The recently opened Alex Hotel in Perth, Western Australia is billed as ‘a boutique hotel for inquisitive travellers’.
FIRST PUBLISHED IN TRAVEL DOSE
MAY 2017
Located on James Street in the hip and happening Northbridge area of Perth, Alex Hotel has been designed with the modern traveller in mind. As the brainchild of the same team that founded the Little Creatures Brewery in nearby Fremantle, as well as some of Perth’s top eateries including Gordon St Garage, Bread in Common and Mano a Mano Coffee, it brings a sense of clean, pared back style to the hospitality world.
There are 74 rooms each of which has been simply and thoughtfully crafted with the aim of offering guests some sanctuary from the hustle and bustle on the streets below. Walls are painted in soft muted tones, the linen is crisp, white and Italian, and the furniture has a distinctly mid-century modern feel to it. The rooms come in a number of different sizes - Small, Medium, Large, X Large, Bunk and Family - which means that whether you’re travelling alone, with a group of friends, or with young children, there is a room suitable for you. Each room also comes with everything you’d expect from a modern city hotel - free wifi, smart TVs and complimentary breakfast - but not tea or coffee making faculties, or a mini bar. Why? Well, because the hotel’s owners believe that a hotel should be like a home and they want to you to relax and mingle with the other guests in the shared communal spaces. These include The Lobby Espresso Bar & Lounge, The Mezzanine Lounge, The Mezzanine Breakfast Bar, The Roof Terrace and The Shadow Wine Bar & Dinning Room.
Each space is beautifully designed. While the lounge rooms feature big colourful comfy sofas, large communal tables, shelves full of books (many of which are about art and design) and an eclectic mix of handing pendant lights, the wine bar and the dining room feature more paired back design with marble topped bars and simple white table cloths. The breakfast bar, which is flooded with natural light from the floor to ceiling windows, features blonde wood, tile topped tables and more open shelving. Then if you take the lift to the top floor you step out onto the roof terrace which is simply stunning and has fantastic city views.
As you would expect from its founders the food and drink in the hotel is some of the best you will find in the city. Breakfast is buffet style with fruit, granola, locally made sourdough and Mano a Mano coffee on offer. The lobby bar again serves coffee and has light plates of food on offer too, while the restaurant serves modern European style dishes and has a comprehensive selection of local craft beers and artisan spirits, as well as wines from nearby Margaret River. All this means that in one way you really don’t need to leave, but of course you should. While Perth may be one of the most remote cities in the world, there is so much to see and do, and what better way to do that than on one of the easy ride Lekker Bikes that the hotel offers to its guests. Yes, they offer all their guests free access to bikes. They even kit you out with a helmet, map and lock so you’ll have no excuse but to go off and explore this vibrant city until your heart’s content.
If you’re in Perth be sure to check it out.
END