229 Darlinghurst Road - pretty much smack bang in the middle of this very "Synney" suburb, which real-estate agents tend to refer to breathlessly as "a lifestyle destination". A 40-room boutique hotel, the Kirketon has grown over the past eight years to embrace a bar and a restaurant - Eau de Vie and Fu Manchu (above) - which are on site but independently run, so guests are essentially getting a three-for-one deal. That Wi-fi is free throughout the property is sheer common sense; complimentary phone calls to anywhere in Oz are the icing on the boutique cake. Note that this is a heritage building (below), so they've not been allowed to install a lift - however, the staff are a) hunky b) obliging. If the New South Wales capital is the archetypal millennial city, then the Kirketon's an utterly Twenty-Fifteen kip.

the Kirketon's rooms (below) are not overly large - ranging from 17 to 28 square metres - and none can claim a harbour view, or indeed any sort of panorama to speak of. However, they are incredibly snug and decked out with plenty of mirrors and metallic hues - Australian rather than Arabian nights, you might say. Rooms are endowed with MicroCloud bedding, which fervently encourages early bedtimes and long lie-ins, while the super-powerful showers could well be branded Victoria Falls. Expect all the usual audio-visual initials - LCD TV, CD, DVD - though, if you're doing Sydney properly, you shouldn't have the time or the inclination to fossick for the remote.

you'll have to head out of the hotel for breakfast and lunch but there's no shortage of choice nearby, e.g. boutique bar-cum-café Tigerbakers. Come suppertime, Fu Manchu beckons. Dubbed The Fu, it hitched its wagon to the hotel a couple of years ago, and - with a pedigree stretching back two decades - has flourished as a result. Glossy wooden tables, traditional screens and paper lanterns act as the canvas for a menu that's catholic Chinese with tinges of Asian. So expect to see Beijing dumplings and Malay lamb shank curry as well as a range of vegetarian/coeliac dishes. The wine list embraces a raft of teas, a trio of sakes, a respectable coterie of Aussie reds and whites, and - what else? - Mountain Goat Pale Ale.