Stays

11 Australian Hotels With Inspo-Worthy Interiors

More than just somewhere to sleep, some of Australia’s most memorable stays are destinations in their own right, where architecture, interiors and art are just as compelling as the location.

Whether you’re planning a weekend escape or simply looking for your next dose of design inspiration, these hotels prove great design can transform even the shortest getaway into something unforgettable.

Discover 11 of our favourites below!

Written
by
Bea Taylor

Hyde Melbourne Place, designed by Kennedy Nolan.

The interior spaces are enveloped in dark timber and warm hues.

Hyde Melbourne Place

Designed by Melbourne-based architecture and interior design firm Kennedy Nolan, Hyde Melbourne Place has quickly become the go-to CBD destination for designers and design-lovers alike.

The distinct red brick building is matched with equally warm and playful interiors — think terrazzo floors, timber cabinetry, and walls adorned with local art. To top it all off, literally, the newly opened Cleo rooftop bar brings a slice of Mediterranean food and interior inspo to your stay.

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Surf Hotel in Torquay combines retro charm with contemporary coastal style. Photo – Ryan Heywood

Photo – Ryan Heywood

The hotel’s restaurant looks out onto ocean views. Photo – Ryan Heywood

Surf Hotel

Once a former motel, this newly refurbished hotel in Torquay, Victoria, blends retro charm with modern coastal design.

You’ll find vinyl record players in each room alongside cork floors, mid-century furniture and, of course, surfboards. The picturesque sea views are the icing on the cake.

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Pops of red meet playful animal print inside the rooms of Hannah St Hotel. Photo – Courtesy of TFE Hotels

The playful interiors were designed by Flack Studio. Photo – Courtesy of TFE Hotels

Photo – Courtesy of TFE Hotels

Hannah St Hotel

Hannah St Hotel is Melbourne’s newest design-forward destination. With exteriors by Fraser & Partners and interiors by David Flack, the hotel is a bold expression of modern Melbourne nostalgia.

As expected with any Flack-designed interior, the spaces are layered and intimate, with a bit of ‘everything’ — 1930s elegance, 1950s curves, 1980s blush tones and a splash of French and Italian modernism from the 1920s.

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The Bonobo hotel interiors were designed by Studio Manifold. Photo – Sean Fennessey

Photo – Sean Fennessey

The rooftop pool. Photo – Sean Fennessey

The Bonobo

There’s an electric feeling when you step into The Bonobo in Byron Bay. The interiors, designed by Studio Manifold, are appropriately playful and invigorating.

The design studio matched the sharp brutalist architecture by Richards and Spence with spaces inspired by Brazilian modernism — soft and textured, with an eclectic mix of art and vintage finds.

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Interior designer David Flack says The Ace Sydney continues Ace’s reputation for creating ‘infamous’ lobbies designed for hanging out. Photo – Anson Smart

The hotel is located within a 100-year-old building. Photo – Anson Smart

Photo – Anson Smart

Ace Hotel Sydney

The Ace Hotel Sydney needs no introduction. Another Flack Studio project, the 100-year-old building was given a total revamp, opening its doors in 2022 and remaining a popular design destination in Sydney since.

The hotel’s raw material palette of reclaimed brick, terracotta, sandstone, terrazzo and rich colours makes it an unforgettable experience, plus all the furniture and lighting was custom-designed by Flack Studio.

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The Calile Hotel’s pool is a must-visit! Photo – Sean Fennessey

The rooms feature arches, pastel hues and warwm timber. Photo – Sean Fennessey

The Calile Hotel

Bathed in pretty pastel colours, The Calile Hotel brings Palm Springs style to Brisbane. The hotel embraces its tropical setting to become the ultimate urban resort, with outdoor dining cabanas and sun lounges, open-air breezeways and a sparkling central pool.

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The EVE Hotel. Photo – Georg Roske

The hotel’s restaurant, Bar Julius. Photo – Georg Roske

The lobby. Photo – Georg Roske

The EVE Hotel

The newly opened EVE Hotel Sydney brings together art and design with warmth and materiality. Their new initiative, Art House, transforms the hotel into a living gallery, where Australian artists enjoy a vibrant spotlight. The inaugural season launched with the expressive work of artist and Dinosaur Designs co-founder Louise Olsen.

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The StandardX Hotel interiors are designed by Hecker Guthrie, and the architecture by Woods Bagot. Photo – Shannon McGrath

The interiors draw on the hotel’s eclectic and creative location in Fitzroy. Photo – Shannon McGrath

Photo – Shannon McGrath

StandardX Hotel

Found in creative Fitzroy, Melbourne’s StandardX Hotel is appropriately design-forward. Taking inspiration from the area’s industrial roots, designers Hecker Guthrie drew on a palette of raw, unpolished and utilitarian materials alongside modern furniture and pops of bright colour — not unlike what you’d expect to see in an original Fitzroy warehouse apartment.

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Hotel Marvell’s restaurant, Bonito. Photo – David Chatfield

Hotel Marvell features brutalist architecture with a tropical twist. Photo – David Chatfield

The rooms have a soft, neutral colour palette. Photo – David Chatfield

The rooftop pool. Photo – David Chatfield

Hotel Marvell

Brutalism meets tropical escape in Byron Bay’s Hotel Marvell featuring natural materials blending seamlessly with luxurious touches. While light concrete, warm blonde timber and soft white and grey bed linen and furnishings adorn the guest rooms, deeper, earthier reds and greys line the common spaces. A long rooftop pool brings it all together.

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A Raes guesthouse, designed by Tamsin Johnson. Photo – Anson Smart

The penny tiles in the bathrooms were custom designed for the hotel. Photo – Anson Smart

Photo – Anson Smart

Raes On Wategos

Also found in Byron Bay, Raes takes a Spanish-meets-Hollywood spin on coastal aesthetics. Designed by interior designer Tamsin Johnson, the boutique hotel is awash with earthy pastels and vintage-inspired details. Most of the furnishings are local and custom made, including the bedheads, bed canopies, and alabaster sconces. Stay in the hotel, or in the guesthouses a mere one-minute stroll away.

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The rooms are warm and tactile with sunburn hues and locally sourced pieces. Photo – Courtesy of Hyde Perth.

The pool transports you to the Mediterranean. Photo – Courtesy of Hyde Perth.

Hyde Perth

Hyde Perth pulls from inspiration very close to home — the sun-washed Australian landscape. Light stone and richly grained timbers are met with golden, sunburnt tones and warm textural finishes. These colours even extend to the pool, which is wrapped in yellow tiles and lined with rich maroon loungers.

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