Australia’s newest hotels worth planning a trip for

Check into Australia’s most exciting new hotel openings, from buzzy city stays to dreamy coastal escapes.

Australia’s hotel scene is booming, with a wave of fresh openings raising the bar on style, location and experience. Think design-led city stays, beachfront retreats made for switching off and destination hotels worth planning an entire trip around.

If you’re looking for somewhere new to stay in 2026, these just-opened and soon-to-open hotels deserve a spot firmly on your radar.

Ardour Milton Park Bowral, NSW

Polo Bar, Ardour Milton Park — Unwind at the elegant Polo Bar.

Salter Brothers Hospitality will unlock access to a piece of Southern Highlands heritage with the much-anticipated reopening of Milton Park in early 2026. The storied estate, relaunched as Ardour Milton Park Bowral after a multimillion-dollar refurbishment, will serve as the flagship property for Ardour Hotels & Estates. The luxury address, built as a grand country residence in 1910, will include The Polo Bar and signature restaurant, Horderns.

Address: 200 Horderns Road, Bowral, NSW

Lon Retreat & Spa, Bellarine Peninsula, Vic

Lon Retreat and Spa — A retreat to reconnect with the slow and simple. (Image: Nikole Ramsay)

Discerning wellness warriors have long had Lon Retreat & Spa on their radar for its mineral pools and dreamy, adults-only suites. But the luxury hideaway, one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, recently tapped into a rising interest in contrast therapy with its new immersive thermal environment. The sanctuary, on Victoria’s breathtaking Bellarine Peninsula, features a Finnish sauna, magnesium-rich pool, Swedish soak bucket and communal firepit.

Address: 25 Gill Rd, Point Lonsdale, Vic

Elysium Noosa Resort – MGallery Collection, Qld

Freshly reimagined on Hastings Street, Elysium Noosa Resort – MGallery Collection pairs coastal calm with considered luxury. Formerly Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort, the new 175-room hotel spans ocean, river and poolside stays – the majority boasting private balconies. As for dining, that is courtesy of Sydney duo Anna and Alessandro Pavoni. Expect Italian trattoria Cibaria Noosa, all-day Bar Capri and light poolside dining on the revived terrace, plus a swim-up bar. The sister property to Manly Pacific is designed for slow, salty coastal stays.

Address: 14-16 Hastings Street, Noosa Parade, Noosa Heads, Qld

The Tiny Mile, Old Bar, NSW

It’s just a tiny mile-long drive up the dirt road past the dinky sign leading to The Tiny Mile . But that’s where the journey to the riverside property begins. The Tiny Mile is a one-bedroom cabin set on a bend of Berady Creek outside Old Bar on NSW’s Mid North Coast. Embrace your country era with a stay at the rustic retreat, which is all rust, ochre, charcoal and autumn tones that complement nature’s palette. Admire the outlook from the sunken outdoor bath or sauna.

Address: 44 Berady La, Old Bar, NSW

Caption by Hyatt Central Sydney, NSW

room at Caption by Hyatt Central Sydney — Caption offers stylish rooms in the heart of Sydney CBD.

The opening of Caption by Hyatt Central Sydney marks the debut of the brand in Australia. The 174-room hotel in the heart of Haymarket includes tech-enabled touches – such as a seamless mobile check-in – and guestrooms designed for flexibility as well as comfort. But ultimately, the hotel is about people and place, culture and community. Worth yapping about is the Talk Shop, a social hub, cafe, bar and workspace designed to foster connection.

Address: 13 Parker St, Haymarket, NSW

Avani Mooloolaba Beach, Qld

Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel Exterior — It’s Sunshine Coast’s first internationally branded, new-build hotel.

Slated to open in April, the 12-storey, 180-key Avani Mooloolaba Beach is only a frisbee throw from Mooloolaba Beach. It’s also the Sunshine Coast’s first internationally branded, new-build hotel to open in nearly four decades. Guests will be able to graze on light bites in the lobby bar; enjoy cocktails up on the rooftop beside the pool while looking out towards the hulking peaks of the Glass House Mountains; and restore balance in the serene AvaniSpa.

Address: Cnr Brisbane Rd &, First Ave, Mooloolaba

Trinity Point, Lake Macquarie, NSW

A new luxury hotel planned for Trinity Point has been given the go-ahead in Lake Macquarie. The sparkling new sustainable $665 million resort at the marina has been designed by Koichi Takada Architects to include 153 rooms and serviced apartments with marina views, two waterfront restaurants, a spa, wellness centre, pool and bars. The coastal resort will be anchored in its surrounds and feature public boardwalks that run like tributaries from the world-class resort and marina.

Address: Trinity Point Dr, Morisset Park, NSW

Novotel Sydney Cabramatta, NSW

Dany Karam at Magma, Novotel Sydney Cabramatta — Dany Karam at Magma restaurant in Novotel Sydney Cabramatta.

The suburbs of Sydney continue to advance at full throttle with openings such as the Novotel Sydney Cabramatta, part of the new integrated Cabravale Club Resort in the heart of Sydney’s Little Saigon. Food tourists should get on the front foot and book a staycation at the new hotel in Western Sydney. Guests at the hotel will have the option of a thrilling onsite dining experience at Magma by Dany Karam, a sophisticated open-flame steakhouse. The new Novotel has 140 guestrooms, including seven for those with reduced mobility.

Address: 1 Bartley St, Canley Vale, NSW

ESTE Wategos, Byron Bay, NSW

Want to visit Byron Bay and not stress about parking or paparazzi? The new retreat ESTE Wategos is right in position, tucked away beneath the iconic Byron Bay lighthouse.

Park your luxe pop-top in the garage and dress in your fave full ‘crunchy granola’ (read: hippie) ensemble for a stay at ESTE Wategos, which offers two architecturally designed three-storey residences with rooftop terraces and glass-bottom pools. There are concierge services and space for up to 12 guests when these swanky sanctuaries are booked together.

Address: 11 Brownell Dr, Byron Bay, NSW

1 Hotel Melbourne, Vic

Expect to gulp down lungfuls of fresh air during a stay at 1 Hotel Melbourne , which has incorporated more than 7000 plants into its biophilic design.

The urban sanctuary is anchored by the heritage-listed Goods Shed No. 5, where the original support beams were salvaged for the signature all-day dining restaurant, From Here by Mike, by restaurateur Mike McEnearney. The hotel has 277 guestrooms, two bars, a wellness spa and access to sprawling riverside parklands.

Address: 9 Maritime Place, Docklands, Vic

voco Gosford, Central Coast, NSW

The first new-build hotel to open on the Central Coast in 15 years will share its colour palette with the sky, sand, sea and sunshine. When it opens late 2025, voco Gosford will also showcase one of the brand’s virtues: to inject a bit of local flavour through its bespoke furniture, textiles and custom artworks. The vibrant voco Gosford will include 130 guestrooms as well as six F&B outlets, including a signature restaurant led by Dany Karam. Gosford CBD will also get its groove on courtesy of a swim-up pool bar and the Central Coast’s highest rooftop bar.

Address: 108 Donnison St, Gosford, NSW

Box Hill Esperance, WA

Box Hill Esperance has ushered in a new era of barefoot luxury with the unveiling of two luxe off-grid cabins. The adults-only lodges were crafted with locally sourced materials centred around a fireplace featuring 50-million-year-old fossilised shells. Anywhere in WA with sunshine and coastal views is ideal for a summer holiday. Insert Esperance into the equation and these cabins, a short flight from Perth, make for the ultimate coastal escape.

Address: 804 Merivale Rd, Myrup, WA

Tiny Aahana, Sunshine Coast, Qld

The magic of Tiny Aahana lies in its rainforest surrounds. Just 30 minutes from Noosa Heads, the off-grid cabin by Into The Wild Escapes provides six guests with the chance to decompress after a day spent swanning around Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Your immaculate itinerary might include a bush walk, shady chic-nic and night around the firepit under a sky pinpricked with stars. The greatest luxury at this eco cabin is having the space to roam on the secluded property.

Address: Noosa Hinterland, Qld

The Roost, Prevelly, WA

two people sitting on sun loungers while watching the sunrise at The Roost, Prevally WA — Sit in quiet contemplation at this hillside haven.

Wind your way around Southwest WA’s voluptuous curves to find The Roost , an architect-designed holiday home three hours from Perth. The stylish three-bedroom retreat affords sweeping ocean views from its cantilevered deck jutting out like an open drawer over its perch in Prevally. The hillside haven is near to world-class wineries, surf breaks and forests. The indoor-outdoor living and sun loungers provide the perfect speed for contemplation.

Address: Prevelly, Margaret River, WA

Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated.

Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.

Geelong cellar door wine bar — Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)

Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct

Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.

Paddock Bakery andPatisserie — Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)

At Paddock , one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand.

Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design

Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)

“A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.

And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.

Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.

As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.

The rise of a food and wine destination

Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)

Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915 . Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco.

The Woolstore , one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.

Woolstore menu — Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.

Breathing new life into historic spaces

On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.

“We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.”

Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)

The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.

While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.

handcrafted pieces — Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.

The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”

A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”