Collection 01 · Art Hotels

Rooms that hang
like galleries.

Some hotels treat art as decoration. These eight treat it as architecture — commissioning, collecting and building whole buildings around it. From a hotel inside a museum to a brewery reborn as a design landmark, this is where a night's sleep comes framed.

0Reviewed
0Cities
01
N°1
Palette · basalt · brass · shadow
MONA Pavilions
Berriedale, Hobart

MONA Pavilions

Eight riverside pavilions perched on the same sandstone as the Museum of Old and New Art — arguably the only hotel in the country where the minibar shares a postcode with a Sidney Nolan. Each suite is named for an Australian artist or architect and hung with pieces from the museum's own vaults.

Architecture
Cantilevered river pavilions
Interior
Dark timber, glass, private cellar
Atmosphere
Provocative, cinematic
Ideal guests
Art pilgrims & night owls
  • Museum access
  • Private plunge pools
  • Ferry to the door
  • In-room art

Design highlight — floor-to-ceiling glass that turns the Derwent River into a permanently changing canvas.

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02
N°2
Palette · brick · rust · patina
The Old Clare Hotel
Chippendale, Sydney

The Old Clare

Two heritage buildings — a 1940s pub and the old Carlton United Brewery headquarters — stitched together and left gloriously raw. Exposed brick, salvaged tile and rotating contemporary works fill a hotel that feels less renovated than respectfully haunted, in Sydney's most creative pocket.

Architecture
Adaptive re-use, heritage bones
Interior
Raw brick, brass, bold colour
Atmosphere
Gritty, rooftop-cool
Ideal guests
Creatives & culture-seekers
  • Rooftop pool
  • Heritage tiling
  • Kensington Street dining
  • Original signage

Design highlight — the preserved boardroom of the old brewery, kept intact as a working lounge.

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03
N°3
Palette · magenta · gold · jade
Ovolo The Valley
Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

Ovolo The Valley

Maximalism with a wink. Brisbane's loudest design hotel throws velvet, neon and a riot of commissioned street art at every surface, then hands you a free minibar and dares you not to smile. It is theatrical, unapologetic and completely at home in the Valley's after-dark energy.

Architecture
Playful vertical tower
Interior
Neon, velvet, pop maximalism
Atmosphere
Loud, joyful, nightlife-ready
Ideal guests
Extroverts & night people
  • Free minibar
  • Street-art commissions
  • Rooftop bar
  • Late checkout

Design highlight — a lobby that changes its art and lighting programme with the hour of the day.

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04
N°4
Palette · stone · linen · shadow
The Prince
St Kilda, Melbourne

The Prince

A pioneer of Australian design-hotel culture, still quietly ahead of the pack. Behind a landmark Art Deco façade sit pared-back, light-washed rooms where concrete, oak and considered emptiness do the talking. Downstairs, a wine bar and day spa complete a stay built on restraint rather than spectacle.

Architecture
Art Deco landmark, minimalist fit-out
Interior
Concrete, oak, natural light
Atmosphere
Calm, grown-up, coastal
Ideal guests
Minimalists & slow travellers
  • Day spa
  • Wine bar
  • Bayside walks
  • Deco heritage

Design highlight — the way morning light moves across bare concrete — the room's only ornament, and enough.

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05
N°5
Palette · terracotta · clay · teal
Alex Hotel
Northbridge, Perth

Alex Hotel

Perth's small-but-mighty design darling, where a warm mid-century palette meets a genuinely communal spirit. Handmade furniture, a self-serve pantry and a living-room lounge blur the line between hotel and home. Every corner has been drawn by hand, and it shows in the calm, collected feel.

Architecture
Compact wedge on a corner block
Interior
Bespoke furniture, warm neutrals
Atmosphere
Communal, considered, homely
Ideal guests
Design lovers & solo travellers
  • Communal lounge
  • Self-serve pantry
  • Rooftop terrace
  • Custom joinery

Design highlight — a first-floor lounge stocked like a friend's living room, honesty bar included.

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06
N°6
Palette · sage · olive · oak
Spicers Potts Point
Potts Point, Sydney

Spicers Potts Point

Three restored Victorian terraces knitted into an intimate, art-filled boutique hideaway on Sydney's most European street. Original works, layered antiques and a leafy courtyard make it feel like staying in the home of a very well-travelled collector — one who happens to serve an excellent breakfast.

Architecture
Joined Victorian terraces
Interior
Antiques, original art, courtyard
Atmosphere
Intimate, residential, refined
Ideal guests
Romantics & collectors
  • Courtyard breakfast
  • Curated antiques
  • Boutique scale
  • Café doorstep

Design highlight — a green courtyard that feels borrowed from a Parisian townhouse, not a Sydney terrace.

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07
N°7
Palette · fern · brass · sandstone
The Tasman
Hobart, Tasmania

The Tasman

A Luxury Collection hotel that threads three eras of Tasmanian architecture — Georgian sandstone, Art Deco and a sleek modern wing — into one flowing whole, hung throughout with a commissioned collection of local artists. The result is heritage that feels alive rather than embalmed, steps from Hobart's waterfront.

Architecture
Three eras under one roof
Interior
Sandstone, deco detail, Tasmanian art
Atmosphere
Polished, storied, local
Ideal guests
Culture & comfort seekers
  • Commissioned art
  • Heritage courtyard
  • Waterfront steps
  • Whisky bar

Design highlight — a glass-roofed courtyard where three centuries of Hobart architecture meet in one view.

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08
N°8
Palette · ink · pewter · bronze
Establishment Hotel
Sydney CBD

Establishment Hotel

A discreet design landmark hidden above one of Sydney's great dining precincts, where each of just over thirty rooms is individually styled — some sleek and monochrome, others warm with timber and colour. Sharp, sophisticated and deliberately anonymous, it's the city insider's choice for a night with no hotel-chain edges.

Architecture
Heritage warehouse, hidden entry
Interior
Individually designed rooms
Atmosphere
Sleek, insider, nocturnal
Ideal guests
City sophisticates & diners
  • Bespoke rooms
  • Legendary dining below
  • Hidden entrance
  • Central CBD

Design highlight — two contrasting design schemes across the floors, so no two stays feel the same.

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