Come share my pantry: boutique hotel unveiled for Sydney

 A new boutique hotel is set to open in Sydney’s busy Pyrmont/Darling Harbour precinct at the start of 2020, offering a premium location at what it promises will be "great-value rates" and a distinctive "home away from home" design. 

Cititel X Sydney will be a 60-room boutique hotel located on Murray Street, Pyrmont, with the central business district, International Convention Centre, and the restaurant districts of Darling Harbour, King Street Wharf, Chinatown and Barangaroo all within walking distance or accessible via light rail.

Featuring space-saving designs in the rooms, the emphasis of the new hotel will be on creating a home-like ambiance with the ground-floor guest lounge and pantry at the heart of the hotel. 

This area will offer comfortable seating, a garden terrace and a complimentary guest ‘pantry’ including water, soft drinks, espresso coffee, and premium teas so that guests can meet with friends and fellow guests.

The Cititel X will provide an all-inclusive concept with snacks and refreshments included in the room rate and available throughout the day in the guest lounge and pantry, which will also feature high-speed wifi to enable guests to work from the area. 

The hotel will deliver a co-living experience that has become very popular in Europe, changing the style of hotel experience from guests staying in their rooms to sharing living areas. 

Cititel X Sydney will provide cooking utensils and equipment so guests can prepare simple meals in the guest areas if they decide they want to dine in-house, taking advantage of supermarkets and food stores nearby.

The hotel will be the first Cititel X in Australia, joining a network of Cititel hotels in Malaysia, in prime locations including Penang, Ipoh and Kota Kinabalu.

General manager Klaus Kinateder said the hotel had been purpose-designed to fill a vacuum in the Sydney accommodation market.

“Previous co-living projects have been developed out of former student accommodation and didn’t offer the quality or facilities that international travellers – especially business travellers – were seeking,” he said. 

“We’ve designed the hotel to meet the fastest-growing sector of the travel market. Cititel X is not about massive rooms or services that travellers don’t really want. What we are offering is a 'home away from home’  experience. 

“Just as if you were to invite a friend to your home there will be pantry items available so you can share a cup of coffee with them or enjoy a snack. And even better for solo travellers who don’t really want to go out every night to a restaurant or café, they can pick up some items for dinner at the many food stores around the area and enjoy a quiet night in while they watch a video on their device, catch up on work or chill-out with other guests.

“In the future, we will look at organising special extras like pizza nights encouraging guests to meet each other, share their stories and feel welcome in the city.

"There won’t be lengthy check-in and check-out processes because effectively once a guest arrives just about every service in the hotel is included in their rate."

Cititel X Sydney is being developed by prominent Malaysian developer Boon Lee Tan.