Room with a few

THE BLACKET HOTEL

For the serious shopper, the 42-room Blacket Hotel is right in the middle of Sydney's shopping district. Designer labels Chanel, Lacroix, Vuitton, Hermes and Cartier are all just around the corner on Castlereagh Street, between Market and King. The Blacket was opened in mid-2000 and is housed in the refurbished 1850s ANZ Bank site. The building was designed by one of the 19th century's most prolific Sydney architects, Edmond Samuel Blacket, hence its name.

The refit combines old and new with the original features of Blacket's neo-classical work still intact. The new designers have used creams,...