Just had to have a peek in Buds and Bowers

I really feel I could live in Surry Hills for ever. Once a working class suburb, in the last decade the area has seen new appreciation by architects, designers and iconic furniture companies. Within walking distance of Central Station and Darling Harbour and lined with footpaths and automated crosswalks, it’s pedestrian friendliness has kept the eclectic feel of the neighborhood,

Beautifully kept terrace houses line leafy streets and insta famous restaurants jostle peacefully with asian grocery stores and old pubs. I loved to search for hidden gems and I poked nosely around to find them. No one minded!

Later I joined a gorgeous bunch of Designers for a tour of the suburb’s amazing showrooms and inspirational chats with the owners.

Joining Designers from all over Australia to tour the showrooms

But the best part of all was that I could just walk to my hotel at the end of the day - Sydney’s own Ace Hotel.

Rebuilt on the site of one of Australia’s first brick kilns, the hotel embraces the past in colourful glazed ceramics and raw face brick, while celebrating the now with art and installations from some of today’s most exciting creatives.

Rebuilt by Bates Smart and designed by Flack Studio, the hotel’s downstairs lobby, restaurant and cafe open onto each other. It feels like you are in your own VERY cool house. Come the weekends, these spaces open to the community and become party central.

However, if you are a business traveller, like me, you will likely revel in the cosy, cocooning rooms finished in raw brick and sound absorbing felt wall panels. Your hardest work will be choosing artisan snacks from the mini bar - and which linen robe? The dragon or the turtle?…..