Wildlife Retreat at Taronga: This overnight zoo experience is Sydney’s best-kept secret

If you’re following along with our epic trip to Fiji and Australia, here is Part Seven of our grand adventure. Below are the previous stories if you want to catch up:

Part One: Flight review: Our 11-hour flight on Fiji Airways from Los Angeles to Nadi
Part Two: Getting from Nadi International Airport to Castaway Island in Fiji
Part Three: Hotel review: Castaway Island Resort Fiji
Part Four: Hotel review: Nanuku Resort Fiji
Part Five: Flight review: Fiji Airways from Nadi, Fiji to Sydney, Australia
Part Six: Roar and Snore at the Taronga Zoo: Hands down the coolest place to stay in Sydney, Australia

If you read our story about the Roar and Snore overnight experience at the Taronga Zoo, then you have a sense of how special it is. If glamping isn’t your thing but you would still love the experience of sleeping at the zoo, there’s an alternative. The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga offers the same proximity to incredible wildlife, jaw-dropping views and all with the comforts of a luxury hotel.

The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is such a unique experience, perhaps Sydney’s best-kept secret when it comes to places to stay. Here are all the details you need to know so you can get a sense of what to expect and add it to your bucket list. It’s incredible for anyone, really, but especially children and anyone who loves animals.

The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is set up like a regular hotel and just like the Roar and Snore, it too is owned and operated by the New South Wales (NSW) State Government.

ARRIVAL

If you’re taking an Uber or taxi to get there like we did, input your destination as the Wildlife Retreat at Taronga. The driver will drop you off by the gate, which requires guests to get buzzed in. Once inside, you’ll walk down the sidewalk about 100 yards to the lobby. GOOD TO KNOW: Here are some other options for getting to the zoo, including by ferry.

The lobby is perched above the zoo, overlooking the animals and city below. It’s hard not to be instantly impressed at how the plush the hotel is … and that’s before you’ve even checked in.

The lobby is large with plenty of seating and large, open windows as well as a small bar that serves food and drinks by friendly staff members.

If you have a lot of luggage or arrive before check-in (like us), the front desk will tag your bags and store them for you.

The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is home to 62 luxury rooms and suites housed in five environmentally sensitive, sustainably designed lodges, all integrated into the native bushland setting of the zoo. According to the design firm Cox Architecture: “The project aims to become one of Australia’s first 5-star Greenstar Hotel environments, creating an iconic, adventurous and interactive experience involving direct contact between animals and guests.”

THE ROOMS

The rooms each sleep two so the four of us (me, my wife and our two children, ages five and eight) were in connecting rooms 343 and 344.

Room 344 has a king size bed so my wife and daughter slept in that room.

My son and I slept in room 343 in twin beds. The pillows and bedding were very comfortable.

The rooms are beautiful with thoughtful design elements, like this overhead lighting.

Depending on which side of the sanctuary your room is on, you’ll have either kangaroos or koalas outside your room, along with other Australian wildlife. Immediately outside our window was a koala named Dharuk and it was an absolutely astonishing sight for all of us. Who needs TV or any other kind of entertainment when there’s a koala right outside your window? And since koalas sleep about 20 hours a day, Dharuk was there for the majority of our stay. The kids were fascinated.

All rooms have sliding windows with no screens so you can get an unobstructed view of the animals. If you don’t want to risk insects flying in (we didn’t experience any) but want the sound of the wildlife or the soothing waterfall in the sanctuary, there are windows on the side with thick metal screens. This way, you can have the best of both worlds. Honestly, where else can you sleep with a koala or kangaroo outside your window and enjoy spectacular Sydney Harbour views?

There’s a chair at the foot of each bed so you can watch the wildlife in comfort.

Each room has a closet with an iron, ironing board, robes and a safe built in to the drawer.

You’ll find a mini bar with all kinds of goodies, including a very tempting Tony’s chocolate bar. The small bar costs $4.50 AUD ($2.86 USD) and the large one is $10 AUD ($6.36 USD).

Guests can enjoy free coffee and tea in the room.
TIP: Don’t forget to pack adapters for Australian outlets.  I use this international adapter, which can be used around the world and my wife bought these adapters and this 7-in-1 power strip to charge up everyone’s devices.

THE ANIMALS

On one of our many tours, I learned that each stay at the Wildlife Retreat supports Taronga’s important animal conservation programs. The zoo focuses on protecting endangered species and their habitats through innovative breeding programs, research and global partnerships. The zoo’s efforts extend to critical projects like fighting wildlife trafficking, restoring ecosystems and educating visitors to inspire collective action for a sustainable future.

We arrived at the hotel just before our 1pm Wild Australia Experience tour so we stored our bags and met our zookeeper at the information desk located in the Main Plaza. From there, she led us on a great 90-minute tour.

Our first stop was to check out the Nura Diya Australia Precinct. Nura Diya means “this country” in Sydney First Language and is a new area of the zoo offering guests an up-close and personal experience with Australian wildlife.

Operating twice a day in a small, exclusive group setting, this tour is the perfect way to get an insider’s view of Taronga’s Australian wildlife.

Guests also go behind the scenes at Taronga’s Australian Nocturnal House and have the chance to meet one of Australia’s favorite furry friends during a personal koala encounter.

In the state of New South Wales where Sydney is located, you can’t touch koalas but you can in Queensland, a state just north of NSW. However, here, through the private koala encounter, you can get up close and look at them and even get a great photo.

We also learned that the koala is the most expensive animal to feed at the zoo. I would have guessed the elephants, but koalas eat a thousand trees in a lifetime and they’re very particular about the leaves they eat. We were told that there are 700 different types of eucalyptus trees but the koalas at the Wildlife Retreat will only eat two or three of them, just the ones their mothers fed them.

Next up, we saw the echidnas, which look like porcupines but are more closely related to the platypus. They’re found all around Australia. I once saw one hiking on Kangaroo Island. They’re known as spiny anteaters and belong to the Tachyglossidae family.

DINING

On one of the tours, I learned that the word ‘Taronga’ means ‘beautiful view’. On a clear day, the main restaurant on-property, Me-Gal, really shows off why. It has sweeping views of the Sydney Harbour and the wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows beautifully showcase the stunning scenery all around.

Me-Gal is named after the Cammeraigal word for ‘tears’ and evokes the saltwater surrounding the restaurant’s beautiful location. The culinary focus is on serving fresh, sustainably sourced produce with a seasonally changing menu of dishes. Me-Gal embraces communal dining, with dishes designed for sharing. Breakfast is included in most packages including for those guests who arrive early to the retreat (before 10am).

Dinner is on the fancy side. The kids menu is $45 AUD ($28 USD) and comes with a drink and dessert. The offerings like zucchini and ricotta, fish and chips and chicken scaloppini were a tad too fancy for our kids and our son has food allergies so we asked to speak with the chef. He was kind enough to come over and said no problem, he could make the kids an allergen-free pasta ($24 AUD, $15 USD).

ZOO TOURS

There are a lot of advantages to staying at the Wildlife Retreat, including getting access to a back door to the zoo by using your bamboo room key (most people wear it around their necks). Note: Guests are only allowed in the zoo during general public hours. To tour the zoo after hours, you have to be with a guide.

Speaking of after hours, there are multiple behind-the-scenes tours that come with staying at the retreat. One of them is a night walk. Once the zoo is closed, no one can enter unless you are a guest of the Wildlife Retreat and are with a guide. Because of the time of year, it wasn’t quite dark when we did our tour.

Another tour not to be missed is the Wollemi Tour, which departs at 7:15am, 8am or 9am. You can choose what best fits you and a guide will take you into the zoo before it is open to the public.

We explored the Blue Mountains Bushwalk Aviary and saw so many different beautiful and colorful birds.

On the way back, we stopped to see the red kangaroos and …

… the Tasmanian Devils.

And then there’s everyone’s favorite, the koala encounter, which I wrote about above, where guests get to enjoy an up-close experience. Here, we learned that the roar Steven Spielberg used for the original Jurassic Park movie was actually the roars of three different koalas. If you leave your windows open at night, you can hear the koalas’ bellows, which are both territorial and mating calls.

SANCTUARY TOUR

Included in all stays at the Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is an afternoon Sanctuary Tour. The Sanctuary Tour tours the area right outside your room window and runs between 3pm and 5pm and at check-in, you will be assigned a tour time. The afternoon Sanctuary Tour does not need to be pre-booked and they have multiple tours running to accommodate guest schedules. If you have a preferred time, you can specify when you are booking.

TARONGA ZOO SYDNEY TWO-NIGHT FAMILY WILDLIFE RETREAT

The zoo has a package deal for two adults and two children. It includes two interconnecting rooms (subject to availability), Sanctuary access, Night Walk, Wollemi Tour, Koala Encounter, plush toys for the children, dinner ($500 food and beverage credit), daily buffet breakfast, plus additional breakfast on the day of arrival and Zoo entry while onsite. Check-in is at 2pm and checkout is 10am. Parking is also included. Prices depend on time of year, time of week and room type. Sunday to Thursday with Animal View $3,110 AUD ($1,979 USD). Bushland View $2,770 ($1,763 USD). Friday & Saturday with an animal view is $3,250 ($2,068 USD). Bushland View $3,010 ($1,915 USD). Book by March 20, 2025 and travel valid through to June 30, 2025.

For more family-friendly activity ideas in Sydney, check out Cultural Attractions of Australia, a collection of Australia’s most notable attractions that provide behind-the-scenes experiences.

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