Imperial facelift underway

The first phase of the long-awaited refurbishment of the Imperial Hotel has started, following more than a year of some areas being closed off.

Owner Shadd Danesi said difficulties with the City of Sydney Council over the development application and licences had been overcome, as well as unforeseen problems in the cellar bar discovered by builders.

He said each of the three bars would be completed separately so the hotel could operate during construction. Council papers show initial estimates for the refurbishment to be about $200,000.

Danesi said the downstairs cellar bar was expected to re-open in six to eight months with a new entertainment licence, but would keep the same character.

People in the community still want that grungy dungeon feeling, but it will be a much more comfortable space with a better sound system and better lighting, he said.

The dancefloor will be sunk an additional 1.5 metres to create a mezzanine level, which Danesi hopes will make it a more interesting space.

Stage one of the renovation will also see the terrace next to the existing hotel converted into a gaming room with new toilet facilities and a lift.

Once that is completed, Danesi will restore the public bar to the original 1930s art deco style, followed by an enlargement of the cabaret bar stage.

Drag will be better and bigger than ever. There’ll be a new stage, new special effects. I think it’s a really important part of the identity of the Imperial, he said.

Danesi’s dealings with council aren’t over yet, with a development application for an outdoor smoking area still being assessed, which he says is in everyone’s interest.

It’s ideally positioned to not cause any problems to residents because it’s between the buildings with very high walls, and there’ll be acoustic treatment done to the walls, he said. The only alternative is to put the smokers out on the street.

Neighbourhood objections to noise had previously held up confirmation of the 24-hour licence, which the hotel had operated under for decades.

Danesi is also floating the idea of a big stiletto shoe on top of the hotel.

I’d like something really flamboyant up there, that makes a statement about the history of Erskineville. I haven’t fully made up my mind, but I’m asking around on what people think.

The hotel’s resident drag host Mitzi Macintosh said the cabaret bar shows, including the famous Priscilla show, would move downstairs during the stage upgrade.

Back bigger and better with the new Imperial -“ it’s not something we can get rid of. You would think that having done it for 12 years I’d hate it, but I don’t, Macintosh said.

I look at it as the new Albury Hotel in the sense that whenever anybody comes to Sydney, they know the place to go see a drag show is the Imperial Hotel.

As well as being a melting pot, it has a grunge feel and doesn’t have any attitude. There’s not an expectation that you have to look pretty or dress up to go to the Imperial -“ except me.