Award beckons after Hobart car park becomes swank hotel

From a carpark to a swish CBD accommodation offering, Hobart’s ibis Styles hotel is up against six other tourism developments in Australia’s prestigious national property awards.

The hotel, in Macquarie St, is owned by Singaporean-based Fragrance Group and constructed by Hutchinson Builders. It is among 153 finalists in the 2019 Property Council of Australia/Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards.

Other developments vying for honours in the Hickory Award for Best Tourism and Leisure Development category include the Adelaide Convention Centre redevelopment and the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour.

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Ibis Styles Hotel is also in the running for the industry’s most coveted prize — the Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year award.

Property Council of Australia Tasmanian executive director Brian Wightman says the project team transformed a carpark into the 296-room hotel, alleviating Hobart’s short-term accommodation shortage and creating dynamic new spaces for locals.

The hotel includes underground parking, a hawker-style Asian fusion restaurant and bar, luxurious heated indoor swimming pool, saunas and vertical gardens.

“The largest hotel in Hobart, the ibis Styles Hotel is a welcome addition to the Hobart CBD. Impressively, the hotel achieved a five-star green star rating for its design — the only hotel in Australia to do so,” Wightman says.

National award winners will be announced at the awards dinner in Sydney in May.

This article from The Mercury originally appeared as “City hotel in running for prestigious national award”.