Watsons Bay Hotel unveils $3M coastal makeover
Watsons Bay Hotel has unveiled a $3 million glow-up just in time for peak season, capping one of the most significant updates in the venue’s 190-year history. Spearheaded by Laundy Hotels’ Danielle and Shane Richardson alongside Etic Design, the refreshed Top Deck and Mid Deck swing open today, 29 October, with a clear eye on the busy summer trade.
“Every publican that you talk to, your key is to get through that winter period,” Ms Richardson told realcommercial.com.au. “We started in April and to be open mid-October was our ultimate aim. October through to April next year is key trading, we are busy every day of the week.”
With the hotel sitting squarely on Sydney Harbour’s tourist trail, timing mattered.
“Watsons Bay obviously is a big tourist destination, so the influx of tourists to have our offer ready was so important,” she said. “When you come off the ferry at Watsons Bay you walk into our beautiful beer garden and all up on the left is what we call the Top Deck and the Mid Deck and it’s one of the primary locations within the hotel. Given the age of the hotel and the history over time it hasn’t been renovated in quite a long time so it was in need of a little love.”
That “love” meant stripping the Top Deck back to bones and rebuilding it as a flexible, view-soaked space. “It’s a bar by day during the week for the locals and the tourists with this beautiful view back out to the city but it’s also a perfect location if you wanted to have a wedding for up to sort of 100 people where we can turn it into a beautiful event space,” she said. “We’ve literally knocked it over, everything within that space is brand new.”
The Mid Deck also scored a full re-deck and fresh look. “It’s like the prime position within the hotel, you sit on that deck and we have a beautiful banquette seat that goes all the way along the edge of the beer garden side of the deck and then the front has got all of these surf board styled picnic tables,” Ms Richardson said. “It is still very much in keeping with Watsons Bay local area what we are known for which is very beautiful coastal, vintage Watsons Bay branding, but it’s all brand new.”
Inside, the team has punched through to the Sunset Room, adding amenities and polish. “Connected to that top deck, we’ve now cut through into what is the sunset room, it now has its own toilet access, previously it didn’t – for an events space that’s really important. We’ve restyled all of the sunset room, done the floors and put a new bar in that area as well.”
Weather cover was a must for Sydney’s four-seasons-in-a-day moments. “To have that extra space now and it’s a bar area that still has the beautiful views but it is completely weather protected, if we do have rain through summer we now have a great space for people to still come and they are not out in the beer garden,” Ms Richardson said.
Programming gets a lift too, with the Top Deck playing host once a month to ‘Club Amalfi’, billed as Sydney’s first authentic waterfront beach-club experience, pairing Mediterranean-style shared plates with a Euro-summer vibe.
Richardson says the refresh is about keeping pace with a fast-moving scene.
“Hospitality is incredibly dynamic and I do think hospitality in Sydney has really stepped it up too in the last 10 years,” she said. “For us to continue to innovate, come up with the next option for people who come to Sydney to come and have a look at what we have to offer is key. It’s also what we are driven by, we are passionate about great food, great beverage, great cocktails and showcasing what we here in Sydney have … we do very much reinvest back into our venues and make sure that we are always delivering.”
On the menu front, head chef Damian Heads leads a new summer lineup spotlighting Sydney-coast seafood alongside elevated pub favourites.
Or, as Richardson sums it up: “It just has been such a big transformation in the last 10 years in pubs particularly, our food offering has just stepped up to the next level where we are competing with restaurants and that’s fantastic. I think the expectation out of pubs is that they get a great food offer.”
Jonathan Jackson, 29th October 2025
