Thoroughly modern chain hotel

What does the W stand for in W hotel? Wacky? Whimsical? Way-out? In the case of W Sydney, the newest addition to the chain of natty US boutique hotels, it could also mean Woolloomooloo, the inner-city locale where the hotel takes shape. The Aboriginal word actually refers to a young wallaby, which is fitting, considering W Sydney is the hip-hop remix of standard hotels.

Light years from the faux-luxe Marriott aesthetic, W Hotels embrace a modern, minimalist style with maximalist flourishes. At W Sydney, simple rooms are jazzed up with fluffy faux-fur pillows, lip-shaped chocolates, silver yo-yos and W's own compilation CD. The airy foyer is adorned with oversized lambswool chairs and giant lamps. The swanky lounge bar, which hip locals adopted immediately as their billabong of choice, serves countless varieties of vodka.

Alongside these fun elements are the functional ones so often missing from a hotel of W's ilk: internet access in rooms, extra-long desks and twin conference centres on the ground floor. There's even an elegant lapping pool and sundeck. Glass lifts whizz guests about the property and the front desk has been rechristened "Whatever, Whenever" in accordance with the can-do mantra. "If you want a fish from the harbour at 3am in the morning, let us know," volunteered one attendant. I settled for the fish-shaped pen in my room instead.

The overall feel is akin to stumbling onto the set of a Looney Tunes cartoon as designed by Ralph Lauren. Few cool people would be caught dead hanging out in a chain hotel, but you can be sure they will find diary time for W Sydney, which opened last month. Like its American equivalents, W Sydney posits itself as a happening hub where people congregate. "It's a place to see and be seen," according to general manager Paul Walters. Preening and peacockery aside, it says something about the evolution of Sydney as an alpha location that Starwood Hotels and Resorts chose the city as the sight for the first non-American W.

Indeed, the Olympics has given rise to a flock of new boutique hotels so fashionable that even locals are scrambling to get in. Part of the new Wharf complex, which brings together apartments, restaurants and a hotel in one bustling urban village five minutes from the city centre, W is leading the way. The pared-down high style at W New York or W San Francisco is apparent at W Sydney; in this case a cool palette of chocolate, blue and white electrified with splashes of dramatic red. The difference is that W Sydney is perched on a bay which is prime real estate in Australia and a bonus for guests: from the hotel, it's a short water taxi ride to any number of sunny Sydney beaches.

Top of the line in rooms are the split-level ultra lofts, with dazzling views of the city skyline; and nearby suburb Potts Point, which buzzes with bars and restaurants into the night. The most remarkable thing about W Sydney is that it has been carved from the site of a former wharf almost a century old, with many of the original structures, including old staircases and cargo escalators, still in place. Heritage architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton and Partners preserved the historic features, while interior designers Chhada Siembieda dreamed up the witty touches associated with the W formula. (A photograph of a thorny red cactus in the men's toilet.)

Plonked in The Wharf's grand walkway, W Sydney's cafe trades from 6am until midnight each day, dishing up such comfort food as cocoa pops and sweet corn waffles for breakfast, corned beef and duck pie for lunch, and chicken Maryland for dinner. For those who crave even more sustenance, The Wharf houses a clutch of excellent restaurants which so far includes Otto (Italian), Manta Ray (seafood) and Shimbashi (soba noodles). There are more on the way.

W represents an attempt to chain the style of boutique hotel pioneered by Ian Schrager. So successful has Starwood been in cloning the gene that W London and W Hong Kong are on the drawing board. Meantime, W Sydney is sophisticated enough for Helmut Lang-wearing, Gucci-toting coolbiz. Hop to it.

Way to go
WSydney, Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo (00 61 2 9331 9000). Entry level Wharf rooms from £75, Ultra Loft suites, £270.

L'otel 114 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst (00 61 2 9360 6868): 16-room boutique property given a complete makeover by designer Iain Halliday; blue-tiled restaurant; rooms resembling an opulent Parisian inn; media and fashion favourite; rooms from £58.

The Establishment, 252 George Street, Sydney (00 61 2 9240 3000): due to open September as a city-centre playground for the bold and the beautiful; 35 rooms, 14 bars, three restaurants, gourmet cafe and nightclub; rooms from £108.

Blacket Hotel, 70 King Street, Sydney (details on 00 61 2 9279 30 30): opens its 45 elegantly configured rooms September; two restaurants; five two-storey loft suits with kitchenettes, spa baths and fax machine (one with private roof-top dining room). Named for the famous Sydney architect who designed the original building, a bank, in the 19th century.