Three rustic vases sit on a round marble coffee table. Colourful, modern art decorates curved walls. And chairs and couches with varying materials, including velvet and leather, dot the room.
It looks similar to how I envision the lobby of The Calile in Brisbane — a hotel I haven’t been to, but feel like I have, just from Instagram. But in fact, I’m far from there — an hour-long train ride and a 10-minute Uber from Sydney’s Town Hall (or an hour-long drive), in Penrith.
More specifically, I’m at Pullman Penrith, the suburb’s first five-star hotel, which boasts 153 rooms and suites and a fitness centre with a sauna, across its five levels. It was built alongside the adjacent Western Sydney Conference Centre for a combined cost of $110M, and both open this month. The hotel is also adjacent to Panthers Leisure and Entertainment Precinct on Mulgoa Road.
But it’s not Pullman Penrith’s chic interiors that General Manager, Glen Erickson, wants it to be known for — it’s its service. Over a media dinner the night of my stay, he tells us that he trains staff to interact with guests as they would their grandmother. Instead of pointing guests to where things are in the hotel, he encourages his staff to take them there.
“That old-school romantic idea of five-star experience where the concierge waits on you, where there’s a big focus on attention to detail; we want to give people that,” Erickson told Daily Mail Australia earlier this month.
“If you go for a run, someone can be waiting for you in the lobby with a towel and a bottle of water, or porters will open doors for you, that kind of thing.”
The thoughtful service can be experienced at the hotel’s first-floor venue Marcel Bar and Bistro, helmed by Executive Chef Colin Chun and where breakfast is included in the room rate, and at its lobby bar, Tori, a tasteful space of floaty curtains and cream colours.
If you want to head out and explore, Erickson suggests a walk along the Nepean River, a day trip to the Blue Mountains or a sky-dive at the next-door centre iFLY Downunder.
You can also attend a football game at the stadium, take in a theatre show at EVAN Theatre or simply not leave the hotel at all, watching TV from the flat-screen and ordering from the hotel’s sleep therapy menu, which includes pillow mist sprays, face masks and shower steam bombs.
The menu can be accessed from a tablet in the room, which can also be used to turn on background sounds and colours, and to adjust room lighting to help you sleep or wake up.
“There’s a lot of news about the journey that Penrith is going on, in regards to new infrastructure, leisure facilities, business parks and, of course, the Western Sydney International Airport,” says Erickson. “However, Pullman Sydney Penrith is satisfying a demand for premium accommodation, dining and events that already exist.”
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