Adelaide, AustraliaWalkerville
The Watson Adelaide - Art Series
Brutalist art residence
Walkerville Adelaide, Australia
Opened
2014
Price
$$
Rated for
Design Wellness LocalOutside the door
The house
AccorBrutalist art residence
The concrete tower operates as an apartment-style gallery, displaying hundreds of Indigenous desert paintings alongside tours from resident curators.
What it’s good at
Notable
Modernist interiors and Tommy Watson dot paintings inside a converted 1960s Brutalist tower.
Listed
A twenty-five-metre outdoor lap pool designed in collaboration with Olympian Michael Klim.
What they say
Michelin Selected
Michelin
the suites are minimalist and Modernist, each one displaying Watson’s colorful work; the public spaces, too, are handsome, including Local Grind, a café and coffee roaster
Somewhere quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
The River Torrens path runs right outside the door, and hotel rental bikes follow the riverbank toward town.
The rooms
Suites come with kitchenettes and bold desert prints. South-facing rooms look out toward the Adelaide Hills and city skyline.
The pool
Bring a swimsuit.
The 25-metre outdoor lap pool sits on a landscaped sundeck lined with sun loungers and parasols.
The gym
Cardio machines and stationary bikes on Level 2 face floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto the terrace.
At the table
Local Grind serves seasonal South Australian produce and espresso, with seating around high wooden communal tables.
How it began
South Australia's transport department occupied these concrete towers for fifty years before their transformation into a hotel.
Adelaide
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The app
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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.