Australian Hotels Renovate To Add Business Amenities, Meeting Space

Corporate travelers to Australia will find several new and improved lodging options, as new builds and renovations—including a $150 million renovation at one of Sydney's signature properties, upgrades of several Melbourne hotels and a new boutique option on the island of Tasmania—dot the continent.

Long a fixture of the city's financial scene, the Hilton Sydney recently completed a near-total rebuild, renovating all guest rooms and public space. The hotel, which fills a city block, now features 577 guest rooms, each with a marble bathroom with a separate shower and bath, a glass desk, a flat-screen television, DVD player and high-speed, wireless Internet that can be accessed throughout the hotel.

The Hilton Sydney also upgraded its four floors of dedicated function space, with 23 meeting rooms offering a combined 43,000 square feet of space that can accommodate 3,000 people. Also on hand is a ballroom that can handle 1,200 delegates theatre-style, and an adjoining exhibition hall with space for more than 100 booths.

"We went as far as we could without knocking the building over," said Hilton Sydney hotel manager Mike Nalborczyk. "From the top of level four down to the basement, we took out everything, leaving only the pillars."

In Melbourne, the centrally located Langham Hotel has upgraded its 24th-floor executive lounge. Open to tower guests with room keys are free access to two computer workstations, complimentary breakfast, morning and afternoon tea and two hours of evening open bar service, plus a diverse evening buffet. The Langham also just opened Melba, an open-kitchen brasserie where guests can view chefs at work over the adjoining Yarra River.

Also on the river is the 482-room Crown Towers, part of Melbourne's Crown Entertainment Center, where in-room entertainment options have been enhanced via the installation of oversized plasma televisions.

In Hobart, Tanzania, two-year-old boutique Henry Jones Hotel occupies part of what, during the 19th century, was the production site of an IXL Jam factory.

The hotel's 50 suites, with décor that includes the original timber warehouse beams, feature elliptical and/or spa baths and double showers, translucent glass and stainless steel fixtures.

The Jones & Co. meeting room holds up to 200 people, and its Henry's Harbourside Restaurant offers Tasmanian seafood and local produce is prepared in modern fusion styles.