Tucked away snug in the maze of Surry Hills, Little Albion Guest House is as hidden as the many speakeasies and cafés of this hip Sydney suburb. This boutique hotel offers so much more than a bed for the night in a part of Sydney that’s always conspicuously lacked accommodation options.

Surry Hills – arguably Sydney’s coolest suburb – sits right on the gap between the city and Sydney’s Eastern suburbs towards the coast. It’s the part of Sydney that we called home for over a decade, and so it holds a place close to our hearts.

From gritty urban to gentrified urbane, Surry Hills has seen a great deal of rapid changes in recent years.

And the days of Surry Hills’ gloomy, derelict past still fray the hems of its well-tailored present-day outfit. It’s probably this edge that has made this particular suburb so very likeable.

For a long time, it was the undiscovered cool part of Sydney – but now pretty much everybody knows about it.

That hasn’t stopped it being cool. In fact, there are more small bars cafes and restaurants opening up than ever before.

However, the one thing Surry Hills was missing for a long time was somewhere to stay that fit the rest of this eminent suburb’s hipster aesthetic.

Now alongside the coolest bars and restaurants in Sydney, some of the coolest boutique hotels are popping up.

One of these spots is the Little Albion Guest House.

Take a look around as we walk you through with our video.

Little Albion Guest House

Visiting the Little Albion Guest House feels like you’ve been let in on a local secret. There are no signs to it and as you walk down a tiny alley, you’ll see a small gate that belies the true scale and design to be found inside.

With a mix of 1920s glamour and 1970s boheme, Little Albion Guest House is the perfect boutique hotel that fits into the Surry Hills persona as if it’s always been here.

Melding the old with the new, the architects have created a perfect blend from the old school yard and church buildings on the southern side to the new buildings on the northern side.

And although the design is very cool, the welcome is very warm as we arrive. The Little Albion still manages to give that comfort of a home away from home.

The rooms

There’s a range of different room types spread out across the buildings – from small crash pads for a night in the city to the Little Albion’s suite ‘Big Albion’, where you can relax and stay for longer.

Our Standard Room had a large bed, a generous bathroom with a beautiful freestanding bath and stunning rain shower, and one of the biggest TVs we’ve seen in a hotel room.

As well as looking good, our standard room is functions beautifully too. A lot of care has gone into the details here and it shows.

There’s enough space in our room to relax and work too. Amenities include a robe and slippers, sweet treats from Whisk & Pin, T2 tea and a Kitchenaid kettle.

Service and facilities

From where you check in, there’s a sunken lounge in the lobby area and a small patio outside where guests can also relax.

There’s also a beautiful little rooftop terrace, where you can even see our old home from! The wrought iron furniture gives the space a pretty Parisian summer feel.

Downstairs you’ll find an espresso machine, free to use any time of day as well as the cutest honour bar. Set up like a local small bar’s mixologist station, you can craft a cocktail or if you’re feeling lazy, you can pour out one of the bottled pre-mix cocktails from the fridge.

Alternatively, grab some wine or a local craft beer and relax downstairs or take them back up to your room.

The neighbourhood

Once you’re all checked in, you can exit directly onto Albion street or sidle through the side lane of Little Albion St, and then you’ve got Sydney’s best cafes, bars and restaurants in walking distance.

If you’re not sure where to go, the hotel will happily share some insider knowledge from their ever-increasing list of uber-cool venues to wine, dine and unwind. But for our sake, you should stop in at our old local, The Royal Albert, and try some great Aussie craft beers and sample their drool-worthy dumplings and burgers.

Little Albion Guest House

21 Little Albion Street
Surry Hills, Sydney
#littlealbionguesthouse

We’re thrilled to see the standard of accommodation in Surry Hills grow and whether you’re a leisure traveller or in Sydney for business, the Little Albion Guest House is in a brilliant spot.

We’re big fans of staycations and love playing tourist in our own city. There was something so cool and comforting being back in our old stomping ground Surry Hills that you feel like a local.

We’re adding the Little Albion Guest House to our list of where to stay in Sydney and we definitely recommend you check it out the next time you’re looking to stay in town.

And if you wanted to make it one of the most spectacular stays, it’s possible to rent the entire place out. You can book The House out either directly or via a world-first collaboration with AirBnB (click on this link to grab some AirBnB credit btw).

We could imagine hiring the whole building for an epic anniversary party or a special birthday where all of your guests could party into the night.

Do you love a staycation in your own city? Is a visit to Sydney on your bucket list?