The heat is rising – here are the best swimming spots to cool off at during your stay at The Star Sydney this summer.
Sydney’s world-famous eastern beaches often steal the limelight (hello, Bondi). But with scenic lap pools, ocean baths and hidden coves aplenty within easy reach of The Star Sydney – not to mention the rooftop pool seconds from your suite – you’ll never be far from the perfect swimming spot.
1. Maccallum Pool
On Sydney’s lower North Shore, this saltwater pool delivers unobstructed views back out over the harbour to the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Found partway along the leisurely Cremorne Point circuit walk, the art deco-style 1920s swimming pool with its picket fence is open to the public around the clock. Throw down your towel on the wooden deck and soak it all in.
How to get there: Find Maccallum Pool beside Cremorne Point ferry wharf (with regular services running between Circular Quay), or take a 15-minute drive over the Harbour Bridge from The Star Sydney.
2. Camp Cove
Tucked in beside South Head peninsula near the entrance to the Sydney Harbour, Camp Cove is a crescent of golden sand with panoramic city skyline views. The quiet beach is perfect for a lazy afternoon, with the occasional swim and snorkel in the calm waters. The best end to a Sydney beach day out here is with a sundowner at Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, before hopping on the ferry towards home base at The Star.
How to get there: Reach Watsons Bay on the regular ferry service from Circular Quay, with ferries linking Circular Quay and Pyrmont Bay wharf (a 10-minute walk from The Star Sydney).
3. Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool
Take an easy stroll across the CBD, through the botanic gardens, and you’ll find yourself at one of Sydney’s best-kept city secrets. Named after an Australian Olympic swim star, the open-air 50m Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool sits on the edge of The Domain and looks out over Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf and the boats docked at the naval base – making for one scenic spot to get in some laps.
How to get there: Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool is a 15-minute drive or 40 approx. minute walk from The Star Sydney.
4. Murray Rose Pool
Blink and you’d miss Murray Rose Pool (also known as Redleaf). Completely hidden from the road until you reach the stairs down to the waterfront, this harbour pool is a favourite with eastern suburbs locals. Jutting out into Sydney Harbour in exclusive Double Bay, Murray Rose is a safe tidal enclosure where kids tumble off the elevated wooden platform running around the pool’s perimeter as groups sun themselves on the lawns. Stretch out in the sunshine on one of the two pontoons moored out on the water and enjoy being in on the secret.
How to get there: Murray Rose Pool is around a 15-minute drive from The Star Sydney.
5. Milk Beach
Hidden beaches are dotted all along the Hermitage Foreshore Track, between Rose Bay and Nielsen Park on the eastern shores of Sydney Harbour. Our personal favourite – Milk Beach – is just large enough to spread out a little, but hidden from the sight of anyone except fellow amblers on the scenic coastal walk and the yachts that berth just offshore. Found in the blue-blooded neighbourhood of Vaucluse, Milk Beach offers million-dollar views of the Harbour Bridge in the distance.
How to get there: Reach the beginning of the Hermitage Foreshore Track with a 20 to 30-minute drive from the Star Sydney, or find limited parking directly behind Milk Beach and enter past the grand Strickland House.
6. The pool at The Star Grand Hotel
Don’t feel like venturing too far? Luckily one of best places for a leisurely dip is just outside your window. With views of the city’s skyscrapers, the indoor/outdoor hotel pool at The Star Grand Hotel is one of the largest rooftop pools in central Sydney. Take nothing but your book and chill out on a deckchair beside this private oasis five floors above Darling Harbour.
How to get there: Just hop in the elevator.
Want some beach tunes? Cue up The Star’s summer playlist – the perfect soundtrack to poolside hangs.
