Australia’s most unique boutique hotels

Australian Traveller Australian Traveller
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Everyone loves a unique boutique hotel.

So emerge from the bland world of cream-coloured walls, “fusion" ideals and homogenised designs Xeroxed from one town to the next, and let Craig Roberts lead you through some of our favourite places to stay that aren’t just a pit stop for shut eye.

Canopy Treehouse

Climb to the top of the forest and stay there.

The Canopy offers secluded tree house accommodations in ancient rainforest

With neighbours like tree kangaroos and green possums, it’s hard to say no.

 

But this treehouse southwest of Cairns is no ordinary Swiss Family Robinson affair of slapped together timbers on the shoulders of tree limbs, but luxury living 30ft off the floor.

 

Details: Hogan Rd, Tarzali, Qld. (07) 4096 5364.

Thorngrove Manor Adelaide

It’s hard to define Thorngrove Manor.

The retreat features towers, turrets and imaginative décor

There’s no front door. No single room is the same size or shape, nor does the place hold a single piece of furniture or decoration that’s the same.

 

With spiral staircases, split levels, sandstone turrets, four-poster beds and manicured lawns, it could be a medieval castle, an English manor or something from the set of Merchant Ivory. Whatever it is, Thorngrove is designed for maximum privacy with guests unable to happen upon each other.

Experience another world, and century…

There are plenty of pros and cons to this place. Pro: you won’t need a parole hearing in order to leave. Con: you’ll be picking up the tariff, not the good people of South Australia. Pro: there’s a toilet in your room.

 

Con: it’s right next to your head, so best not to be shy. The equilibrium tips over when the following are taken into account: it comes with an internal exercise yard, mess hall restaurant, gaol tours and a set of gallows!

Experience a unique romantic and escapist retreat

Details: Glenside Lane, Stirling, SA. From $695 per night. (08) 8339 6748.

Mt Gambier Old Gaol

There are plenty of pros and cons to the Mt Gambier Old Gaol.

The only gaol you will be sad to leave once your stay is over

Pro: there’s a toilet in your room. Con: it’s right next to your head, so best not to be shy.

 

Details: Margaret St, Mt Gambier, SA. 1800 626 844.

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Carriageway Barrington Tops

Were all the old red rattlers like this? I doubt it.

 

Had someone said back in the ’80s that a smelly, decrepit, graffiti-strewn train carriage would be turned into high luxury, you’d have been committed.

 

That someone actually thought to do it, then sandwiched it between WHA Barrington Tops and the Hunter Valley defies logic. But here we are.

 

Details: Clarence Town Rd, Dungog, NSW. (02) 4992 1388.

Arts Factory Lodge Byron Bay

For that inner hippie in all of us, Arts Factory is the original backpackers of Byron Bay and the beating heart that reminds us what Byron was, before boutique hotels and yuppies set up shop on the beach: a getaway from modern life, modern people and modern ideals.

The property was originally created in the 70’s by hippies and local and international artists

Check out the vibe as you sleep in a Tee Pee or a surf shack, visit the lounge cinema, get lost on a bush tucker tour or just hang with the eclectic mix from around the globe that migrates through Byron on any given day.

 

Details: Skinners Shoot Rd, Byron Bay, NSW. From $28 per night. (02) 6685 7709.

Underground Motel White Cliffs

Usually living in the shadows of her more famous cousin in SA, White Cliffs proves there’s life underground elsewhere than in Coober Pedy.

Experience life underground

Underground Motel is a rabbit warren of ever-expanding dugouts that will have little ones running amok for hours mind-mapping the place. After a long drive it’s a subterranean oasis in the otherwise scorched tundra of the Strzelecki Desert.

The huge underground complex with 30 underground rooms and 2 above ground rooms

Details: White Cliffs, NSW. (08) 8091 6677.

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Palace Hotel Broken Hill

Its location and architecture don’t mark it out as anything special.

Magnificent murals at the Palace Hotel in Broken Hill

Neither, necessarily, does its history (though bits of Priscilla were filmed here). What makes it unique hides inside, on the walls. Formerly Mario’s Palace, this left-to-ruin outback masterpiece is being regenerated room by room by the delicate hands of locals. The interiors are covered in murals painted by a wandering Aboriginal miner in exchange for rent, and each surface is adorned with a different story.

 

Details: Argent St, Broken Hill, NSW. (08) 8088 1699. The Palace Hotel interiors are covered in murals painted by a wandering Aboriginal miner in exchange for rent, and each surface is adorned with a different story.

A Few Extra Weirdos

Q-Station, Manly NSW

Formerly a disease-riddled quarantine station, now a cracking hotel with nighttime ghost tours and some of the most secluded views across Sydney Harbour.

 

Lighthouses!

There are plenty. You can hire white ones, big ones, square ones, round ones, little ones, red ones, ones on islands, on cliffs, with shipwrecks, with seals or penguins and you can view them all at

 

Coober Pedy, SA

From the five star Desert Cave to the weirdest of the weird, Crocodile Harry’s Underground Nest, it doesn’t matter where you lob, you’ll eventually end up underground here.

 

Fire Station, Adelaide

Sleep in a fire station with a working fire pole and a working order 1945 bright red fire truck in the bedroom.

 

Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn

The iconic Kakadu hotel turned 21 this year. Its croc design was the result of a comp to come up with something representing the NT that would be instantly recognisable – from the air anyway.

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8 experiences to get the most out of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road

    Louis Costello Louis Costello
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    Beyond the winding bitumen and coastal views lies another side to Victoria’s most famous route.

    There’s something hypnotic about this stretch of Victoria’s coast. Maybe it’s the way the road hugs the ocean so tightly, or how the cliffs catch the sun in colours you can’t name. Or, for local Victorians who drove this route as kids, maybe it’s the memories of winding through the impossibly tall trees as they seemingly guide you on your journey like wooden guardian angels. Most travellers know it for the 12 Apostles, but there are plenty of alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road equally as worthy of your time.

    So, next time you’re in that neck of the woods, park that car, stretch those legs and try these experiences.

    1. Discover living culture at Budj Bim

    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism
    Walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Breakaway Creek’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a masterclass in educational storytelling. Join a guided tour with Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism to walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system, where the Gunditjmara people built sophisticated eel traps and stone channels more than 6,000 years ago.

    Budj Bim’s aquaculture system predates Egypt’s pyramids by roughly 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest examples of human engineering on Earth. If that’s not enough to get your history-loving family members involved in this road trip, we’re out of ideas.

    2. Unwind in the hot springs at Warnambool

    woman relaxing at Deep Blue Hot Springs
    Let mineral-rich water heal you.

    If your legs need a break after a long drive, Deep Blue Hot Springs is your remedy. The geothermal pools sit just metres from the coastline, filled with mineral-rich water that bubbles up from deep underground. Move between open-air baths, waterfall pools and quiet zones made for meditation.

    The water in Deep Blue’s geothermal pools comes from an ancient aquifer nearly 850 metres below the Earth’s surface, which, in non-scientific terms, means it’s far more likely to have healing properties than the mineral water you’d find at the supermarket.

    3. Take to the air at Princetown

    12 Apostles Helicopters flight alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road
    See an icon from a different view.

    You may have seen the Twelve Apostles from the trusty viewing platform, but a helicopter flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters shows you just how sprawling and rugged this coastline really is.

    The trip covers everything from Port Campbell to London Bridge (not to be confused with the UK’s own), giving you a rare chance to watch waves carving the limestone cliffs from above. It’s worth noting that the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles are said to erode by roughly two centimetres each year, so the longer you leave it, the less of the Apostles you’ll see.

    4. Step into the past at Flagstaff Hill

    Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum
    Visit a time of yore.

    Continue the tour through Warnambool at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum, a recreated 19th-century port town. Hear stories from the days when shipwrecks were as common as seagulls, with an astounding 180 ships believed to have sunk along the Shipwreck Coast in less than five years.

    The night show, complete with lights, sound, and sea spray, brings the coastline’s most dramatic stories to life.

    If you’re staying the night, Simon’s Waterfront offers relaxed dining with fresh local seafood and oceanfront views. Order the catch of the day and toast to the sailors who never made it ashore.

    5. Learn to surf in Torquay, Lorne, or Anglesea

    kid having a lesson with Go Ride A Wave
    Learn how to hang 10. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Whether you’ve surfed before or can barely stand on a board, Go Ride A Wave will have you upright in no time. Torquay’s calm beaches are ideal for first-timers, while Lorne and Anglesea bring a bit more energy for those unafraid to get dunked.

    Bells Beach, just down the road from Torquay, has even hosted the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition since 1962. So, for those eager to have a gander at pros using surfboards like they’re an additional appendage, the competition usually runs sometime in autumn.

    6. Tackle the trails in Forrest

    Barwon Flow Trails Otways Flow MTB
    Hire a bike and explore MTB trails through the Otways.

    Forrest is a haven for mountain bikers thanks to an expansive network of trails through stunning natural scenery. The Forrest trail network has almost 100 kilometres of singletrack across 36 trails, so there’s something for every level of rider. That’s including more than 60 kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails winding through the Otways’ dense forest. Cycle through ancient myrtle beech trees and towering tree ferns, with smaller ferns and soft mosses forming a carpet at your feet.

    Hire a bike from Forrest MTB Hire and take your pick from easy, scenic rides to more challenging singletracks, such as Red Carpet or Rollercoaster.

    7. See wildlife up close in Apollo Bay

    bush rat on Wildlife Wonders tour
    Get help spotting the locals. (Image: Doug Gimsey)

    If spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild feels like winning the lottery, Wildlife Wonders gives you guaranteed sightings without cages or crowds. Every visit to the sanctuary helps fund the Conservation Ecology Centre which supports endangered species across the Otways, so your business is appreciated by humans and animals alike.

    The guided walk takes you through protected Otways habitat where you might spot potoroos (or joey lookalikes for those unfamiliar with a potoroo), wallabies, and sleepy koalas lounging in the trees.

    8. Visit the Cape Otway Lightstation

    Cape Otway Lightstation
    Delve into the tales of Cape Otway Lightstation.

    Towering over the sea on a cliff above the Southern Ocean, Cape Otway Lightstation has been guiding ships since 1848. Before the lighthouse was built, Cape Otway was one of the most treacherous points on the Victorian coast, with dozens of shipwrecks occurring in its surrounding waters. Pick the right day, and you may bump into a local willing to tell you about the wreck of Eric the Red.

    While at the Cape Otway Lightstation, explore the keeper’s quarters, walk the coastal trails, and take in views that only stop short at the horizon.

    And no, contrary to popular belief, the Round the Twist lighthouse is actually located in Split Point, just shy of two hours in the direction of Melbourne. Nothing’s stopping you from embarking on a lighthouse crawl, though.

    Plan your next no-stone-unturned journey along this iconic Aussie road at visitgreatoceanroad.org.au.