Best Luxury Hotels in Australia

Just 250 metres from Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, The Westin is an urban retreat. With a heated pool and the swim-up bar Nautilus (the only one of its kind in Brisbane), you get can get a sun holiday experience, with all the benefits and amenities of a city break. A menu of international dishes is served in the Charles restaurant, with Aussie classics on offer at the Edens Table restaurant. And if you bring your canine best friends, you can be sure of VIP treatment — the chefs here have created a full menu that’s just for pet pooches. It’s child-friendly too, making it a great choice for family stays.

Queen Street Mall was the chosen location for Hyatt’s inaugural Brisbane property, opening its doors in early 2021. A 20-metre heated infinity-edge rooftop pool surrounded by a swish pool bar sets this hotel apart. Guests are accommodated across 292 bedrooms with either city or river views, robes and slippers, and room service on request. There’s a Tesla charging point on site, valet parking and a gym. The popular Lennons Restaurant and Bar cooks up comfort food using seasonal low carbon footprint ingredients, as well as the sought-after Wonder Pies by Ray Capaldi, and a list of Australian wines to accompany your meal.

This 175-bedroom urban lifestyle resort may be every bit the modern hotel, but it contains plenty of nods to midcentury style. Book a cabana beside the 88-foot pool (which has a glitzy US feel) for dinner or daytime sunbathing, champagne in hand. And request one of the ‘pink’ rooms for a view of this terrace – all of the bedrooms come with Bluetooth speakers, minibars and blackout drapes, with interconnecting and accessible spaces available. Tuck into some moussaka or mezze at The Calile’s Greek eatery, Hellenika, then finish your night with cocktails in the Lobby Bar.

Wake up to the sound of the waves when you book a beach-facing room at this family-friendly MGallery property. An outdoor pool also looks onto the ocean, flanked by a glass balustrade. Guests have several options for dining at Manly Pacific; Zalis serves modern, laid-back Australian cuisine from breakfast through to dinner and Bistro Manly provides a contemporary coastal take on French food, crafted using fresh seasonal produce. For drinks, there’s Sable, a mezzanine wine bar and the Charlie bar, which incorporates a gaming area.

This is a trendy lifestyle hotel offering visitors something a little bit different, in one of Canberra’s hippest neighbourhoods. Rooms feature custom artworks, complimentary minibars stocked with food and drink from local suppliers, smart TVs with Chromecast, toiletries from Australian skincare specialists Hunter Lab and coffeemakers, all as standard, with suites adding living areas and sofas. The decor throughout the property is mod and design-forward, with a suitably dark palette. Amenities include a fitness centre, a 25-metre heated pool, a sauna, the Braddon Merchant restaurant serving modern Aussie fare and the Midnight Bar.

Immaculate landscaping (the topiary is quite the work of art) and a country club feel await travellers checking into the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. The interiors of this low-rise Heritage Listed Hotel (which dates back to 1924) feature many of its original Art Deco design elements, along with a refined selection of classic furnishings that bring the property into this century. There’s a courtyard for drinks, two restaurants, a tennis court, a health club and a heated pool. A ten-minute walk brings you to attractions including an art gallery, library, Japanese garden and the lake.

This Art Deco-era Heritage Building took on new life welcoming high-end travellers in 2015. It is found in the hub of the city, the central business district, and is a serene, sophisticated and plush oasis. Guests can expect to find L’Occitane toiletries, a minibar stocked with complimentary local treats and media hubs and standard; those staying in the Executive category suites also benefit from Nespresso machines, a daily fruit bowl and local chocolates at turndown. The restaurant, with a menu featuring the likes of steak, seafood and caviar, is located in the basement, while the opulent Hennessy Bar occupies the Mayfair’s 13th floor rooftop.

Named after the Greek Goddess of Dawn, this 120-bedroom boutique hotel stuns with a mirror-glass frontage that catches the abundant sunlight. It features interiors by local design team Hecker Guthrie and Walter Brooke, with suspended lighting, velvet chairs, marble coffee tables and gilded glass minibars. Some suites have birds’ eye river views through floor-to-ceiling windows and the two-bedroom Grace Villa offers butler service, on-demand mixologists and spa therapists, an office, a sauna and a gym. There’s a pool deck with a hot tub, a spa with products by IKOU, a family-friendly Italian eatery and a sleek restaurant serving plant-based and degustation menus.