Every so often, a hotel captures and maintains the spotlight for all the right reasons. The 68-room, 28-apartment Hotel Hotel in Canberra is one of these. Hotel Hotel occupies three floors of the Nishi residential building; a sustainable 'vertical village' with a cinema, independent book store, pop-up shops, cafés and bars.Designed by Australian architectural firm Fender Katsalidis, in close collaboration with Japan’s Suppose Design Office, the hotel is a mix of thoughtful design and sustainability.The suites are built from recycled timber and off-form concrete, which creates a huge interlocking geometrical structure.The interior design of the hotel was spearheaded by filmmaker Don Cameron. His love for colour and texture meant that bespoke joinery, 20th century furnishings and natural fibre wallpaper have taken centre-stage, creating a dramatic, eclectic and worldly aesthetic. The hotel's website says it's rooms have:
"taken inspiration from the Australian shack. Clay rendered walls, salvaged oak beds, overhead rain showers, and (oh my) windows that open. Each room has been dressed with carefully chosen artworks, objects and restored furniture. They reflect our love for the well made, the curious and the comfortable."
Guests are treated to local produce and wine in the mini-bars along with Aesop skincare in their bathrooms.Hotel Hotel is the brainchild of Molonglo Group’s co-directors, Nectar and Johnathan Efkarpidis. The brothers work with the philosophy that buildings can be a vessel for delivering cultural and social development. That's certainly the result of this unique hotel in Australia's capital.
