Australia’s latest hotels: Crowne Plaza; W Melbourne; Little National
There’s a surprising number of recently launched and about-to-open CBD and city-fringe properties to capture the local market.
There’s a surprising number of recently launched and about-to-open CBD and city-fringe hotels across Australia. Some have delayed their dates to chime in with a (hopefully) buoyant new year for the tourism industry, others have accelerated openings to capture the summer holiday season.
Melbourne takes the crown for the most development, with Sydney and Adelaide in hot pursuit. All such activity is a winner for holiday-makers and staycationers alike as kick-start deals abound, many as generous as 20 per cent off launch rates or topped up with extras such as tickets to local attractions plus complimentary parking, food and beverage vouchers, late checkouts and mini-bars. Here’s a round-up of the brightest and the best.
Sydney
The Little National keeps it smart and snug. While the trend across Australian cities has been for international brands and relatively large-scale properties, this 230-room hotel above Wynyard railway station boasts the unique compactness the “little” tag suggests. Accommodation is minimalist but stylish with inventive use of space and integrated technology. Canberra-based Doma Hotels first rolled out the brand in the ACT over five properties, including apartments, and the NSW coastal city of Newcastle is next in line. The philosophy is all about great locations and easy access, communal work and socialisation spaces and, in the case of Sydney, a convivial rooftop terrace, bar and lounge.
PLUS Accor’s MGallery collection will welcome the Porter House boutique new-build by year’s end on Castlereagh Street; the 121-room hotel inventory occupies levels one to nine, topped by a residential tower, and the adjacent heritage-listed Porter House is to be redeveloped and integrated.
Melbourne
The 294-room W Melbourne is set for a February arrival within the Collins Arch mixed-used, dual-tower skyscraper in Collins Street. Expect all the signature W “wow” touches and moments, including a juke box in the top suite, DJ booth by the indoor pool, “design cues from Melbourne’s laneway culture”, four restaurants and a batch of bars. W is Marriott’s youth-accented brand and its relentless emphasis on cool is not for everyone (a recent recruitment ad called for “music curators”) but the gleaming hotel’s towering views and playful tone should add a glam new edge to the CBD and prove a tonic after Victoria’s 2020 lockdowns.
PLUS The 113-room Lancemore Crossley St Hotel in Little Bourke Street opened late last year in the heart of the city’s theatre and entertainment hub. Ovolo and Moxy are both launching properties in South Yarra this year; Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is taking bookings from March; and Accor’s Sebel brand opens a 103-room property next month at Ringwood in “Melbourne’s burgeoning eastern suburbs growth corridor”, 23km east of the CBD.
Adelaide
The 329-room Crowne Plaza Adelaide has just debuted in the city’s tallest building, Frome Central Tower One, and boasts sweeping views of the SA capital via floor-to-ceiling windows plus the brand’s WorkLife Room design, which blends the latest and fastest technology with plush beds and luxe extras. This Crowne Plaza tier of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is in expansion mode in Australia; its Hobart property opened in July, followed by Darling Harbour, Sydney, last October.
PLUS The 138-room Oval Hotel, the first in Australia within a sports stadium, has been a hit since it made its October debut; the 250-room Sofitel Adelaide opens mid-2021 in a 32-storey mixed-use tower on Currie Street.
Perth
The 205-room Ritz-Carlton Perth opened in late 2019 at Elizabeth Quay and has hit its city stride over the past year, as has its petite neighbour, the redeveloped 80-room Quay Perth. The much-delayed 150-room, tall and ultra-slim Moxy Perth, part of Marriott’s lifestyle brand, should open by the end of 2021 in Hay Street, East Perth, on the site of a demolished hostel.
PLUS Meantime, freshly open for business is the 80-room, lodge-style Samphire at Thomson Bay on Rottnest Island, 90 minutes by ferry from Perth.
Hobart
TFE’s four-star Vibe brand arrived in Tasmania in December with a clear focus on island-made and sourced furniture, fittings, food and beverages. Expect Tasmania to star front and centre at Vibe Hotel Hobart, including oak timbers, pure bottled water, artisan textiles and design inspiration. Connections with the environment are evident in decor details such as corridor carpets with patterns based on the striated sandstone cliffs of Bruny Island, less than an hour south of Hobart. The 142-room hotel sits close to pubs, cafes, bars, restaurants and the “fish punt” seafood purveyors at Constitution Dock.
PLUS The Tasman, a Marriott luxury collection member property, with 152 guestrooms and suites, is set in a 19th-century building on Parliament Square, replete with heritage art deco features; due to open in March. Accor’s Movenpick brand launches a new build this month on the Hobart waterfront featuring 221 guestrooms and suites with broad views of historic streetscapes and the harbour.
Launceston
Hotel Verge opened in November on the site of a former council car park. The look across 86 guestrooms is moody and ultra-chic, with a design mantra of “industrial luxe”, all exposed concrete ceilings, timber finishes, sleek black and grey fittings, the latest in smart TVs and Tasmanian-crafted furniture, including the beds. Verge Ultimate category chambers are located in corner positions and include lounge area, freestanding bath and double basins. There’s an on-site diner and cafe, and management describes the location as “kind of in the CBD but also in a really hip part of the city”.
PLUS The new property’s main contender, Peppers Silo Hotel, a 108-room transformation of grain silos blended with contemporary design, opened in 2018, has upped its green credentials and is firmly aboard Launceston City Council’s Food Organics and Garden Organics program to divert food waste to compost.
Brisbane
There’s been a lull of newcomers to the Queensland capital after the accommodation boom of 2018-19, which added properties such as The Calile, Novotel South Bank, W Brisbane, Ovolo Inchcolm and Ovolo The Valley, FV by Peppers at Fortitude Valley, The Sebel Brisbane Margate Beach, The Westin Brisbane, Emporium Hotel South Bank and art-focused Fantauzzo at heritage-listed Howard Smith Wharves.
PLUS The staggeringly large and expensive Queens Wharf Development of integrated urban resorts and casino is in progress, with an anticipated opening in late 2022; there are about 1000 hotel rooms in the mix, including top digs at a six-star Rosewood. Watch that space.
Cairns
The 311-room Flynn, opened in November, is one of the fast-growing Crystalbrook Collection of hotels, resorts, restaurants and spas. It occupies a prime spot on The Esplanade, well positioned for city sightseeing and Great Barrier Reef excursions. The design and ethos are funky, including a glass-sided pool at Boardwalk Social bar and diner; top accommodation features balconies facing the Coral Sea, including two-bedroom Sea Suites.
PLUS Stablemate property Crystalbrook Riley is also on The Esplanade. Its late-2018 opening marked the first five-star hotel built in Cairns in more than 20 years.
More to the story
Many hotels have used COVID-19 closures and down-time to refurbish, refresh and even rebrand. At Surfers Paradise, JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa reopened last month following a name refresh and $35m overhaul that features six new dining and drinking venues, including a Japanese izakaya and whisky bar that references the street culture of Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku district. Hyatt Regency Sydney, Australia’s largest hotel, upgraded 75 per cent of guestrooms and suites in 2020, unifying a nautically inspired decor in line with its Darling Harbour location; hotel management describes the refresh as “the final part of the puzzle” since its $250m rebuild of the former Four Points Sheraton in 2016. Also in the Darling Harbour precinct, Fraser Suites unveiled an upgrade of soft furnishings and technology across its sleek suites and studios.
