CASTLE-LIKE PADDINGTON RENOVATION SET TO SMASH SUBURB RECORD
Once a pub, now a palatial home, Paddington’s Windsor Castle is hitting the market with a $25m price guide.
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Windsor Castle in Paddington may be of a very different calibre of real estate than the prestigious pile of the same name in England. Still, the former Sydney pub is nonetheless impressive in its own right.
Once a popular watering hole known as the Windsor Castle Hotel, the landmark corner building was transformed 13 years ago into a luxury five-bedroom residence with a $25 million price tag.
If the converted bar achieves its expected price point, it would break the Paddington price record, which currently stands at $20 million. That benchmark was set in 2023 with the sale of a penthouse crowning the residential apartments at the historic Royal Hospital for Women site on nearby Flinton Street.
This time around, the house is due to go under the hammer on October 11 through Luke Hogan and William Manning of McGrath Double Bay.
Built in the 1870s, the Victorian structure with a charming castellated roofline was one of Sydney’s premier hotels in its heyday, affectionately called The Castle.
Anita Nolan and former Goldman Sachs executive David Nolan bought the home in 2016 for $11.85 million, after the initial transformation by XPACE Design Group.
Before that, it traded in 2009 for $4.3 million when the hotel was sold by hotelier Marcus Levy, his wife Vanessa Sanchez-Levy and her brother, developer Chris Sanchez.
The couple of empty nesters are now looking to downsize.
Since purchasing the property nine years ago, the pair have made additional improvements, installing a grand 187-inch CinemaScope screen, Barco projection and 10 electric leather recliners in the home cinema, a 1700-bottle wine cellar, as well as a marble and white dolomite kitchen with a large butler’s pantry.
The state-of-the-art kitchen has a Sub-Zero fridge and freezer, an integrated wine fridge, two Miele dishwashers, a V-Zug induction cooktop, and Gaggenau self-cleaning steam ovens.
On a 770sq m block on leafy Windsor St, the unique house has 1000sq m of internal and outdoor living space. It features a four-person lift to four levels, plus a spiral staircase up to a private rooftop terrace with panoramic views to the CBD and Harbour Bridge.
Other alfresco areas include the north-facing ground floor courtyard with a heated pool and barbecue area. This secluded outdoor space flows seamlessly from the kitchen and dining zones, for all-weather entertaining.
Created as a personal retreat on the second floor, the main bedroom features a vast, hotel-inspired en-suite, a dressing room, a private sitting room, and a large terrace. On the first floor, there are three more bedrooms, a home office and a library. Each of the three bedrooms has a limestone ensuite, Juliette balcony and built-ins.
Down on the lower ground level, there is a rare five-car garage with a turntable beside the wine cellar and cinema, and the house features smart home automation throughout.
A castle without a rolling estate to maintain, this Paddington property is within walking distance of inner Sydney’s most popular eateries, boutiques along Oxford St and Centennial Park.
Windsor Castle is set to go to auction on October 11, at 12.34 pm with Luke Hogan and William Manning of McGrath Double Bay, with a price guide $25 million.
A record-breaking $11 million sale at The Centennial Collection has set a new benchmark for luxury apartment living in Bondi Junction.
As interest rates, inflation and market sentiment fluctuate, investors are being urged to focus on data, not panic.
A record-breaking $11 million sale at The Centennial Collection has set a new benchmark for luxury apartment living in Bondi Junction.
3 minThe Centennial Collection, the new apartment development on the edge of Centennial Park in Bondi Junction, continues to break local residential property records.
A local Eastern suburbs buyer has splashed $11 million on a three-bedroom, sub-penthouse on level 10 of the development, topping the previous record within the same development.
At 266 sqm, including internal and external space, the north-facing residence achieved more than $55,000 per sqm, making it one of the most expensive apartment transactions ever recorded in Sydney’s eastern suburbs outside the harbourfront enclaves of Double Bay and Darling Point.
The buyer had originally purchased a three-bedroom apartment in The Centennial Collection in 2025 for $6.5 million before deciding to secure the larger half-floor sub-penthouse.
Ray White Projects Director of Sales Marcello Bo, who is managing sales for the project, said the transaction highlighted the continued strength of demand for premium apartments in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“This sale is a clear indication of buoyancy in the upper end of the market and reinforces the strong demand and appetite for primely located, larger-sized apartments with all the luxurious inclusions you would expect with a development of this calibre,” Bo said.
“It also demonstrates that superbly-designed, lifestyle-driven residences in tightly held locations continue to outperform, particularly when they deliver scale, privacy, rarity and long-term liveability that aligns with how buyers want to live today.”
The Centennial Collection occupies a prominent gateway site overlooking Centennial Park at the junction of Bondi Junction, Woollahra and Paddington. Following recent State Significant Development approval, the project now comprises 79 apartments across two adjoining towers rising 13 and 16 storeys.
The development has been designed to target owner-occupiers seeking larger-format apartments, with residences featuring inclusions more commonly associated with standalone homes, including private rooftop pools, bedroom fireplaces, wet bars, butler’s pantries and full-sized wine fridges.
The record-setting residence was originally designed as one of the project’s penthouses before the approval process allowed additional levels to be added to the scheme.
Positioned on Level 10, the apartment occupies half a floor and has no common walls. It offers 270-degree views spanning Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Centennial Park and both the northern and southern headlands.
The purchaser said that proximity to Centennial Park, transport connectivity, and the surrounding lifestyle amenities ultimately drove his decision.
“I’m constantly looking at developments everywhere in the east, from Darling Point to Rushcutters Bay, Double Bay, all the beaches, Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Woollahra. I wanted something new,” he said.
“Everywhere you go, there’s a trade-off. It might have a great floor plan, but it doesn’t have a view. Working in the city, your daily commute impacts everything, so Bondi Junction train station was a huge factor in my decision.”
The buyer, an avid cyclist who rides regularly in Centennial Park, said his view of the location changed significantly as he spent more time assessing the eastern suburbs market.
“At first, I thought, who would want to live there? It’s one of the busiest intersections in the eastern suburbs. But when you peel it all back, it’s one of the best locations in Sydney. You’re close to everything, you can walk to everything, the amenity is incredible, and the views are amazing.”
Bondi Junction is slated to look materially different in the coming decades, with a draft 100-page masterplan proposing a regeneration of the suburb which would include thousands more apartments as well as a revitalised commercial, retail, and dining precinct.
Australia’s housing market rebounded sharply in 2025, with lower-value suburbs and resource regions driving growth as rate cuts, tight supply and renewed competition reshaped the year.
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