We’ve curated our pick of the best Airbnb’s in the South Australian capital.
Adelaide’s festival, food and wine scene is second to none. With a laidback charm and a warm welcome waiting, why not book your next escape to South Australia in one of these Airbnb which often offer something more interesting than hotels.
These are 13 of the best Airbnbs in Adelaide to book next time you’re in town.
CBD
1. 1800s city cottage
This renovated three-bedroom 19th-century cottage fuses modern luxury with traditional features like a wood burning stove and timber roof beams. The charming garden dining area is ideal for shared meals with family and friends.
Modern luxury meets rustic style at this 1800s city cottage.
2. Modern city luxury apartment with sauna
This modern luxury apartment occupies a prime city location near the central shopping district. Watch the sunrise from your balcony over the Adelaide Hills while you plan the day ahead. Or enjoy the shared rooftop pool, spa and fitness suite.
Luxuriate in the sauna or rooftop pool at this modern city luxury apartment.
3. Colourful city studio
This vibrant studio enjoys an enviable location overlooking North Terrace, just minutes from Rundle Mall and Adelaide’s cultural precinct. Ideal for inspiring your creativity, this 1930s apartment owned by renowned artist Billie Justice Thompson showcases a carefully curated selection of South Australia’s finest art and ceramics, adding a unique flair to any city stay.
This colourful city studio features South Australia’s finest art and ceramics.
WEST
4. Mid-century seaside escape Henley
This three-bed Henley beach property is only five minutes from bustling Henley Square and offers an elegant seaside escape with period features including a four-poster bed. Enjoy dining on the deck at sunset for a memorable meal with family and friends.
Soak up the warm sea breeze at this three-bed Henley beach property.
5. Designer Semaphore Park beach retreat
Sitting between two natural dunes in Semaphore Park this two-bedroom unit offers absolute beachfront vistas. Book the neighbouring identical property to accommodate up to eight of your nearest and dearest for a seaside break only a 10-minute drive from the historic maritime suburb of Port Adelaide.
Wake up next to relaxing beachfront views at this beach retreat.
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EAST
6. Fur baby-friendly cottage
On the eastern fringes of the CBD within walking distance of the city and Norwood, this two-bedroom cottage is a cosy home-from-home welcoming four-legged friends too.
Cosy up in this cottage near the city and Norwood.
With a tranquil garden and thoughtful extra touches like fresh breakfast provisions, you’d never guess this relaxing oasis was conveniently located next to the city.
Check into this pet-friendly and relaxing Airbnb.
7. Waterfalls and woodland walks
Pets are welcome in this eastern suburbs property , only five minutes from the upmarket Burnside shopping centre and a 15-minute drive from the CBD.
Book a serene stay at this architectural masterpiece.
Nestled in the Adelaide foothills with a creek running through the garden, this contemporary property offers a serene stay for up to six guests.
Step into this spacious and contemporary property in the Adelaide foothills.
8. Elegant Norwood luxury cottage
This four-bedroom cottage with a lush garden and solar-heated pool is the perfect summer retreat within easy walking distance of Norwood’s shops and cafes. With free parking at the property, it’s a 10-minute drive to the CBD.
Relax in a solar-heated pool.
9. Sky-high peaceful escape
Seemingly a world away, yet only one kilometre to one of South Australia’s most iconic wineries Penfolds, this tiny house is a cosy romantic retreat in the foothills.
Hit refresh at this sky-high cottage.
Hike in the nearby parks spotting koalas and kangaroos before returning to your cosy loft bedroom for a drink around the firepit.
Escape to a romantic retreat in the mountains.
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SOUTH
10. 1930s Glenelg Art Deco beach retreat
On a quiet street in the bustling beach suburb of Glenelg, this renovated art deco apartment is the perfect choice for lovers of vintage chic. Situated southwest of the city, an easy half-hour tram ride will take you to the CBD.
Opt for a vintage chic stay at this Art Deco beach retreat.
11. Serene Tiny cabin for two
Get back to nature with this semi-rural rustic retreat that’s less than 25 minutes from Adelaide’s CBD. This wooden cabin is a secluded space with a compact kitchen and composting toilet. Recharge whilst you watch for local wildlife or get cosy with a book by the fire.
Settle into a serene tiny cabin in the woods.
NORTH
12. Designer Adelaide Oval pad
With four bedrooms and three bathrooms, this is an ideal luxury getaway for a larger group of friends or family. The rooftop terrace and large bathtub offer elegant touches for magical memories. The North Adelaide location offers easy access to Adelaide Oval for sports or music events.
The pad is complete with an elegant tub.
13. Chic North Adelaide loft
This high-rise studio apartment is a cut above the rest offering treetop views of North Adelaide from a roof terrace with a contemporary interior design. Just four kilometres by free bus to the CBD this is an ideal base for a North Adelaide stay without being far from the city action.
Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated.
Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.
Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)
Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct
Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.
Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)
At Paddock , one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand.
Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design
Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)
“A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.
And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.
Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.
As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.
The rise of a food and wine destination
Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)
Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915 . Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco.
The Woolstore is a new restaurant and bar housed within a century-old warehouse. (Image: Amy Carlon)
The Woolstore , one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.
Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.
Breathing new life into historic spaces
On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.
“We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.”
Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)
The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.
While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.
Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.
The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”
A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”
Ceramicist Elizabeth Bell has a store in Fyansford Paper Mill.
