Woolwich Pier Hotel, Sydney, Australia

Designer: SJB Interiors, 2003

If value could be placed on a view, the outlook from the Woolwich Pier Hotel over Sydney Harbour towards the bridge and city skyline would be priceless. Built originally in 1885, the hotel sits on the water's edge in the up-market leafy suburb of Hunter's Hill. But until the refurbishment in 2003 into a sleek and chic destination, the Woolwich Pier was the kind of rough and tough dive where the wrong type of glance might get a person thrown through the windows rather than admiring the scenery from them. Now it owes more to Grace Kelly than Ned Kelly.

Central to the hotel's makeover is a courtyard shaded by mature Morton Bay fig trees and furnished by timber decking, banquettes and tables and chairs. Adjacent Asian inspired heated cabanas containing pastel cushioned bench-seating, billowing white curtains and huge wicker lampshades offer customers the inside-but-outside experience.

Upstairs on the first floor a wrap-around balcony offers a panorama of the land and seascape. It leads off the cavernous Harbour Lounge, a funky space decorated in tones of chocolate, turquoise and pink, with striped carpet, soft-furnishings and rooms within rooms separated by floral screens. Colourful armchairs, sofas and leather pouffes surround a working open fireplace – just like someone's home featured in a glossy lifestyle magazine. But the focal point of the lounge is a long white marble bar counter and servery, backed by a coral coloured wall and two ultra-glam light fittings with nude bulbs that, depending on how much has been imbibed, resemble either Sputnik or snowflakes.

Winter or summer the Woolwich Pier Hotel is a fabulous spot from which to admire Sydney's breathtaking harbour and with the ferry wharf only five minutes walk away what could be better than arriving by water?

Photographer: Anson Smart