Hotel Review: Canberra's Midnight Hotel

Canberra’s Midnight Hotel is one of the most sophisticated in the nation’s capital.

The Midnight Hotel in Canberra is a pioneering boutique hotel befitting of the national capital. It features incredible design touches, innovations and unexpected additions that are emblematic of a hotel that is confident enough to do its own thing.

Location

The Midnight Hotel is part of the stylish Midnight residential and retail precinct located in the culture-rich, inner-city suburb of Braddon.

Braddon was a grungy wasteland of car yards a few decades ago. Today, it’s a mecca of creativity, with great bars and restaurants worthy of its hotspot status. The Uncovering Braddon series was commissioned to encapsulate a transitional moment in the metamorphosis of the hip hood that has made Canberra the capital of cool.

the front facade of Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Canberra’s Midnight Hotel has a striking front facade.

What marks a stay at the Midnight Hotel has a lot to do with its location. The large-scale works by Melbourne graffiti artist, Tom Adair, reflect the cool of that location. The artworks depict pixelated street scenes from around Braddon, painstakingly painted with an airbrush and overlayed with electric jolts of neon light. It’s these little extras that really set Midnight Hotel apart.

The hotel was built to complement Canberra’s light rail, which is a convenient way to zip about the city. It’s also a great launching pad to experience the emerging creative hub of Braddon.

a woman pulling her luggage along Canberra's Midnight Hotel corridor — The hotel is fitted out with vibrant and edgy artworks.

Style and character

Midnight Hotel is a hip, design-forward addition to the capital’s hotel scene. It’s also sophisticated enough to attract a seriously global crowd for a long time to come. Edgy artworks await on each of its eight levels, making the 199-room modernist hotel feels more Brooklyn than Braddon.

It’s part of a $200 million residential and commercial development that wraps around a central atrium and owes its striking good looks to Fender Katsaladis (of MONA and Ovolo Nishi fame). Katsaladis designed the hotel with a Russian babushka doll in mind, with a striking facade that hides the four buildings that make up the hotel, residential apartments and businesses nestled within.

the lobby inside Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Canberra’s Midnight Hotel is tucked in the inner-city suburb of Braddon.

Facilities

King-sized beds, mini bar treats and room service are all good reasons to book a hotel stay. But if we’re being completely honest, it’s the bathroom amenities (and the ability to take them with you when you leave) that a lot of guests get excited about. So how did Midnight Hotel go about making this guilty pleasure that much better?

cocktail drinks on the table at the autograph lounge in Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Have a tipple at the hotel’s bar.

It started with a conversation with Australian natural skincare specialists Hunter Lab, helmed by husband-and-wife team Elliot and Susie Waldron. The pair then went to work to develop hotel-sized servings of its naturally beneficial and environmentally sustainable product range.

Each of the 199 guest rooms at Midnight Hotel comes complete with a Google Chromecast entertainment system with a Smart TV. There’s also high-speed wi-fi, a whiz-bang espresso machine and mini bar with complementary beverages. There is also an onsite restaurant and bar, gym, sauna, events space and 20-metre lap pool.

an indoor lap pool at Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Swim a few laps at the indoor pool.

Rooms

The rooms and suites continue the arty theme, where you’ll find bespoke artwork created by acclaimed New York-born, Australian-based artist Thomas Bucich. The series is inspired by the small souvenirs we collect as children. A feather. A shell. A wildflower. Small fragments of bone or wood. In the artist’s own words, it’s also about ‘the creation and destruction of nature and the human spirit’.

the midnight classic room at Canberra's Midnight Hotel — The midnight classic evokes dark elegance.

Each unique piece is rendered in reclaimed Australian wood and bark, and then encased in copper or nickel. Bucich’s works have become emblematic of the property’s sincere approach to championing local artists and designers.

If the brief to the designers was to capture the midnight hour, then they’ve nailed it. The interiors are clearly inspired by the inkiness of night, with sleek dark tones contrasting with white and grey accents.

Midnight Hotel room with Thomas Bucick artwork, Canberra — There’s a Thomas Bucick artwork featured inside a guest room.

Each room features copper and steel fixtures, rich, dark woods and marble. It may come as no surprise that the Midnight Hotel, a property all about sensory experiences, would come up with an aroma to match its unique identity. And there is nothing more luxurious than stepping into a hotel and recognising a scent that is instantly evocative of time and place.

a look inside Canberra's Midnight Hotel bedroom — The bedroom exudes a sophisticated charm.

With that in mind, the founder of Australian candle company HUTWOODS, Becky Hutley, worked with the hotel to create a signature soy candle fragrance. The result is HUTWOODS x Midnight Hotel, which combines the familiar scent of peppermint with woody tones of cedar wood and clove leaf.

a classy bedroom at Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Stay cosy for the night.

Food and drink

Midnight Bar is the place to be if you’re a politician dreaming up a power play. But it’s not just a happy place for political bigwigs. In fact, it’s got to be a candidate for the hub of the hotel, where guests are drawn together for a nightcap.

Wait until the sun has set over the Brindabellas before escorting your hot date to the spacious, elegant bar that has lots of luxurious touches.

the Midnight Bar inside Canberra's Midnight Hotel — Pull up a chair at Midnight Bar.

Restaurant Braddon Merchant has more of a European feel, with a seasonally driven menu and a drinks list so impressive that it has won Wine List of ACT. The local and international wines have been chosen by a group of sommeliers and wine experts to elevate the dining experience.

If you want a change of scene, the hotel is close to some of the best places to dine in Canberra.

guests dining at Braddon Merchant, Canberra — Dine local and international dishes at Braddon Merchant. (Image: Pew Pew Studio)

Does Midnight Hotel have access for guests with disabilities?

The hotel has accessible parking and a sloped ramp for entry into the pool. All rooms are accessible via a lift. Check the hotel’s website for a list of accessible features in each room.

Is Midnight Hotel family-friendly?

Yes – there’s even a Cool Kid Package. It includes accommodation in an interconnecting room, a $50 Kingpin voucher per night, breakfast at the onsite restaurant and a late checkout.

Details

Best for: Visitors to Canberra looking for a stylish stay with all the comforts of home.

Address: 1 Elouera Street, Braddon ACT

Phone: (02) 6220 0000

Cost: From $308 per night.

Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place.

Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat.

After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.

The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

Setting sail from Mildura

Murray River birds — Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.

My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.

Stop one: Echuca

19th-century paddlesteamers — A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.

The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.

Stop two: Barmah National Park

Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.

The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.

Stop three: Cobram

Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange.

The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.

Stop four: Albury-Wodonga

First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk — First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town.

Playing there

BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura — Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists.

Eating there

Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.

A stylish stay at Midnight Hotel in Canberra