Accor marks its 400th hotel in Australia and the Pacific with the launch of  The Porter House Hotel – MGallery in Sydney.

Just three decades after entering the Australia/Pacific hotel market, Accor has added its 400th hotel, with the launch of the heritage-listed The Porter House Hotel – MGallery in Sydney.

Accor’s first hotel in the region – Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour (1991) – was a catalyst for the redevelopment of Darling Harbour into Sydney’s premier tourism, entertainment and events precinct, and the transformation of the iconic Porter House building into a luxury hotel is set to boost Sydney’s CBD revival.

The new hotel has been created out of a building commissioned in 1876 by Hugh Dixson, Australia’s leading tobacco manufacturer and a notable philanthropist and horticulturist. After starting its life as Dixson & Sons tobacco factory and warehouse, it became a retail shopfront for the artisan furnishings of WW Campbell & Co and famous leather merchant George Johnson & Sons.

Located on Castlereagh Street, the luxury hotel offers 122 rooms and suites, which occupy the first 10 floors of a 36-storey mixed-use tower. A residential component comprising 131 apartments, with private entry via Bathurst Street, sits above the new MGallery hotel, while a multi-level food and bar destination has been created within the restored 1870s heritage-listed building itself.

Guests have access to all the hotel’s restaurants and leisure facilities – including a fitness centre and heated pool – via the Porter House Hotel’s exclusive Digit Valet walking, talking iPad concierge, the only one of its kind in Australia.

A stylish, urban sanctuary in every way, The Porter House Hotel – MGallery is designed by award-winning architect Angelo Candelapas of Candelapas Associates, who has seamlessly connected the historic Porter House building with the ultra-modern tower built around the original building. The new-build hotel pays homage to The Porter House’s heritage and Sydney’s bustling Victorian commercial era with a modern take on old designs such as contemporary curved windows that reference the original building’s iconic brick archways.

The opening of The Porter House Hotel is part of a large-scale expansion of Accor in the Pacific region, with 11 new hotels scheduled to open before the end of 2023. They include the debut of the 25hours brand in Australia, new airport hotels at Melbourne Airport and Auckland Airport, and another heritage restoration in Sydney, Hotel Morris, which is being created out of the 1929-built former West End Hotel in Pitt Street.

“Sydney is experiencing its fastest growth since March 2020, with recovery in corporate, conference and events business, and continued strength in the domestic leisure market,” says Accor Pacific CEO, Sarah Derry. “We are seeing similar revivals in other key cities around the Pacific, complementing the success of regional holiday destinations in Australia and New Zealand. Our expansion program has a full range of hotel styles – from luxury to economy – in the pipeline: in city centres, airport precincts, regional centres and suburban growth areas. Accor is introducing both fresh brands and a fresh approach to hotel operations in Australia, and then New Zealand and the Pacific.”

From luxury to economy, Accor has 19 international brands across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, including SO/, Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Mondrian, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget

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