boutique hotels – The Interiors Addict

Gourmet Traveller reveals 2018’s best Australian hotels

Currently in its fifth year, the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Hotel Guide Awards were handed down this month (seriously, it really is awards season!) and the winners have given me a serious case of wanderlust. From a new boutique inner-city Sydney hotel with its own cinema to a wharf side Hobart hotel boasting a deluxe mini-bar, the fabulously specific categories include ‘Best Bed’ and ‘Best Club Sandwich.’ How fun! What they all have in common is some seriously good design!

'Hotel of The Year' Paramount House. Image source: Sharyn Cairns — ‘Hotel of The Year’ Paramount House. Image source: Sharyn Cairns

“We’re seeing more hotels championing local makers and produce, and thinking hard about how to connect guests with the neighbourhood. We’re excited to showcase the new ideas and achievements of a dynamic industry that’s central to the lives of gourmet travellers,” says Gourmet Traveller’s editor Sarah Oakes.

The 'Best Bar' award winner - Crown Towers, Perth. — The ‘Best Bar’ award winner was Crown Towers in Perth

Produced by a team of reviewers from the magazine, who check in unannounced and pay their way, the awards choose the nation’s top 50 hotels and the best performers in 11 awards categories as well as outlining Australia’s leading lodges and resorts and the best forthcoming hotel openings.

'Boutique Hotel of The Year' Jackalope. — ‘Boutique Hotel of The Year’ Jackalope

Housed in a 1940’s warehouse in Surry Hills, in the former Australian headquarters of Paramount Picture Studios, is Paramount House Hotel which was awarded ‘Hotel of the Year’ honours. The hotel has an established café, arthouse cinema, health club, co-working space and forthcoming restaurant and bar as well as 29 rooms. “The hotel was designed to give guests a sense of place – something that doesn’t feel generic and offers a real slice of the area,” said co-owner Russell Beard.

'Hotel of The Year' Paramount House Hotel. Image source: Will Horner — ‘Hotel of The Year’ Paramount House Hotel. Image source: Will Horner

“It takes a village to make a great hotel. Paramount House Hotel’s unique appeal lies in the strength of the building’s creative community and the immediate neighbourhood,” said the Gourmet Traveller reviewers.

Mornington Peninsula's Jackalope took out two awards — Mornington Peninsula’s Jackalope

The highly original Mornington Peninsula hotel Jackalope took out two gongs – ‘Boutique Hotel of the Year’ and ‘Best Club Sandwich’ for its unique take on the culinary classic that features drunken chicken, pickled green tomatoes and bacon jam.

The 'Best Pool' award went to Elements of Byron in Byron Bay. — The ‘Best Pool’ award went to Elements of Byron in Byron Bay

The ‘Large Hotel of the Year’ award went to Hobart’s wharfside Macq01 who also took home the ‘Best Minibar’ award for its large and proud line-up of Tasmanian products.

Winner of the 'Large Hotel of the Year' and 'Best mini-bar' awards was Hobart's Macq01 — Winner of the ‘Large Hotel of the Year’ and ‘Best Minibar’ awards was Hobart’s Macq01

‘Best Bed’ went to Mayfair Hotel in Adelaide while ‘Best Breakfast’ went to Halcyon House at Cabarita Beach in northern New South Wales. ‘Best Pool’ was awarded to Elements of Byron in Byron Bay while Crown Towers Perth took out the ‘Best Bar’ award.

The full list of winners:

Hotel of the Year: Paramount House Hotel, Sydney, NSW

Large Hotel of the Year: Macq01, Hobart, Tas

Boutique Hotel of the Year: Jackalope, Mornington Peninsula, Vic

Regional Hotel of the Year: Lake House, Daylesford, Vic

Best Service: Spicers Clovelly Estate, Montville, Qld

Best Breakfast: Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach, NSW

Best Pool: Elements of Byron, Byron Bay, NSW

Best Bar: TWR, Crown Towers Perth, WA

Best Bed:Mayfair Hotel, Adelaide, SA

Best Club Sandwich:Jackalope, Mornington Peninsula, Vic

Best Minibar: Macq01, Hobart, Tas

You can peruse the complete list of the nation’s top 50 hotels in the June issue of Gourmet Traveller which is on sale now.

For more | A Hunter Valley hotel revamped by Greg Natale

Our guide to Australian weekend getaways for interiors addicts

Who doesn’t love a holiday? If I could, I’d be jetting off every week… but alas there’s work and bills and money doesn’t grow on trees! So that’s where weekend getaways come in. They’re cheap(ish), only a drive away and allow you to appreciate all the beauty Australia has to offer. And when I say beauty I don’t just mean the great outdoors, but rather exquisitely designed accommodation. Below are our top picks for interiors addicts.

Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach, NSW

The former surfer motel turned luxury hotel is situated at one of the country’s best surf breaks and one of its most idyllic beachfront towns, Cabarita Beach in northern NSW. With 19 rooms and two suites, each is individually designed with a definite sense of beachside nostalgia. Featuring an on-site restaurant and bar, plus a beachfront pool and terrace, it’s the ideal setting for a luxurious holiday.

Hotel Hotel, Canberra, ACT

Canberra got cool when Hotel Hotel arrived! A collaboration between designers, artists, artisans and fantasists, each of the 68 rooms (plus apartments and lofts) are unique. With a love for the well made and the handmade, the beds are made from reclaimed oak and the walls are a mix of concrete, cork, earthen clay and natural fibre wallpapers. To top it off there’s an onsite restaurant and bar, the go-to place for lucidity to debauchery between 6.30am and 1am!

The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa, Byron Bay, NSW

Set within a 45 acre rainforest but just minutes from the centre of Byron Bay, the resort truly offers the best of both worlds. Whether your walking to the beach – pass a scrub turkey and tree frog, swimming in the infinity pool, practising yoga with the chilled but professional staff or stuffing yourself at the restaurant, the experience is quintessential Byron Bay.

QT Hotels & Resorts, Nationally (Sydney, Bondi, Melbourne, Falls Creek, Canberra, Gold Coast and Port Douglas)

The un-chainlike chain, QT Hotels & Resorts offers a personalised guest experience, top-notch dining and that signature touch of quirk. From the cockatoo-shaped lamps and retro beach chic at the Gold Coast to the politician photo-framed mirrors in Canberra, each hotel has a distinct playful personality.

Art Series Hotel Group, Nationally (Melbourne, Bendigo, Brisbane and Adelaide)

Dedicated to Australian contemporary artists, each hotel takes design inspiration from its namesake artist, be it landscape artist John Olsen at The Olsen in Melbourne’s South Yarra or indigenous artist Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson at The Watson in the Adelaide Hills. With original artworks and prints adorning the walls, the multifaceted art-inspired experience comes complete with art libraries, art tours and art utensils available on demand.

The Estate Trentham, VIC

The brainchild of designer and stylist Lynda Gardener, The Estate is a beautiful 1902 federation home in the heart of Trentham, one hour from Melbourne. Boutique accommodation at its best, the interiors are inspired by Scandinavia — think fresh white walls, dark floors and airy rooms; complemented by a mix of old and new furniture from European fleamarkets to local country finds. Two bedrooms are in the house and an original potato pickers shed houses the third. Lynda is also the mastermind behind three other, equally beautiful boutique Victoria properties: The White House Daylesford, The Apartment St Kilda and The White Room Fitzroy.

Saffire Freycinet, Coles Bay, TAS

The environment is the real star of the show at Saffire Freycinet. Set in Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park, you’ll wake each morning to the pink-granite rocks of Hazards mountains and the blue water of Coles Bay. With the architecture and interiors inspired by nature the design is uncontrived and luxurious, creating an almost seamless feel between the inside and out.

We hope you liked our list. Let us know what you would add.