The Best Beachside Hotels to Book in Sydney

Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel offers chic maritime-themed rooms
Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel offers chic maritime-themed rooms | Courtesy of Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel / Booking.com
Cassie Wilkins

The most cosmopolitan city in Australia may be best known for the stunning Sydney Opera House and the equally impressive Harbour Bridge, but the beaches are just as spectacular in Sydney. Shack up in a coastal bolthole near Bondi, rent a designer pad in Coogee or check into a luxury oceanview suite in Watsons Bay. Here are the best beach hotels and resorts in Sydney – all bookable with Culture Trip.

1. Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee Beach, for waterfront views

Chain Hotel

A private balcony at Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee Beach, with rope furniture and pool and ocean views
Courtesy of Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee Beach, an IHG Hotel / Expedia

A four-star beach resort overlooking the Coogee foreshore, Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee has bright and airy rooms, a tropical courtyard lounge, a taqueria and karaoke bar, and even an outdoor heated pool deck with sea views, just in case you don’t feel like braving the bay. For the ultimate stay, book the Reef Suite with floor-to-ceiling corner windows overlooking the beach.

2. Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, for wildlife spotting from South Head

Boutique Hotel

White-and-blue costal double bedroom at Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, with water views
Courtesy of Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel / Booking.com

On the South Head peninsula, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is one of the best-kept secrets in Sydney. Stay in one of the 32 funky nautical-themed rooms and enjoy beach holiday activities such as snorkelling and whale watching before hopping on a ferry direct to Circular Quay for those big city vibes. Come sunset, head down to the waterfront Beach Club to sip cocktails under a perfectly on-trend striped umbrella and watch the sun sink over the city skyline.

3. Coogee Sands Hotel and Apartments, for an independent stay

Hotel

An outdoor lounge and sitting area at Coogee Sands Hotel and Apartments, overlooking the ocean
Courtesy of Coogee Sands Hotel and Apartments / Hotels.com

This Sydney beach resort is so close to the water that you can almost touch the sand with your toes from your bed. Coogee Sands Hotel and Apartments is a stylish family-run affair, just off the Bondi to Coogee boardwalk. While all of the Coogee cafes and restaurants are also on your doorstep, all 80 rooms come with fridges, microwaves and coffee makers, plus the rooftop (an excellent sunset viewing spot) is all set up for a DIY barbecue if you feel like staying in. Push the proverbial boat out and treat yourself to an in-house massage for the ultimate seaside vacay.

4. Dive Hotel, for barefoot luxury

Boutique Hotel

A calming tan guest room at Dive Hotel, with wood floors, a black-and-white-striped headboard and a furnished patio
Courtesy of Dive Hotel / Booking.com

Dive is a wonderful home from home – if your home happens to be a classy heritage house steps from Coogee Beach. Exclusive in all the best ways, this contemporary cocoon is a small boutique hotel masquerading as a friendly, gloriously grown-up beach house, complete with a handful of fully bedecked ensuite rooms, a sunny communal courtyard and a colourful shared kitchen. Wake up and dive straight into the cool blue Tasman Sea within minutes.

5. QT Bondi, for hip surfer vibes

Boutique Hotel

A pared-back, comfy room at QT Bondi, with a pillowy bed and simple side tables with lamps
Courtesy of QT Bondi / Booking.com

The ultimate in coastal cool, QT Bondi knows how to reel you in hook, line and sinker. Ticking all the boxes – comfy beds, hip and quirky decor, a great location and even partnerships with a local gym and an artisan spa – QT is so quintessentially Bondi. Rooms come with rainfall showers, Bose music and Kevin Murphy amenities as standard. There’s no restaurant on-site, but nearby Porch & Parlour dishes up a mean potato rosti, topped with eggs, greens and bacon for breakfast.

6. Hotel Bondi, for ocean vistas and cold beers

Independent Hotel

A triple room at Hotel Bondi, with a crisp white colour palette, a wall-mounted TV and a pastel-coloured artwork
Courtesy of Hotel Bondi / Booking.com

Built in 1919, the three-star Hotel Bondi has been a staple on the Bondi foreshore for more than a century – though it’s undergone a fair few upgrades since then. Simple yet sophisticated, it’s everything you’d expect from one of the best beachside hotels in Sydney, including sea-view balconies, a downstairs bistro complete with a beer garden and even a bottle-o for all of your entertainment needs. Feel like a late one partying next to the sea? Head downstairs and join the lively nightly shenanigans.

7. Bondi Beach House, for retro chic

Hotel

A contemporary-rustic triple room at Bondi Beach House, with wood floors, stained-glass windows and a fireplace
Courtesy of Bondi Beach House / Booking.com

Walking past the palms into Bondi Beach House feels almost like entering a time warp back to the heyday of the 1950s. Offering year-round quirky tropical throwback feels, Bondi Beach House oozes character, from the sun-drenched courtyard and whimsical foliage to the handcrafted mugs and vintage furniture. The five intimate rooms feature breakfast nooks, complete with coffee, waffles, jam and organic muesli. Plus, the house is only two minutes from the surf. Too easy.

8. Hotel Ravesis, for late nights in Bondi Beach

Hotel

A pared-back yet chic room at Hotel Ravesis, with one bed set against an upholstered headboard and cut-out-inspired art
Courtesy of Hotel Ravesis / Booking.com

One of the most iconic buildings on the Bondi beachfront, Hotel Ravesis is a real art deco treasure with serious Wes Anderson vibes. Dating back to 1914, it perfectly fuses the old and the new with an inspired retro aesthetic – whether it’s in the mid-century furniture in the bedrooms or the bourbon and grapefruit cocktails downstairs. Don’t miss the DJs who grace the stage at the in-house nightclub.

9. The Baxley Bondi, for wallet-friendly style

Hotel

A crisp white hallway at the Baxley Bondi, with framed artwork between the doors and a potted plant
Courtesy of The Baxley Bondi / Booking.com

The epitome of affordable beach chic. The Baxley is what you’d get if the Hamptons met Byron Bay in a boutique mansion on a quiet tree-lined street in the heart of Bondi. The result is a relaxing hideaway, complete with whitewashed walls, rainfall showers and gourmet treats in the mini-fridges. Almost equidistant to Bondi Beach, Tamarama and Bronte, the Baxley Bondi is not quite beachfront, but it’s a pleasant 20-minute walk or five-minute drive to the seashore.

For more stays by the coast, take a look at the best beach hotels throughout Australia, bookable with Culture Trip.

This is an updated rewrite of an article originally by Paris Donnatella Callan.

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