What it’s like to live in a $37m apartment at Sydney’s Crown Residences

Dressed in a fluffy robe and mismatched socks, I was leaving the room service tray outside the $37 million apartment when I heard the door slam and realised I was locked out.

I wasn’t thinking, having just indulged in a burger and fries and earlier relaxed by the residents-only pool and spa. I’ve been locked out of my $640-a-week Crows Nest shoebox before, but in the rarefied world of Crown Residences, it was different.

With no phone, I went down 50 floors in the lift in my robe to the residents’ lobby to be greeted by name by a kind concierge who made me feel at ease. She arranged a temporary card and reminded me that this can happen to anyone. “Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.” And then it clicked: it’s a premium hotel-level service that residents get 24-7.

Crown Residences is Sydney’s tower of power, home to a smorgasbord of corporate heavyweights, rich-listers and millennial tech entrepreneurs. And it comes with dedicated staff, hotel inclusions and attention to detail that most Sydneysiders could only dream of.

I was invited to stay overnight at the Tartak family’s four-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment that’s on the market with a price guide of $37 million and listed by The Agency’s co-founder Steven Chen and Colliers’ Luke Hayes.

Tony Tartak, founder of waste removal giant Bingo Industries, and his wife, Mary, sold the other half of their whole floor on level 50 for $35.5 million, almost doubling their money in just a few years.

Records show two lots were purchased off the plan, under Mary’s name, for a combined $40 million in 2021. Keeping them as two separate homes turned out to be not a bad investment.

The Tartak family were ranked 194 on this year’s AFR Rich List with wealth of $781 million.

Mark Tartak, the warm and hospitable son of Tony and Mary, offered a tour, starting with the cloak and powder room that would be half the size of my rental.

The 420-square-metre pad has two entrances, a main and a service entrance through the butler’s kitchen, a wine cellar, formal and informal living zones, and a kitchen with Sub Zero fridges, Wolf ovens and cooktops, and uninterrupted views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Even the butler’s kitchen is bigger and better than my own kitchen.

It felt like a hotel, but it wasn’t. Rather, it’s a home with hotel-like inclusions. I could get used to sitting in one of the his-and-hers chairs by the kitchen island bench each morning, or arrange to have the bed turned down every day, as residents can. The room service hamburger was mediocre – not the juiciest or most premium that I’ve ever had – but it did the job, and residents can choose to have food sent up from a range of Crown’s restaurants.

The abode is one of eight half-floor apartments in the building that has had a redesign by architect Rob Mills. Marble, timber, geometric oak floors and reflective surfaces adorn the space, complemented by internationally sourced fixtures including a gold light fitting above the dining table that costs around $40,000.

There’s underfloor heating below oak floors, and a plush, silk carpet feels like a cosy blanket. While it was quiet being a solo trip, it was pleasant rather than eerie.

Instead of a bath in the sculpted Corian tub, a signature feature in Crown, I chose to have a shower in the main en suite that felt like a day spa with a steam room. The spacious walk-in wardrobe has drawers lined with alligator skin.

I reached out to some of the other residents to see what drew them to purchasing a property in Sydney’s tallest residential building. Was it just the views? Or was it the five-star inclusions such as a 24-hour gym, tennis court, priority seating at restaurants and in-room dining from one of the Crown restaurants (at an additional charge). Owners include adventure philanthropist Luke Hepworth, AirTrunk’s Robin Khuda and his wife Melea, and Zac Altman, co-founder of airport lounge app startup LoungeBuddy, and there is a residents’ group chat.

Babak Moini, co-founder of Laser Clinics Australia, was willing to share.

Moini, who co-founded the skincare juggernaut with Alistair Champion in 2008 and sold it to private equity giant KKR in 2017 for $650 million, paid $22 million in 2021 for a north-east facing apartment.

He told me it came down to convenience, lifestyle and long-term value.

“Living inside a five-star hotel has ruined me for normal housing. I get a full luxury set-up at home, plus hotel-level service whenever I want it – it’s convenience on steroids,” he said.

“I’ve become fitter having a high-end gym, sauna, steam room and an outdoor pool that catches the afternoon sun. I can’t put a price on this lifestyle.

“My apartment is as spacious as a house but without any of the maintenance headaches. Everything is taken care of, so I can focus on living and not managing a property.”

“People assume it’s a luxury thing, but it’s more an efficiency hack. The services and maintenance kill off all the boring parts of life – that’s the real value.”

Former Rothschild Australia chairman Trevor Rowe and his wife, Julie, purchased a $13.5 million apartment off the plan, and echoed some of Moini’s sentiments in a resident feature for the Crown website in 2020, noting the panoramic views and iconic built form.

“We were also attracted to the access we would get to the hotel’s services and amenities, like the world-class gym, spa and harbourside swimming pool.”

I, too, got to enjoy (or rather sweat it out) at the gym with its swish Technogym equipment before relaxing in a cabana pool-side. The residents-only pool and spa is directly above the hotel pool with uninterrupted harbour views.

While I will never be able to purchase a property of this calibre, I realised I take Sydney’s beautiful harbour for granted.

Regardless of payslips, I’m lucky to enjoy the harbour city. Living in Crown Residences would just be a bonus.

Kristy Johnson stayed at Crown Residences and ordered room service as a guest of the Tartak family.