It was all about the glitz and glam at Sydney’s chic Primus Hotel last night as we presented our third annual Hotel Awards. Hosted by TV personality and journalist Chris Bath, the awards coincide with the release of the 2016 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Guide, published with the June edition of the magazine, on sale today.
In attendance was the cream of the Australian travel industry, including our dedicated reviewers, travel editors, influencers and hoteliers from the country’s top 50 hotels, and our friends and proud sponsors Nespresso.
Guests mingled over canapés and Nespresso-spiked Negronis before settling in for a sit-down dinner by the hotel’s executive chef Ryan Hong. Dishes included wagyu sirloin with soy and porcini purée, and miso-glazed toothfish with a bright prawn and papaya salad.
“It’s so gratifying to see, three years after launching our guide, that Australia’s hotel industry is experiencing such a resurgence,” says GT editor in chief Anthea Loucas Bosha. “No fewer than 11 of our top 50 hotels are new entries for 2016.”
Como The Treasury in Perth, a grand $110 million heritage restoration, took out the awards for Hotel of the Year and New Hotel of the Year. Sydney’s The Old Clare won the award for Boutique Hotel of the Year, while other major winners included QT Hotels & Resorts (Best Minibars, Best Club Sandwich at QT Sydney); Hotel Palisade in Sydney (Best Bar); and Halcyon House in Cabarita Beach, which was named Regional Hotel of the Year.
Find a full gallery of the winners – from Hotel of the Year to Best Hotel Pool – here.
