In one more vital leap for Newcastle, QT’s first regional lodge opens its door this week bringing its signature designer aptitude to Australia’s second oldest metropolis.
Housed within the heritage-listed David Jones constructing, the 104-room QT Newcastle (QT’s ninth property) leads the $880 million East End reinvigoration spanning 4 metropolis blocks and incorporating three residential buildings.
Reminiscent of QT’s adaption of Sydney’s Gowings division retailer into its flagship QT Sydney, Newcastle’s second five-star lodge (Crystalbrook Kingsley opened final yr) retains the landmark constructing’s historic facade and clock tower, signage courting to 1893 and authentic pressed metallic ceilings.
Original beams from the 113-year-old constructing (fortuitously half had been found on Iris Capital chief govt and lodge proprietor Sam Arnaout’s farm) function in 40 visitor rooms.
The design by long-time QT collaborator Nic Graham makes use of color blocking and juxtaposing textures to pay homage to Newcastle’s industrial heritage and the jap shoreline.
Artwork by six Australian artists — together with a silver chair and “2.7” signal (Newcastle’s most well-known band and the kilometre size of the brand new gentle rail respectively) — reference town’s previous and current.
Rooms within the nine-storey lodge supply views of both Newcastle Harbour or Christ Church Cathedral framed inside floor-to-ceiling heritage home windows and no two rooms are the identical.
Jade subway tiles star in bogs, metal mesh wardrobes on casters mimic coal bins whereas a nook suite with outsized round bathtub sits beneath the again of the historic clock face.
Guests in the meantime arrive to a terracotta-tiled lobby with LED mirrored partitions and ceiling and self-service check-in desks (a primary for QT).
“We have reinvigorated an iconic heritage building, respecting and maintaining the raw shell and layering contemporary life within,” Graham says
Not surprisingly, meals and beverage underpins the QT Newcastle expertise. Acclaimed chef Massimo Speroni (ex Bacchus and Michelin-starred San Domenico and Cafe le Paillotes in Italy) heads up signature bar and grill Jana and Rooftop at QT.
Jana showcases a steak menu sourced totally from NSW. The metropolis’s highest open rooftop bar with 170 moons suspended from the ceiling takes its cues from the land of the rising solar with progressive izakaya and Newcastle’s largest Japanese whisky library.
Rooms from $329. See qtnewcastle.com
Source: traveller.com.au