From rooms with a Swan River view, to a modern fire-fuelled signature restaurant, a rooftop cocktail bar with its own fire pit, and a spa offering an escape from city life, The Ritz-Carlton, Perth pulls off an often-difficult task in the hotel space: representing the values which loyal guests expect, whilst offering a real sense of place. It’s global yet West Australian to the core.

The sunburnt landscape of the state’s north is a motif running deep throughout the properties design. Art commissioned from local artists adorns hallways and common areas, adding to a sense of country. But the most striking feature is the Kimberley sandstone that makes up the interior and exterior of the lobby, likened to the soaring Karijini gorges; thousands of stone pieces painstakingly hand selected and placed, acting as a visual and tactile place maker.

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Outside, the property is a modern curved tower of glass, dwarfing the much-maligned Bell Tower, which is now a curious architectural folly given new prominence alongside The Ritz-Carlton, Perth and its neighbours on Elizabeth Quay; a development which itself was the subject of local debate, branded as a white elephant but now growing ever vibrant as it becomes a precinct in which to work, live and play.    

Guest rooms are modern, elegant and well appointed, as you’d expect. Bathrooms come with The Ritz-Carlton signature of a proper tub. Given a river facing room hours can be spent ensconced in a robe watching the machinations of the sky through floor to ceiling windows, ferries and pleasure boats crisscrossing the river. It gives you a sense of West Australian priorities: being close to or on the water.

On opening, Hearth caused a stir on the city’s dining scene, and it could be said that the fine diner is stronger than ever. Under chef de cuisine Brian Cole the menu maintains its West Australian focus but, on his watch, a welcome loosening of the reins is apparent. Cole has used collaborations with chefs like Paul Iskov of Fervor to hone his skills in the sourcing and use of native ingredients.

There’s a sense of fun and discovery when dining at Hearth, aided by a front of house team happy to chat whilst maintaining a pace to the experiece. It’s a level of service that extends to the river facing cocktail bar Songbird and to the now much-loved Signature Afternoon Tea offering.

The domain of the clued-up international traveller, you’ll find that pitch perfect service runs beyond the restaurant from cheerful valet parking attendants to a warm and efficient front desk experience. We all have travel rituals to keep active or to unwind after a long journey. The rooftop pool is sized more to the needs of a clientele intent on urban exploration than days poolside but offers that first dose of west coast vitamin D. And there should be no excuse needed to book a luxurious spa treatment to soothe those travel aches and pains.

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