A small hotel run by people who live in the neighbourhood
Snemaro took over a tired office building on Kippax Street in 2018 and turned it into twelve suites and twenty-seven long-stay flats, all run from one front desk.
We started because the building was empty
In 2017 the landlord of 110 Kippax Street had four floors of vacant office space and no obvious plan for them. We had a background in hotel operations and a stubborn belief that Surry Hills needed something between a hostel and a five-star chain.
The lease was signed in February 2018. Six months of renovation followed, mostly plumbing and glazing. The first suites opened that August with four rooms bookable and a reception desk made from a salvaged timber counter we found in Marrickville.
We added the long-stay apartments a year later, after a steady stream of guests kept asking whether they could stay a month rather than a night. The answer turned out to be yes, provided the kitchens were actually usable. So we rebuilt them.
Six people, most of whom you'll meet
Reception is staffed around the clock by the same core group. Nobody here is on a rotating roster from an agency, which is why they know the building properly.
Marcus Ellery Vance
Owner and director
Signed the lease in 2018 and still does the Friday night desk shift. Spent eleven years in hotel operations before this, most of it in Melbourne.
Sofia Delgado
Front of house manager
Runs the desk and the booking calendar. Knows every regular guest by name and most of their coffee orders. Joined in the first month.
Tomasz Wierzbicki
Head of housekeeping
Trained in Krakow and worked in London before Sydney. Sets the standard for the rooms and trains every new cleaner personally, which is why the bathrooms are the way they are.
Amara Nkemelu
Residences coordinator
Handles the long-stay side, from showing flats to sorting the internet when it drops out. Background in property management and a genuinely calm phone manner.
Rooms, flats and one very well stocked fridge
The building does two jobs now, and the two sides keep each other honest. The hotel side sets the cleaning standard. The residence side sets the price discipline.
Harbour View Suites are the twelve short-stay rooms on the top two floors. They were the first thing finished, and the easiest to get wrong. The first year taught us that guests cared more about water pressure and blackout curtains than about decorative pillows, so we spent the budget accordingly.
Monthly Serviced Residences followed in 2019, set up for people between leases or on contracts. Twenty-seven flats with real kitchens, real washing machines and no bond held for six weeks. By month three, most guests have stopped thinking of it as temporary.
Both sides share a reception desk, a kitchen and a wifi provider we are on first-name terms with. That last point has saved us weeks of argument over the years.
Three things we won't compromise on
Every hotel says the same things in its philosophy section. These are ours, and they exist because we got them wrong first.
In 2019 we tried outsourcing housekeeping to a contractor for four months. Guest ratings dropped two points. We brought it back in-house and have not tried it again. That was the first thing we learned: the people cleaning the rooms should be the same people who see the reviews.
Price it honestly
The rate quoted on the phone is the rate charged on arrival. No resort fees, no card surcharge, no "booking fee" that appears at the end.
Clean it properly
Housekeeping is in-house and trained on site. Bathrooms are checked by a supervisor before the room goes back into the pool.
Answer the phone
Someone picks up at 3am because flight delays happen at 3am. No automated menu, no callback queue, no chatbot.
Fix things quickly
If a tap drips or the wifi drops, it gets dealt with that day. We keep a handyman on call rather than waiting for a scheduled visit.
Eight years, in order
The dates that actually mattered, including the ones that were not entirely good news at the time.
The lease conversation
Walked the empty floors, counted the windows, and spent three months negotiating a lease with a landlord who wanted a ten-year commitment.
First four suites
Opened with four bookable rooms and a hand-built desk. The lift was still being serviced on launch week.
Residences arrive
Converted the lower floors into twenty-seven long-stay flats and brought housekeeping back in-house after a four month experiment.
Six months of quiet
The long-stay apartments kept the building alive through the lockdowns. The hotel side was empty for most of it, but the residences were not.
Mattresses and glazing
Replaced every mattress in the building and added a second layer of double glazing to the street-facing windows on floors one and two.
Everything running
A full year with no major renovation for the first time since we started. We spent it improving the small things, like the minibar and the breakfast tray.
What people say about us
Reviews copied over by hand, spelling mistakes left alone. Nobody here has ever asked for one in exchange for a discount.
"What makes this place is that the staff actually live nearby and know the neighbourhood. They recommended a bakery on Foveaux Street that turned out to be the best thing about the trip."
Claire Benedetti
Visiting from Milan
"Stayed for six months in the residence while we waited for our house settlement to come through. Tomasz even helped me carry a chair up from the street. That's not in the brochure."
Ravi Subramaniam
Residence guest, six months
"I run a small business and stayed ten times in eighteen months. Sofia remembers I want the room away from the lift and a late checkout. Apparently that's just how they work."
Genevieve Marsh
Regular guest since 2020
The things people usually ask before booking
A few facts worth stating plainly. If yours isn't here, the contacts page has every way to reach us, including a phone number that a person picks up.
Reception hours
Staffed 24 hours. Check-in from 2pm, check-out by 11am. Residences settle in from 2pm on the start date.
Billing
GST included in every quote. Residences include power, water, internet and cleaning in one monthly figure.
Registration
Snemaro Hospitality Pty Ltd, ABN 47 918 362 054. Full company details are in the footer of every page.
Policies
The privacy policy and terms cover data and bookings. The cookie policy explains what is stored locally.
Book a stay or a flat
Whether it's a weekend in a corner suite or four months while you wait for a lease, send us the dates and a person will come back with a real answer.