Top 10 places to stay in WA

Perth is enjoying a golden age of hotel development, and there’s now a property to suit every traveller.

Lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Perth

It was only a decade ago that Perth was desperately short of hotel rooms, and when a large event or conference hit town, visitors were struggling to find a bed. But fear not, dear traveller. Since 2012, Perth and its surrounds have gained 49 new or redeveloped hotel properties, and there are now an additional 6,669 hotel rooms in which to lay your head.

The Australian Hotels Association (WA) CEO, Bradley Woods, is delighted with the change.

 “The transformation of WA’s hotel industry over the past decade has been extraordinary, with a world class selection of new hotels opening, while others have been extensively renovated,” he says. Covid-19 did not appear to slow the openings out west, and Perth is well prepared for future international visitors.

“In the past two years alone over $1 billion has been invested in hotels across Perth and regional WA,” says Woods. “As Australia’s western gateway, with a multitude of accommodation options for tourists and business travellers, Perth is arguably better placed than any other Australian city to rebound strongly after COVID-19.”

As for domestic visitors, Perth is ready right now. The city centre and other tourist centres are brimming with renewed vigour. Here we take a look at some of our favourite new openings from the last three years.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Perth’s glitziest hotel makes a bold statement, right on the river at Elizabeth Quay. The hotel is Ritz-Carlton’s first in Australia, and it pays tribute to the mighty state in which it stands. Designed to invoke the sense of a gorge in Karijini National Park, the lobby features 10,000 pieces of Kimberley sandstone in purples and pinks. The hotel offers 205 guestrooms, including 19 suites with sweeping river views. Naturally, there’s an infinity pool and a spa, where four opulent treatment rooms and vitality pools await. Hearth restaurant is a high-end nod to barbeque and open-flame cooking, and Chef Jed Gerrard’s menu features superb local and Indigenous foods. Take the lift to Songbird bar, a glorious rooftop terrace with strappy Eucalypts and a deluxe fire pit. Sip a cocktail from the delicate hand-blown glassware as you watch the sunset over the river.
ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/australia/perth

DoubleTree by Hilton Perth Waterfront

Right next door and also on the Swan River is the most recent of DoubleTree by Hilton’s offerings. Adjacent to the Bell Tower, this hotel offers spectacular water and city views. Opening in December 2020, the 229-room hotel incorporates a rooftop infinity pool and is really making waves with its rooftop bar, 18 Knots. Keep an eye on all the river action through the large picture windows of restaurant Reel Kitchen, while dining on fresh West Australian seafood. Meeting rooms and a fitness centre make this a great choice for business travellers or for leisure travellers seeking an affordable riverfront stay.
hilton.com/en/hotels/perbsdi-doubletree-perth-waterfront

Parmelia Hilton Perth

This 53-year old city stalwart has undergone a $45 million transformation, rendering it unrecognisable in a good way. A sleek new lobby area features a five-metre wide artwork by Leon Pericles called ‘The Spirits Within,’ paying tribute to WA’s Indigenous inhabitants and early European settlers. The hotel now offers completely touchless Digital Key technology to its 284 guest rooms. Also new is a pedestrian thoroughfare to Brookfield Place in the heart of the business district, perfect for those working in the city. Also appealing to the business traveller is the new executive lounge, complete with perks for executive level room bookings. Drop in to the stylish restaurant and bar, Samuels on Mill and try the excellent Fremantle octopus with chorizo.
hilton.com/en/hotels/perhitw-parmelia-hilton-perth/

The Adnate

The Adnate Hotel in Perth

Turning the business hotel concept on its head is The Adnate, an Art Series Hotel by Accor. The 250-room hotel is dedicated to the bright and bold works of Australian artist Matt Adnate, who specialises in big wall street art, particularly multicultural portraiture. The hotel’s claim to fame is its ‘mega mural,’ a monumental artwork spanning 25 storeys on the side of the hotel, the tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere, highlighting Perth’s cultural history and community. The hotel also features 650 Adnate art prints throughout guest rooms and public areas. On level one, the Miami-style Hyde Perth Kitchen + Cocktails is centred around an outdoor heated pool. Colourful finishes and flourishes of gold bring a light-hearted atmosphere to the city centre.
https://www.artserieshotels.com.au/adnate/

Vibe Subiaco

Exterior of Vibe Hotel in Subiaco

Just five minutes west of the city, you’ll find the genteel suburb of Subiaco, popular for its boutiques, cafés and bars, itself undergoing a renaissance. Here, Vibe Hotels have made their first foray west, opening the 168-room Vibe Subiaco in late 2020. Clad in a striking honeycomb exterior, Vibe offers no-fuss value aimed at business and leisure travellers and including interconnecting suites for families. The hotel has a pool, gym and conference facilities, but the biggest surprise packet is the rooftop Storehouse Restaurant and Bar. Featuring a classy Art Deco-style bar the sweeping views stretch out across Subiaco rooftops towards the city skyline and towering trees of Kings Park. Try the ocean trout with chambray sheep’s curd or the 1.5-kilogram lamb shoulder.
https://vibehotels.com/book-accommodation/perth/

Warders Hotel

The Warders Hotel, Fremantle

Further west again is the eclectic suburb of Fremantle. In the World Heritage-listed heart of ‘Freo’ a row of convict-built terrace houses, originally housing the prison guards (warders), of adjacent Fremantle Prison have been reimagined as the Warders Hotel. Dating to 1851, the 11-room hotel features restored timbers and stonework, and opulent touches like marble ensuites, sparkling water on tap and a complimentary mini-bar. A stay here includes priority booking for a table at their fabulous restaurant Emily Taylor, named after a spice trading vessel wrecked off Fremantle. The limestone-walled courtyard features Chinese umbrellas, jacarandas, frangipanis and a unique history-meets-hipster vibe that is oh so Fremantle. Try the fresh dumplings with spicy sauces and signature roast duck pancakes. Tiny on-site café Gimlet helps guests start the day right with a complimentary breakfast coffee and pastry.
www.wardershotel.com.au

The National Hotel

Also tapping into Fremantle’s heritage, this grand dame of pubs is located in the historic west end precinct. First built in 1887, the hotel’s first landlord committed murder and was the last man hanged at Perth Gaol. Rebuilt in its current form in 1903, the National has survived several fires, the most recent of which gutted the building in 2007. The impressive hotel reopened with Fremantle’s first roof-top bar, offering views right out to Rottnest Island. Downstairs, a traditional pub atmosphere has been preserved, the bar hosting live music every night, while the first floor has a family-friendly restaurant. The 12 individually styled boutique rooms feature furniture crafted by Fremantle artisans using local Marri wood. Rooms extend across two levels, some featuring French doors that open to the historic veranda and others built in the eaves of the building.
https://www.nationalhotelfremantle.com.au

Discovery Rottnest Island

Discovery Rottnest Island and Bathurst Lighthouse

From Fremantle, it’s only a 30-minute ferry ride to Rottnest Island (locally known as ‘Rotto’). It’s Western Australia’s pride and joy, and with 63 shimmering beaches it’s a car-free paradise for visitors. Discovery Rottnest Island opened in 2019, and was the first new accommodation on the island in 30 years. Discovery is Rotto’s first glamping resort, nestled behind the sand dunes with direct access to Pinky Beach and the Basin; both glorious, sheltered swimming spots. The resort consists of 83 eco-sensitive tents with ensuites, some catering to families, and all raised on stilts so the friendly quokkas can pass under if they wish. Each tent has a private deck and most have a kitchenette. The resort includes a 30-metre pool and Pinky’s Beach Club bar and restaurant, featuring gourmet local produce and a no-fuss kids’ menu.
https://www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au/discovery-rottnest-island

Samphire Rottnest, Rottnest Island

Perhaps glamping is not your style? If you’d like to focus more on ‘glam,’ try the island’s even newer hotel, Samphire Rottnest. The 80-room hotel opened in late 2020, and its barefoot-chic style is the most upmarket accommodation on the island. The two-storey buildings protect two lagoon-style pools from most breezes, and shade is provided by funky day bed pods. Natural landscaping uses endemic plants, and the reception’s roofline accommodates existing trees. All rooms have balconies, most facing the pools or beach laneways, while sixteen beachfront suites front the Indian Ocean. These suites include a private outdoor rain shower and free-standing bath. Natural materials and neutral-palette styling create an oasis of calm, and draw the gaze outside, to Rottnest’s nature. Make a reservation for Samphire’s Lontara restaurant, where the best of West Australian produce is fused with Southeast Asian flavours to create punchy, memorable dishes.
www.samphirerottnest.com.au.

Farmer’s Home Hotel

It’s not just Perth’s hotels that are getting a revamp. In the country town of Northam, 100 kilometres northeast of the city, the Farmer’s Home Hotel, dating to 1866, has been given touches of luxury that make it a destination in itself. The hotel is owned by Dome Coffees, which started as a café chain in Western Australia, and now also restores heritage buildings for cafés and hotels. The hotel’s former owners read like a who’s who of Western Australia’s colonial past, including George Throssell, who served as Premier, Alexander Forrest, a Kimberley explorer and Mayor of Perth and Septimus Burt, an Attorney-General. Today, the hotel offers 16 heritage-themed rooms, featuring stained glass windows, resorted fireplaces, and some with veranda access. Down on ground level, you’ll find the Temperance Bar serving local tipples, and of course, a Dome Café.
https://farmershomehotel.com