Sydney's 'little stream' makes for a big hotel experience

I reckon that a quartet is every bit as sexy as a trio or a quintet - just ask The Beatles, the Sydney String Quartet or the Benny Goodman Quartet - so I have no qualms about listing four reasons why I'd choose to stay in the Tank Stream ahead of most inner-Sydney properties.

First, its location, on the corner of Pitt Street and Curtin Place, puts it right amid the many Sydney attractions I wish to access - places such as the Opera House, Circular Quay and, for getting to and from the place, Wynyard Station.

Second, its people, seem to genuinely care. Where else, for instance, does the guy behind the desk remember you by first name a good two years after your first stay in the property - and that you had a red car, which they kindly parked at the end of their drive?

Third, it doesn't try to be a five-and-a-half-star city hotel and charge accordingly. You can stay there from about $200 per night instead of twice that and though the free non-alcoholic welcome bar is only worth a relative tuppence, it sure makes you feel that you're not experiencing a vision into the future and paying tomorrow's prices for today's drinks.

Fourth, its on-site restaurant, Le Petit Flot - French for 'little stream', aka the early NSW colony's life-giving Tank Stream - represents a good mixing pot of French cuisine and Australian ingredients. And, as a devoted fork-and-stomach person, the fourth point is very important to me.

The French onion soup is a tour de force - a standout dish made all the heartier by loads of perfectly cooked onion and delectable strands of cheese. Vive Le France!

Chef Colin Yee has also created masterpieces from entrées such as prawn-and-avocado salad and sweet prawns with angel-hair pasta, and main courses such as grilled Ebony angus steak. 

Not that the culinary delights at the Tank Stream are confined to Le Petit Flot.

I had a very pleasant lunch with the hotel's general manager, Klaus Kinateder, in its atrium bar and he introduced me to the new menu there.

It's quite limited but offers excellent value in terms of dishes such as sliced wagyu steak and char-grilled salmon.

Rooms at the Tank Stream are comfortably set up and beautifully maintained. The complimentary wi-fi is a breeze and really fast, so feel at ease about bringing work - or relaxation - with you.

IF YOU GO