In fact, several of the more sophisticated spots are in hotels, including the glass-walled Blu Horizon in the Shangri-La overlooking Sydney Harbour, Hemmesphere in the Establishment Hotel and the cavernous lobby-level Water Bar in BLUE Sydney.

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Fashionistas and celebs hole up in the modernist chic 31-room Establishment Hotel located in a converted warehouse building in the middle of the CBD, adjacent to some of the hottest restaurants and bars in the city.

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Est in the chic, tucked-away (meaning no view at all) Establishment Hotel is the Sydney Morning Herald's 2006 Restaurant of the Year and a showcase for star chef Peter Doyle's surprising combinations such as a velvety John Dory in a carrot-and-sherry sauce.

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The 35-year-old graduate of the Culinary Institute of America is also the executive chef at the fine-dining establishment at the Distrito Capital hotel.

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This classic establishment lines the wall of the hotel facing Madison Avenue, which can be seen through stained glass windows behind the bar, and is a perfect place to sip an aperitif and watch hotel guests go about their business.

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The filmmaker famous for Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive has lent his name to a signautre suite at the Hotel Lutetia, an Art Deco Left Bank establishment that has given haven to the likes of Josephine Baker, the sculptor Arman and Charles de Gaulle on his wedding night.

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Drinking coffee in the refuge of a Riyadh hotel room, Enazy says the government has warned him not to criticize the kingdom's religious establishment.

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