When Broadsheet spoke to the Nilands ahead of Saint Peter 2.0’s big reveal, it was clear: the couple were restaurateurs, not hoteliers. “It’s a restaurant with rooms,” Josh said. “Julie and I didn’t really have any deep-seated ambition of running a hotel, but we couldn’t think of another business that would be able to coherently interact with our … feelings towards hospitality, so we ended up going ‘Okay, fuck it. Let’s do it.’”

Do it they did, and now the 14 hotel rooms – sitting above Saint Peter’s suave 60-seat restaurant; walk-in, à la carte front bar; and private dining room – are ready and waiting for your booking.

Studio Aquilo worked closely with Josh and Julie on the hotel’s fit-out, which changes from room to room yet retains heritage features (tiles, fireplaces, architraves) of the 1890-built hotel. Velvet headboards crown king beds in each room, while statement wallpaper and large art pieces – curated by Olsen Gallery – cover the walls. Leafy Ken Done sketches are framed too, tying in with the pieces dotted throughout the Nilands’ other venues.

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“We paid as much attention to detail to the design and furnishing as we did with the restaurant,” Julie says in a statement today. “We knew that we wanted to apply the same level of care to the rooms so that they weren’t just an addition to Saint Peter, but a destination in their own right.”

The delight’s in the extra details: a handmade chocolate waiting on your pillow; an alc-free mini bar and snacks on the house; Josh’s commitment to sustainability on show in fish-fat candles and fish-bone ceramics; and brekkie made by the Saint Peter team.

Marron scrambled eggs? Spanner crab omelette? The rotating menu is exclusive to guests of the hotel, served in the Saint Peter Bar.

Midway through 2024, we asked whether the new era of Saint Peter could ever live up to the original, adored in its intimate sliver of Oxford Street. With the Nilands’ dedication to hospitality, it was almost inevitable the venue would be scaled up in every possible way.

Bookings for The Grand National’s 14 hotel rooms are now live, for stays from Friday January 31, 2025. Room prices start at $600 per night.

@thesaintpeterhotel

Additional reporting by Lucy Bell Bird.