Three reasons to stay at Ovolo Woolloomooloo: Sydney harbour views, funky art, free minibar

What and where is it? Heritage meets funky at this glam new hotel on Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf (above). Its 100 guest rooms, ranging from a “suparoo” double over­look­ing the street to an “ultraroo” loft apart­ment, with city and wharf views, are all deco­rated in a style best described as cool with a side of humour.

How so? Sassy quotes are lit up in neon scroll, esoterically framed prints brighten the walls, and cushions in expensive fabrics are slung casually onto designer chairs. The quirky mix­ture of furniture makes you feel as if you’re sleeping over at the house of a hip architect.

Woolloomooloo Wharf has a fantastic name, but what is it? Jutting into Sydney Harbour and also known as Finger Wharf, this wonderful building is the longest timber-piled quay in the world. It was built 101 years ago and has operated variously as a wool-processing centre, a naval hub and an immigration arrivals point. It closed in 1970 and sat derelict for two decades until it was reimagined as a complex of restaurants, apart­ments and, now, the Ovolo.

Woolloomooloo was the name of the home­stead and property that originally occupied this inner-city suburb. Its exact origins are unclear but it is most likely an anglicised derivative of the Aboriginal words wala-mala, meaning “burial ground” or, more fittingly, wallamullah, meaning “place of plenty”.