October with Tommy’s Seafood Social ($119) and runs throughout November, with Pham’s Long Lunch every Saturday ($129), Hanoi Sticks & Sips charcoal grilling on the Wentworth Bar terrace from 5 November, and Sit Down with Tommy Pham on 26 November ($169). Bookings and details at detaruesydney.com.
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