Blue Mountains, AustraliaBlackheath
Kyah
Modernist motor lodge
Blackheath Blue Mountains, Australia
Renovated
2021
Price
$$
Rated for
Design Wellness SocialOutside the door
Modernist motor lodge
The motel trades highway fatigue for high-altitude leisure, with drive-up rooms set around garden fire pits and crisp mountain air.
“Kyah, a 1970s roadside motel turned stylish modernist lodge, also debuted during the closure.”
What it’s good at
Notable
Seventies roadside motel lines updated with Palm Springs pastels and sweeping archways.
Listed
Evenings centre around Blaq Bar and a lively games lounge with vintage arcade machines.
What they say
Michelin Selected
Michelin
Also in Condé Nast Traveler.
Kyah, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, takes Palm Springs as its aesthetic inspiration, turning a Seventies motel into a very modern — but still Seventies-inspired — 46-room boutique hotel.
Somewhere quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Trails toward Govetts Leap lookout start just down the street, and Blackheath village is an easy stroll away.
The rooms
Rooms open directly onto the grounds without indoor hallways. Inside, select suites have their own spa baths.
Hot tub and sauna
A wood-fired cedar hot tub seats six in the garden courtyard, steps away from an indoor sauna.
The court and gym
The outdoor sports court is painted for tennis and basketball. Indoors, the gym includes a Pilates reformer and rowing machine.
Blaq Restaurant & Bar
Dishes draw on regional growers and the kitchen garden, with New South Wales wines poured at the curved marble bar.
How it began
Built in the 1970s as Redleaf Resort, the motel reopened in 2021 with wings named for the Three Sisters.
The app
Like this one? There are so many more.
Swipe any city’s hotels and heart the ones you love. The app gets your taste.
Our shorthand
How we rate hotels.
The medals
Gold
Extremely rare. Sets the global standard.
Silver
Brilliant execution. And we’re picky.
Bronze
They did this well. You’ll notice.
Listed
A defining trait. Makes the hotel what it is.
The eight vibes
Design
Built around a vision. Even the door handles have a designer.
Luxe
Cared for at every turn. The bath is drawn before you ask.
Local
It could only be here. You wake up knowing where you are.
Social
Where the city goes out. The bar is full and the night is young.
Heritage
A building with a story. Once a palace, a monastery, a station.
Wellness
You leave feeling new. Rest, sweat, soak and sleep like a stone.
Classic
The city grew up with it. Same rituals, same regulars, same bar.
Resort
A world of its own. Something to do from breakfast to nightcap.
The scene
Lively
Where things happen: restaurants, shops, people.
Central
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Secluded
A place apart: the property is the destination.