COMO The Treasury is our top recommendation if you’re looking to stay in a beautiful building. The hotel is located in the redesigned historic Treasury Building.

Upon entering the lobby, I was impressed with the contrast between the traditional exterior and the contemporary and luxurious interior. I stayed in their king room with a city view, which was spacious and filled with natural light.

They had all the amenities I needed, including a TV, Wi-Fi, bathrobes, and free toiletries. What I enjoyed most, however, was the complimentary minibar, which can be restocked daily.

The hotel is also home to the Wildflower restaurant and Shambhala spa. The restaurant has multiple tasting menus, which are all inspired by the six seasons in the Noongar calendar.

I made sure to try the Shambhala spa as well, which had treatment beds, a pool, and sauna. I got a massage and facial, both of which were easy to schedule during my stay.

Their gym was also kept clean with all the necessary gym equipment, such as treadmills, ellipticals, and weights. Unlike the spa, the gym comes at no additional charge for guests.

The service during my stay was exceptional. The front desk picked up calls quickly, and I was able to request additional pillows with no trouble.

All this comes at a high price, but it was worth the money. Their prime location in the Petro Metro adds to the price too.

It may take several calls before you get to finalise your reservation, though, so I suggest that you book online instead. 

Alex Hotel is an independent hotel that’s located close to the Perth CBD. It’s a small hotel, but they have a good variety of rooms.

Their rooms are classified by size: small, medium, large, extra large, bunk, and family. They also have an accessible room for people with special needs or mobility issues.

I chose the medium room despite being a solo traveller. This is because I found the small room a bit claustrophobic at only 15 or 17 square metres.

The medium room has a private balcony with a view of the local neighbourhood. Had I chosen a small room, the view wouldn’t be as great, with other guests saying their small rooms had a view of a wall.

They have the basic amenities, such as towels and toiletries, but nothing luxurious. Their rooms have a flat-screen television but no fridge.

However, there’s a communal fridge, tea, and coffee station in the lobby. While I didn’t mind this, some guests may not be comfortable sharing a communal fridge with other guests.

When it comes to the hotel’s facilities, they have a bar and rooftop terrace. The bar is located on the first floor, but I was allowed to take my drink up to the terrace to enjoy the view.

Overall, I can only recommend Alex Hotel for budget travellers who will sightsee during the day. It’s unsuitable for guests looking for a staycation or those who’ll spend most of their day inside the room.

QT Hotel is where you must go if you’re looking for style. Their interior design is a mix-and-match of different colours, shapes, and patterns that I never thought would go well together.

This eclectic style is consistent in the public areas like the lobby and rooftop terrace to each room.

I stayed in their QT deluxe king, which had a king bed, flat-screen TV, and large windows. Most hotels usually make use of a neutral colour palette, which made me appreciate the vibrancy of QT Hotel’s rooms.

My room had a mix of colours: black, purple, green, and yellow. I was most fascinated with their multi-colour pillows, which was definitely a first for me!

My sole complaint about their room is that their only table was too small for me to get any work done. It was not an ergonomic setup, with the table too short to use a laptop comfortably—unless I sat on the floor.

The hotel is also home to the Santini Grill and the Santini Bar. The grill serves Mediterranean dishes, with a focus on Italian dishes.

Since I stayed during the weekend, the restaurant was busy, but fortunately I was able to order room service. This leads me to my main gripe with the hotel, which is that it tends to be noisy.

Other guests had the same complaint, and the noise can make it difficult to have a restful sleep at night. 

Not every boutique hotel is in the Perth Metro, and The Colony at Mandoon Estate is perfect if you’re searching for a staycation nearby.

The Mandoon Estate has a vineyard, which makes for a spectacular view from each room.

I chose to stay in their deluxe room, which was just right for a single guest. The room was spacious, complete with an alfresco balcony, and room amenities like a TV, mini fridge, and coffee machine.

The room was comfortable, and I had no problem settling in. However, for a boutique hotel, it was a bit underwhelming.

The room was like any typical hotel room with a wooden headboard, neutral walls, and black accents. I felt that it wasn’t able to complement the overall beauty of the place and lacked personality.

What made up for it was the experiences and activities on the property. I signed up for their wine immersion and brewery tour, which are also open to non-staying guests.

The wine immersion starts with a guided tour of the vineyard, which was followed by a visit to the winery. We learned about the winemaking process before we got started on wine tasting.

It was certainly the highlight of my stay, but beer lovers can also enjoy the brewery tour. It’s not as detailed as the wine immersion, but I did get to learn about the beer production process with free tastings of five craft beers.

It’s definitely a great choice if you’re looking for a novel experience, which you’ll definitely need since slow Wi-Fi is a constant complaint. 

Hougoumont Hotel is an interesting mix of history and modernity. Inside you’ll find brick walls and arched doorways, but outside you’ll spot exterior walls that mirror shipping containers.

And that’s because the hotel is partially made from shipping containers! Of course, this does mean that the hotel rooms are quite small, but I was impressed with how they successfully converted it into a room.

They don’t feel like shipping containers at all, and with the wood-lined walls and carpeted floor, they are comfortable enough. I chose to stay in the deluxe cabin room, which was only a measly 18 square metres.

It wasn’t too small to feel claustrophobic, and staying alone certainly helped. However, there’s no door that divides the bed from the bathroom, and not much extra space to walk around.

The room amenities were a saving grace, which included a Nespresso machine, a large TV, and a pillow menu. I also enjoyed their complimentary breakfast which had a good selection of local jams.

Its location within Fremantle is close to multiple restaurants, bars, art galleries, and museums. And despite the hotel’s prime location, it’s a relatively quiet part of town, which means you can sleep undisturbed.

However, I would only recommend the Hougoumont Hotel for one kind of traveller: the one who’ll be out for most of the day. Many won’t feel comfortable with the limited space—their smallest room is at 15 square metres!—and limited hotel activities.