2017 Australian Hotel Awards: The Finalists

2017 Australian Hotel Awards: The Finalists

This year’s finalists across 11 different categories include established and new hotels, all with particular areas of excellence. Stay tuned to find out which hotels will take the top spots when they’re announced at a ceremony at QT Melbourne on Wednesday 24 May, and published in our 2017 Australian Hotel Guide, on sale Thursday 25 May.

Pictured: Rooftop at QT Melbourne

Best minibar

They’re so often treated as an afterthought, so it’s a relief to check into a room and find a minibar that’s been assembled with care and attention to detail. Locally produced beers, wines, spirits and snacks are always a great start – they give guests a taste of the place they’ve come to visit. Even better, of course, when the contents are on the house.

Finalists

_Como The Treasury

__1 Cathedral Avenue, Perth, WA _ comohotels.com/thetreasury

_Ovolo Woolloomooloo

6 Cowper Wharf, Sydney, NSW, ovolohotels.com.au/ovolowoolloomooloo_

_QT Hotels & Resorts (pictured)

qthotelsandresorts.com_

Best club sandwich

We are, as far as we know, the only media outlet or industry body that performs an annual audit of the nation’s club sandwiches. Wherever they’re on the menu, it is our reviewers’ solemn duty to call room service and test the club. At Gourmet Traveller, we take our triple-deckers seriously.

Finalists

_Halcyon House (pictured)

__21 Cypress Crescent, Cabarita Beach, NSW, halcyonhouse.com.au_

_The Johnson

477 Boundary Street, Brisbane, QLD, artserieshotels.com.au/johnson_

_The Louise 

Corner Seppeltsfield and Stonewell Roads, Barossa Valley, SA, thelouise.com.au_

Best bar

For a country that increasingly likes its bars to be small, hidden and laneway, it’s worth remembering that some of Australia’s most memorable drinking holes are found in hotels. Some have the edge for their views, some for the vibe, some for the strength of their cellar. But only a select few hotel bars tick all the boxes at once.

Finalists

_TWR at Crown Towers Perth

Great Eastern Highway, WA, crownhotels.com.au/crown-towers-perth_

_Hennessy Rooftop Bar at Mayfair Hotel (pictured)

45 King William Street, Adelaide, SA, mayfairhotel.com.au_

_Rooftop at QT, QT Melbourne

133 Russell Street, Melbourne, Vic qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne_

Best pool

Hotel pools are one of the great consolations of an itinerant life. They’re sanctuaries from the stresses of work, places to relax and recharge. We don’t really mind if the pool is indoor or outdoor, saltwater or fresh, practical or showpiece. We love all of the above but when it comes to hotel pools – we must confess – the bigger the better in our book. 

Finalists 

_Crown Towers Perth

Great Eastern Highway, Perth, WA, crownhotels.com.au/crown-towers-perth_

_The Johnson

477 Boundary Street, Brisbane, QLD, artserieshotels.com.au/johnson_

_Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast (pictured)

71 Sea World Drive, Gold Coast, QLD, sheratongrandmiragegoldcoast.com_

Best breakfast

Breakfast can make or break a hotel stay. When we’re paying to be pampered, how we’re treated first thing in the morning is very important. It’s a measure of a hotel’s innate sense of hospitality. What we’re looking for is the buffet of our dreams or an à la carte menu that opens our eyes wide. And great coffee, obviously.

Finalists

_Como The Treasury

1 Cathedral Avenue, Perth, WA, comohotels.com/thetreasury_

_Grand Hyatt Melbourne

123 Collins Street, Melbourne, Vic, melbourne.grand.hyatt.com_

_Hotel Hotel (pictured)

NewActon Nishi, 25 Edinburgh Avenue, ACT, hotel-hotel.com.au_

Best service

Forget the white gloves. The best service in Australian hotels is unpretentious but intuitive – we love staff who seem to know what we desire even before we’ve thought of it ourselves. Service is the critical ingredient of a hotel stay, but sometimes even the top hotels can get it wrong. Which is why it’s so important to applaud those who get it right.

Finalists 

_Crown Towers (pictured)

8 Whiteman Street, Melbourne, Vic, crownhotels.com.au/crown-towers-melbourne_

_Halcyon House

21 Cypress Crescent, Cabarita Beach, NSW, halcyonhouse.com.au_

_The Old Clare Hotel

1 Kensington Street, Sydney, NSW, theoldclarehotel.com.au_

Regional hotel of the year

In a country as vast as ours, where distances can be measured in days rather than hours, there’s a particular joy reserved for finding an exceptional inn at the end of the road. The best regional hotels become destinations in themselves – reasons to load up the car, or get on the plane and transport yourself somewhere special. 

Finalists 

__Halcyon House

21 Cypress Crescent, Cabarita Beach, NSW, halcyonhouse.com.au__

_Jackalope (pictured)

166 Balnarring Road, Mornington Peninsula, Vic, jackalopehotels.com_

_Lake House

King Street, Daylesford, Vic, lakehouse.com.au_

Boutique hotel of the year

Small is beautiful, but it can also be a challenge. How do you please everyone all of the time when you have only a fraction of the resources of the big hotels? Easy. You turn on the small-hotel charm, delivering guests a highly personalised service, a distinctive character and sense of place, and a welcome that is warm and genuine. 

Finalists

_Hotel Hotel

NewActon Nishi, 25 Edinburgh Avenue, ACT, hotel-hotel.com.au_

_The Langham Sydney (pictured)

89-113 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW, langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/sydney_

_The Old Clare Hotel

1 Kensington Street, Sydney, NSW, theoldclarehotel.com.au_

Large hotel of the year

The most successful large hotels must operate like a well-oiled machine. With more than 100 rooms to attend to, restaurants and bars to run, huge staffs to manage, vast facilities to maintain and – most importantly – all those myriad guest expectations to manage, it’s no easy task winning a nomination for our Large Hotel of the Year award.

Finalists

_Crown Towers Perth (pictured)

Great Eastern Highway, Perth, WA, crownhotels.com.au/crown-towers-perth_

_Grand Hyatt Melbourne

123 Collins Street, Melbourne, Vic, melbourne.grand.hyatt.com_

_QT Melbourne

133 Russell Street, Melbourne, Vic, qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne_

New hotel of the year

Thanks to the current boom in Australian hotel building, we’ve been spoilt for choice when it comes to naming the 2017 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Guide’s New Hotel of the Year. This year’s guide features a handful of properties making a dazzling début on the Australian accommodation scene.

Finalists

_Jackalope

166 Balnarring Road, Mornington Peninsula, Vic, jackalopehotels.com_

_The Johnson

477 Boundary Street, Brisbane, QLD, artserieshotels.com.au/johnson_

_QT Melbourne (pictured)

133 Russell Street, Melbourne, Vic, qtmelbourne.com_

Hotel of the year

Of all the hotels we’ve reviewed around Australia in the past 12 months, which one impressed us most? It could be a new address or an established one; it could be sprawling or small, located in the city, by the beach or in the country. There’s only one real criterion: our hotel of the year has to be the very best of the top 50 hotels we’ve checked into.

Finalists 

_Como The Treasury (pictured)

1 Cathedral Avenue, Perth, WA, _ comohotels.com/thetreasury

_Halcyon House

21 Cypress Crescent, Cabarita Beach, NSW, halcyonhouse.com.au_

_Jackalope

166 Balnarring Road, Mornington Peninsula, Vic, jackalopehotels.com_