5 Award Winning Hotels — 1 common thread
The past 12 months have been remarkable for some of Australia’s most celebrated hotels.
Hannah St, Melbourne — Australian Gourmet Traveller Best New Hotel 2026
Sundays, Hamilton Island — Australian Gourmet Traveller Best Resort Hotel 2026
Kittawa Lodge, King Island — Australian Gourmet Traveller Best Regional Hotel 2026
The Tasman, Hobart — Ranked among the World’s 50 Best Hotels.
Capella Lodge, Lord Howe Island — Again recognised among the Asia-Pacific’s finest beach and island resorts by Travel + Leisure.
We couldn’t be happier for the owners, operators, creative directors, architects, designers and hospitality teams behind these remarkable properties.
Every one of these hotels is completely different.
Different landscapes. Different architecture. Different personalities. Different stories.
Yet despite their differences, they all share one invisible thread.
Each chose to tell their story through scent
Of course, remarkable hotels are not made by fragrance. They are created through vision, architecture, exceptional design, intuitive service and hundreds of thoughtful decisions made with extraordinary care.
But the very best hotels understand something profoundly important. Guests rarely remember every piece of furniture, every artwork or every colour on the walls.
They remember how a place made them feel
Unlike any other sense, fragrance speaks directly to memory and emotion. It creates a sense of arrival, reinforces identity and communicates what a brand stands for before a single word is spoken.
It is not decoration.
It is communication.
It is place branding.
For Kittawa Lodge, capturing the elemental beauty of King Island.
For Sundays, capturing the warmth, salt air and optimism of Hamilton Island.
For The Tasman, capturing the heritage and contemporary elegance of one of Australia’s great luxury hotels.
For Capella Lodge, capturing the extraordinary beauty of a World Heritage island.
For Hannah St, creating three distinct Melbourne fragrances that shape the guest journey from arrival to departure.
The story doesn’t end in the lobby
Long after checkout, scent continues telling the story.
We’re incredibly grateful to have collaborated with these teams, and to the creative leaders who recognised that scent deserves its place alongside architecture, interiors, lighting, sound, landscape and service as one of the defining layers of memorable hospitality.
Congratulations to all five teams on their well-deserved recognition.
“The best hotels understand that unforgettable experiences aren’t built through what guests see alone……they’re built through what guests feel.”
- Craig Andrade
SEE HOW WE CREATE A SENSE OF PLACE
Images:@hannahsthotel @thesundayshotel @kittawalodge @capellalodge @thetasmanhobart