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Despite the chaos in the travel industry these past 18 months there’s one sector seemingly unfazed by the uncertainty: Hotels.
They’re still opening up all over the shop. Which is encouraging news, because we could all use something to look forward to when we’re free to roam across Australia again.
From five-star city digs to affordable coastal and wilderness retreats, here’s the pick of the new properties set to open between now and summer 2022.
Adelaide’s about to welcome its first new global five-star hotel in 30 years. The $150m Sofitel Adelaide is slated to launch in September, with 251 rooms and suites inside a 32-storey glass tower on central Currie St.
The vibe’s French, in keeping with the brand’s background, but the elegant design plays on Adelaide’s reputation for art, culture and wine.
There are specially commissioned works throughout the property including a dramatic glass lobby chandelier shaped like a splash of red wine. Speaking of drinks, there’ll be two in-house bars and a proudly French restaurant.
In the beautiful Scenic Rim region south of Brisbane, five new “wander pods” will open this month beside Lake Wyaralong at the 1600-hectare Overflow Estate vineyard.
The pods are anchored to lakefront promontories for serene watery views.
Baillie Lodges, Australia’s top homegrown hotel operators, are set to unveil their revamped Silky Oaks Lodge in November, in the World Heritage-listed Daintree rainforest.
Given Baillie Lodges’ past form – Southern Ocean Lodge, Capella on Lord Howe, Longitude 131 – expect some serious jungle luxury. And the apartment-style Netanya Resort, the queen of Noosa’s Hastings St, will emerge from a major makeover next month with a beachfront horizon pool and roof top cabanas.
In Sydney, the next cab off the hotel rank is Aiden Darling Harbour, an 88-room bolthole facing the National Maritime Museum and Pyrmont Bridge.
The building’s a late Deco number built for cereal storage and more recently home to the National Film and Sound Archive. Rooms range from poky to balcony, all with eyecatching murals of native flora by Queensland-based artist Jess Le Clerc.
Posh pub giant Merivale has branched into the motel business, snapping up The Whale Inn at Narooma on NSW’s far south coast. Its 17 rooms have been freshened up but still look very much like motor-inn digs, albeit with some stunning coastal views.
There’s also a pool, bar and Frenchaccented restaurant.
By December, Accor’s hoping to have the keys to its latest Australian property on Bathurst St in central Sydney. The Porter House Hotel’s 121 rooms will lodge in the lower floors of a 36-storey skyscraper and offer two restaurants, pool and fitness and an art-gallery bar.
There’s little new to report from Melbourne, where more than half a dozen landmark hotels have already opened this year, including shiny new offerings from Hilton, W and Ovolo.
But at the time of writing, the Swiss-brand Mövenpick has just moved into Spencer St at the base of the slinky Premier Tower opposite Southern Cross Station.
Besides 172 rooms and an Asian restaurant, the key thing to note about Mövenpick Melbourne is its daily “chocolate hour” ritual involving guests eating free truffles, brownies, mini ice-creams and more.
Also on Spencer St, at the site of the old Age building, Melbourne’s most anticipated new arrival is the Ritz-Carlton, which will be Australia’s highest hotel and one of its most luxurious when it finally opens next year.
Across Bass Strait, Ritz-Carlton owners Marriott International are putting the finishing touches to Hobart’s long-awaited The Tasman.
Construction of this 152-room showpiece has been slower than a national vaccination rollout.
But in this case the delay’s understandable given the tricky task of uniting three historic properties – including the 1840s St Mary’s Hospital and the 1920 Hydro Electric Commission Office, now the hotel’s heritage facade – with a contemporary glass extension.
There’ll be an Italian restaurant and a hidden, speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar. Expect a December arrival, in time for the annual sailing and festival crowds.
In Western Australia the Great Southern region’s banking on a tourist wave with the debut of Hilton Garden Inn Albany next month.
The hotel won’t win any design awards but its 108 rooms have pole position on the waterfront at Shoal Bay.
And in the Northern Territory, a new glamp-site’s popped up at Katherine Outback Experience, the working farm owned by singing horseman Tom Curtain, the multiple Golden Guitar winner, and his wife Annabel.
Stay overnight in five-metre bell tents, catch their popular outback show, go horseriding, and end each day with a sundowner and chats around the campfire, far from any care.