Offering more than just a hotel, but a total lifestyle uplift for the Central Coast, the voco Gosford marks significant changes ahead for this beautiful region just an hour north of Sydney.
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I’ve often wondered why the Central Coast doesn’t hold bigger sway among domestic and international visitors. But with the first major hotel opening in the region for 15 years, I can finally rest easy and worry about something else!
Heralding what’s sure to be some major changes to the region’s profile, the voco Gosford by IHG opened its doors to guests in late 2025.
But it’s not just the 130 rooms across 11 storeys that spell this cultural epiphany for the Central Coast. It’s the rest of the building too.
The voco Gosford sits within the brand new Archibald Precinct, which brings six dining and hospitality options, including an elegant rooftop cocktail bar on the 28th floor with panoramic vistas across the landscape and over Brisbane Waters.
voco Gosford by IHG
As the winding Central Coast Highway twists us down to sea level, our attention moves from the sparkling waters of the bay to the impressive twin towers of the voco Gosford, its distinctive black and white sculpted walls standing taller than any other building in the area.
For now.
Evidence of major construction is poking up all over town, another sign that things here are changing.
The lobby
We’ve timed our drive north to Gosford poorly. We were hoping to pick up a pie from the legendary Shhmoakesy’s Gourmet Pies on the way in, but they run out by lunchtime. Instead, we see if our room’s ready for check-in. Two hours early.
The warmly lit and pleasantly scented lobby is also home to the welcoming Lobby Bar, which doubles up as a cafe during the day. At least we can spend an easy hour there if our room’s not ready.
But we’re in luck; the room’s ready and the friendly reception staff check us in and send us on our happy way. From the lobby, you can also take the stairs at the back to the main dining areas of the precinct. But that’s for later.
The room
Our room is up on the 11th floor, technically the top floor of the hotel. Above that, from 12 to 27, are high-end residential apartments.
The room is also right on the corner of the floor.
And it’s a king suite!
From the front door, a short passageway leads to the enormous bed with a chase and small dining table nearby. The bar fridge and tea caddy is in a cabinet that’s been made to look like a little drinks cart, which is fun.
The TV is tucked into another piece of custom furniture and is — like the bed — huge.
While I’m inspecting the TV and the curtains that cover the windows running the length of the wall, I notice chairs on the narrow balcony outside. I can’t see a door anywhere and jump to the conclusion that this must be a communal balcony. I’m initially outraged.
Then Christina finds the door.
Sliding behind the TV unit, the door opens to a full private balcony that wraps around the corner giving us wonderful views of the town below, the wooded hills and bushland around, and then all the way out to the bay and its coruscating waters.
As we peer down, we can also see the hotel’s rooftop pool and swim-up bar. This is down on the 5th floor — the top of the connecting building between the two towers.
The chairs I spotted — by the way — are ours.
Back in the room, we discover the bathroom behind a door we initially thought was one of those doors that connect to adjoining rooms. This is perhaps the best part of the room, with tactful lighting, a large vanity and luxurious amenities from Apotheke.
And then we see the giant, deep-fill bath tub and the striped tiling that mirrors the exterior walls of this hotel. The tiling continues into the roomy shower with its rippled glass art deco door that glides along on industrial style mechanism of polished brass.
The detail makes the difference
But it’s the details of the suite that give it that comfortable yet elegant edge.
It’s the brass finishes in the bathroom, it’s the (surprisingly satisfying) cyclonic directional flush of the WC, it’s the lush deep pile of the carpet, and best of all it’s the labels on the light switches and the USBs by the bed.
Too many times in too many hotels have we struggled to find the correct light switch, being left either blinded or broken-toed in the middle of the night. The multitude of illumination options here though are clearly signed, removing the guesswork.
If we had any negative points to make, they would be so minor: there are only two bath towels in the room (an easy fix) and the tap is a bit far from the sink, making it awkward to wash your hands and leaving a lot of drips on the vanity (an impossible fix).
Other than that, this room hits all the sweet spots.
The dining options
We’ve mentioned the Lobby Bar and the swim-up Pool Bar but that still leaves four other venues.
The pool bar, by the way, has complicated hours. On paper, its a 10am-8pm option, but in reality, staffing and weather can play a problematic part, so bear that in mind.
Behind the Pool Bar and on dry land, however, is Saltfire. This broad space is — for the moment — only open for breakfast, though this may change in the future. Breakfast is a buffet affair and one that offers the crispiest hash browns on earth. The bacon, though it might not look like it, is the tastiest I’ve had at a hotel buffet.
A big statement, but I’ll stand by it.
Downstairs on the ground floor is Archie’s. Once the Union Hotel, this is now set up to be ‘Gosford’s new local’, and it’s got everything you need for a good old pub and has a big, friendly family vibe.
It also operates as the bar for the two dining options here: Paolo’s Pizzeria and Ironbark.
We find our table at Ironbark and prowl through the menu, all the time glancing over at the dry-ageing cabinet stocked with huge slabs of beef. We’ve heard the tomahawk is excellent here.
The only problem is there are lots of other things catching our eye as we peruse the options. We even debate the pub classics for a while, but in the end settle on a couple of entrees and steaks.
In a way, I wish we’d gone for the burgers or parmies.
Sadly, the steak tartare didn’t really hit the spot for us. It was covered in a strange mayonnaise dressing and — rather than bread or crisps, the kitchen had taken pains to make their own potato sticks that didn’t stay crispy for long enough and weren’t the best vehicle for the tartare.
The steaks came out a bit under-done, which is usually fine by me, but the fat hadn’t rendered properly and the result was quite a sickly scotch fillet.
On the plus side, the portions are enormous. Both our steaks have us beat and we try to finish the side of broccolini, but fail there too. The wine list here also deserves a mention with plenty of NSW options, which we always enjoy seeing.
The glass of Robert Stein Shiraz — a Mudgee favourite of ours — goes down well with all the meat!
The nightcap
Our favourite part of the voco Gosford comes at the end of the night when we step out of the lift on level 28.
Astra, the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, is lovely.
With views almost right around the area through windows that have been thrown open to allow the cool evening sea breeze in, Astra is part cocktail bar, part izakaya, offering excellently crafted drinks and carefully sculpted Japanese dishes in a refined, city-style setting.
We’re more than full from dinner, so we skip the menus and find a spot at the long bar. Andy behind the jump mixes us two superb martinis and we chat about the various virtues of gin for a while.
It’s the perfect end to the day and once back in our palatial room, we settle into the ecstatic comfort of our soft bed in deep contentment.
