InterContinental Double Bay: Where Glamour Meets Cincin and the Dally Ms
Lucky me. I happened to be staying at the InterContinental Double Bay on the very night of the Dally Ms, that most sacred of rugby league nights when the nation’s sporting elite scrub up, slip into tuxedos, and momentarily pretend not to be covered in grass stains. Now, I’ll confess straight up: I am not really a rugby league tragic. My loyalty extends to “having a team, ”Manly, if you’re asking but I couldn’t tell you a hooker from a halfback. My husband however, was practically levitating when Craig Bellamy got out of the lift and walked past us. I was politely smiling, thinking of room service fries, while hubby was whisper-shouting “That’s Craig! That’s Craig!” in tones normally reserved for Taylor Swift.
But this is the magic of the InterCon Double Bay, you don’t have to care about rugby league to feel glamorous. Because here, it isn’t just NRL coaches and players gliding through the lobby. Oh no. The guest book reads like a Who’s Who of the 20th century. Princess Diana, David Bowie, U.S. Presidents, and our very own Bob Hawke, who famously jogged the nearby streets in budgie smugglers because why wear Lycra when you can wear less? It’s that kind of place.
The Rooms at the Intercontinental Double Bay
The hotel boasts 140 sleek, contemporary rooms and suites, each with just enough glamour to make you believe you are at least a minor European royal, or perhaps a Netflix star in town for an audition. My Club room came with an outdoor terrace that peered out over Double Bay’s leafy rooftops and the gentle sparkle of yachts in the harbour. There’s a bathroom stocked with Bal D’Afrique (divine).
The décor manages that delicate balance of “I am chic and tasteful” without straying into “I am a minimalist monk, please put your shoes in the cupboard or I’ll faint.” Which is a relief, because one likes to feel glamorous without having to worry about one’s handbag looking scruffy against the soft furnishings.
Double Bay Location
The leafy Eastern Suburbs setting is another perk. Within strolling distance is the Murray Rose Pool, which sounds like a place for sipping pink cocktails but is actually a glorious harbour swimming enclosure. Double Bay village itself is a treasure chest of boutiques and cafés, though beware, the shops are so chic you may accidentally walk into a store and buy a belt worth more than your monthly mortgage repayment.
That said, it’s not all eye-watering price tags. Case in point, I scored a glorious packet of Japanese genmai cha for just $17. In Double Bay! Proof positive you can leave the suburb both stylish and solvent. And if retail therapy isn’t your vibe, the ferry will whisk you across to Circular Quay like you’re starring in your own rom-com montage.
The Rooftop Bar
If the rooms are where you rest your head, the rooftop is where you lose it entirely. It’s less “hotel pool” and more “stage set for a Slim Aarons photo shoot,” complete with striped cabanas, yachts winking in the harbour below, and the kind of people who always seem to own three white linen shirts that never wrinkle.
The pool itself is a jewel box, small enough to feel exclusive, but big enough that you can do a lazy backstroke while pretending you’re filming a perfume commercial. Around you, the cabanas beckon with chilled towels and even chiller cocktails. This is where Cincin makes its entrance with the quiet confidence of an Italian film star strolling onto a balcony. The cocktails are witty in a glass, zippy spritzes, playful negronis, that seem to demand a toast even if you’re only celebrating the fact that you’ve remembered your SPF.
By day, it’s all lolling by the pool and a paperback you won’t actually read. By night, it turns into something else entirely, skyline shimmer, and the creeping suspicion you might have to move here permanently and justify it as “work.”
The Vibe
What I adore about the InterCon Double Bay is its split personality, in the best possible way. On the one hand, it’s all calm elegance, perfect for slipping into a robe and pretending you’re on a wellness retreat. On the other hand, it has this fabulous “poolside sparkle” energy, thanks to the rooftop and Cincin’s cocktails. You can drift from being a quiet spa goddess in the morning to a spritz-toting rooftop correspondent by evening.
And the best part? It never feels stuffy. There’s a tongue-in-cheek charm to it all, the kind that makes you giggle when you remember Bob Hawke’s budgie smugglers as you sip champagne by the pool.
InterContinental Double Bay is poolside glamour with a wink, a lobster roll in one hand, and a spritz in the other. You’ll leave feeling more glamorous than when you arrived, even if your only claim to sporting knowledge is knowing what colour jersey Manly wears.
#elevateeverymoment? @cincinbeverages
Visit the InterContinental Double Bay‘s rooftop bar for CINCiN’s activation during Spring.
