Kings Cross Hotel

The Kings Cross Hotel benefits enormously from its position. Sitting at the top of William Street, it's the first thing you see walking into Kings Cross from the CBD direction. The building is handsome, and the multiple levels give it more range than most pubs.

The ground floor is a workhorse. It handles large volumes of patrons efficiently, with a long bar that keeps wait times reasonable even on Saturday nights. The atmosphere down here is standard pub: sports on screens, groups at tables, people passing through on their way upstairs. Nothing remarkable, nothing wrong with it.

The middle floors are event-dependent. When there's a good DJ or live act booked, these spaces come alive. When there isn't, they can feel half-empty and a bit corporate. Check the venue's social media before going to see what's programmed.

The rooftop is the standout. Open-air, with views across Kings Cross and toward the city, it catches the afternoon sun and holds a party atmosphere from Friday afternoon through Saturday night. The bar up here is well-staffed and the cocktail list is more thoughtful than the ground floor. In summer, this is one of the better rooftop experiences in inner Sydney.

Sound quality varies between levels. The rooftop handles DJs well. The middle floors have inconsistent acoustics depending on the room and the crowd size. Bathrooms are adequate across all levels, better than average for a venue this size.