Is it just me, or are there some fiendishly cute new hotels popping up all over this sunburnt country right now?! Ok, it’s winter, but you get my point. The fiance keeps having to remind me that we have our wedding coming up, or I would have already booked into a few of these beauties. So, whether you are looking to head to the snow, a nondescript Melbourne rooftop, Byron (which is a damn fine idea at this time of year), the foodie hub of Eastside Sydney or down to that Hobart place that’s so hot right now (OK, I don’t mean that at all literally, Hobart be chilly, I meant so ‘cool’ right now, there you go), these are some new boutique lodgings to put on the radar.

Yours, not mine, I have a wedding coming up.

The Bower, Byron Bay

What do you get when you mix Manhattan and Byron Bay? Everything we ever wanted?! This new opening in everyone’s fave part of far northern New South Wales brings a bit of New York to the beach. Taliah Lowry from the property told Vogue Living, “The Bower was a direct result of our New York trip at the beginning of this year. We loved staying in the Bower District and checking out all the gorgeous boutique hotels,”. And judging by the look of The Bower, we’re going to love this boutique hotel, too.

MACq 01, Hobart

I don’t need too much motivation for a trip to Hobart. In fact, this Move To Tasmania, Punk Facey page almost has me packing up my life for there. And while I already have a Hobart fave lodging with the Alabama Hotel, the literary geek in me was pretty much had at ‘Storytelling Hotel’. That these rooms tell the stories of the colourful characters of Van Diemen’s Land, and are right on the Derwent River, has me pretty antsy to get down south for another Tassie trip. One of my publishing friends (but of course!) has stayed at MACq 01 already and vouched that it is worth the hype. And I’m assuming so has that flower-beard winky guy on the website.

Spicers, Potts Point

Being a travel-loving Sydney-sider, I’ve already visited this Potts Point gem a couple of times and can say with some authority that it is nothing short of a stylish, tranquil urban retreat. It’s set in three re-vamped Victorian terraces on leafy Victoria Street – right opposite The Butler (otherwise known as the girl’s long lunch dream) and down the road from Ms G’s (stoner’s delight dessert anyone? Also, I interviewed chef Dan Hong on my show and he’s really ace and has a big sneaker collection). But no need to take down my notes, the hotel gives out a ‘passport’ that includes all the local spots you need to visit. They know what’s up! Now I’m talking like someone with a big sneaker collection. I don’t have that. But tell your friends about Spicers, Potts Point. It’s really lovely and in my opinion much cooler than staying in the CBD.

Notel, Melbourne

A bunch of chrome Airstream trailers, decked out with all the mod cons including blush pink interiors (which are so in right now and I’m embarrassingly a sucker for that kind of thing), and even one with a spa, all on a carpark rooftop in Melbourne. This obviously draws parallels with St Jerome’s the Hotel, but we had a damn fine time there, so I’m pretty keen to check out Notel as well. And free mini bar?! Yassss!

Astra, Falls Creek, Victoria

Despite missing the snow season this year (although I love snowboarding I’m too clumsy and don’t fancy hobbling down the aisle), I would absolutely choose the Victorian snowfields over the New South Wales ski patch (traitor!!) for this gorgeous new alpine ski lodge in Falls Creek (and I’ve snowboarded there and it’s beautiful). Nearby Bright is high on my bucket-listy-just-want-to-go-everywhere thing as well, so I’m adding this note to self to combine the two. The newly-opened Astra certainly looks like the coolest ski accommodation I’ve seen in Aus, so I’m willing to sacrifice a wrist or two to sprains and check it out in the near future.

Love cool hotels? You may also like this post about Hotel, Hotel in Canberra or the dreamy SP34 in Copenhagen, just to name a couple.
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