Sofitel Sydney Wentworth

The final night of the old Wentworth Hotel was held on 13 December 1966, with free drinks provided. The 100 guests staying at the hotel were required to leave by 10:00am on 14 December 1966, with half of the guests transferring to the new Wentworth Hotel on Phillip Street.[2] On its opening, the hotel was promoted as "Australia's first self-contained Convention and Entertainment Centre", and had 448 rooms and 38 suites, featured 12 bars and restaurants (including a "Harbour Bar", "Coral Reef Bar", "Ayers Rock Grill", "Flight Bar", and "Old Sydney Bar and Tavern"), as well as the Grand Ballroom seating up to 1,200 persons.[3][4] The opening room rates were $9.50 (single) and $13.50 (double) per night.[3] The first year of hotel operation resulted in a loss of $167,950 for Qantas Wentworth Holdings.[5]

In March 1982, Qantas sold the Wentworth Hotel for $70 million to National Mutual, with the hotel management to be undertaken by Sheraton Pacific Hotels and the hotel being renamed the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel.[6] In August 1995, hotel chain Rydges took over management of the hotel from Sheraton, with the hotel renamed The Wentworth – A Rydges Hotel, and at the same time National Mutual undertook various refurbishments to the Garden Court Restaurant and public spaces.[7][8]

On 4 April 2000, the hotel and its interiors was listed as a local heritage item by the City of Sydney under the Central Sydney Heritage Local Environmental Plan 2000[9] (since replaced by the Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012[10]), with its statement of significance noting:[1]

"The Wentworth Hotel facing Chifley Square is a twenty storey tower of Post War Minimalist Style. It is of historic importance for its association with QANTAS and QANTAS House. The hotel is important as the only Australian work by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and as the oldest major Sydney Hotel. The Wentworth Hotel is aesthetically significant for the huge copper canopy over the entrance, which at the time of construction, was one of the largest completely fabricated awnings in the world. The distinctive horse shoe design of the Wentworth Hotel is significant as a familiar architectural landmark in Sydney. It was Australia's biggest international hotel at time of construction. It derives social significance from its long-standing status as Sydney's hotel for the rich and famous, for the continuity of the name Wentworth Hotel, and as the venue for the annual Black & White Ball, the major fundraising event of the Black & White Committee, the most patrician of Sydney's charity groups. The building is scientifically significant for the largest air conditioning system, column free ballroom, and as the largest brick structure in the southern hemisphere. The building contains a rare example of a vertical passenger lift spanning four floors."

In 2001, private property investment firm City Freeholds Pty Ltd bought the hotel from National Mutual for $108 million and undertook a major refurbishment of the hotel to maintain its five-star status.[11][12] In 2004, the management of the hotel was acquired by Accor Group from Rydges, with the hotel to be renamed under the Sofitel brand as the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.[13] In 2006, Tourism Assets Holdings Limited bought the hotel title for a price reported to be around $150 million.[12]

In May 2010, LaSalle Investment Management bought the title to the hotel for $130 million from Tourism Assets Holdings.[12] In May 2014, LaSalle sold the hotel again to the Singapore-based Frasers Property for over $200 million.[14] In October 2021, Frasers sold the hotel for $315 million to private equity firm KKR.[15][16]