Overview
We all know what it's like when you're away from home and find yourself cursing your fast and loose packing style. You didn't pack enough socks, forgot the sunscreen, misplaced your moisturiser and thought you'd be too busy to need your book.
Well, the hyper-local Paramount House Hotel is helping fix these travel woes with a permanent vending machine in its lobby, stocked with all the kinds of goodies that might come in handy while you're staying upstairs — just don't expect to find cans of Coca Cola and bags of chips in this one.
The Lobby Boy vending machine, as it has affectionately been named, is wrapped in art by Sonny Day and filled with really useful stuff (dry shampoo, socks and jocks, face masks, eye drops, mints, lip gloss and sunscreen), helpful-for-killing-time stuff (books, bespoke playing cards, a disposable camera) and impractical-but-cool stuff, such as seven-inch vinyl records by the likes of Madonna.
And it's not run-of-the-mill stuff you'll find in there, either. Those socks? They're Supreme X Hanes. As are the boxers — which are leopard print. The face mask? It's a creepy looking (but very effective) rubber mask by Korean brand Dr Jart's. Lip gloss and sunscreen? Cult US beauty brand Glossier. And the mints? Artisanal yuzu ginger green tea mints, of course.
Nikki To
It also has a Lovers' Kit (for $40), filled with condoms, bespoke sex dice, and a few products from sexual wellness company Unbound, including jelly lube and silicone sex toys. 'Cause sometimes you just don't expect to get lucky on holidays.
You'll find the Lobby Boy in the reception area of the Paramount House Hotel, though you don't need to be staying the night to give it a whirl. The lobby is open 24 hours a day, which means you can stop by after a visit to Paramount Coffee Project, Golden Age Cinema, Paramount Recreation Club or Poly, which are all part of Paramount House.
Paramount House Hotel is located at 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills.
Images: Nikki To