Review: The Adnate, Perth - SilverKris

"A 25-storey exterior triple portrait by Australian street artist Matt Adnate—the largest work he’s ever done—is floodlit at night and celebrates the region’s multiculturalism, with the crowning face depicting Nathan McGuire, a model and business-owner of Whadjuk Noongar heritage; McGuire also appears on a 3x3m canvas in the lobby that leads to a stairwell featuring a giant mural of the artist’s right hand, while the artist’s wife is painted on adjacent laneway walls. The project reflects Adnate’s practice of building deep connections with Indigenous and multicultural communities before photographing and painting his subjects, and the hotel supports that storytelling with a dedicated hardcover book and other art-focused reads in rooms. Interiors are deliberately pared-back—soft grey bedrooms resembling concrete streetscapes—to showcase two large giclée prints per room (part of some 650 prints across the property), and even the artist’s tag is hand-scribbled across every glass shower door; expansive east- and west-facing windows frame views toward Perth’s Swan River. Social life centers on a luminous, white-and-pastel indoor-outdoor pool, bar and restaurant developed with the Hyde brand, offering playful touches like five types of bottomless fries and Saturday pool parties, plus creative prints and a Parisian-style mural in the private dining room. Conveniently sited for nightlife and culture, the property is a short walk from bars such as Little Stables and Tiny’s, near His Majesty’s Theatre, and offers hotel bikes for quick access to Perth Arena, Yagan Square, Northbridge and the Elizabeth Quay waterfront." - Fleur Bainger