The Coolest Boutique Hotels in Queensland Right Now
Images: The Calile Hotel, Brisbane
Queensland’s boutique hotel scene has grown up. Once synonymous with sprawling resorts and buffet breakfasts, the Sunshine State now has a new wave of stays. Design-led urban retreats, rainforest hideaways, and coastal boltholes that prove style and substance can coexist with the sun, and salty air.
From the Daintree canopy to Hamilton Island’s newest opening, here’s where to check in next.
Queensland’s Best Boutique Hotels
The Calile, Fortitude Valley
Brisbane is no longer playing second fiddle. The art’s sharper, the restaurants are packed, and, dare we say it, the coffee might just give Melbourne a run for its money. At the centre of it all is The Calile, the hotel that cemented the city’s renaissance.
Part resort, part social scene, it’s a pastel-toned aesthetic hotel with some seriously well designed spaces. A rooftop pool surrounded by lush gardens that catches nearly all-day sun is the hotel’s main draw, part recovery zone, part social perch. The wellness offering sets a new standard, with medispa, infrared sauna, IV therapy, personal training, and one of the country’s most in-demand facialists (book early). Hellenika, the hotel’s all day restaurant is a must-visit when in town. Order the martini, share the taramasalata, and soak up the holiday atmosphere.
Step outside to James Street, Brisbane’s best shopping & dining precinct. Stop into Agnes for wood-fired everything, sAme sAme for fresh, flavourful Thai, and Bianca for cacio e pepe washed down with a stiff negroni.
If you’re serious about wellness, TFP Newstead is just a few minutes away. A next-gen wellness social club with rooftop pool, infrared sauna, red light therapy, cold plunge, and a performance lab that’s half sports science, half lifestyle flex.
What we love: A midweek health retreat. Timing counts here, off-peak and mid week stays will give you room to breathe, and the room bill won’t be so eyewatering. Take a couple of days off for a staycation and treat yourself to a few IV Vitamin Infusions and Biologique Recherche facials.
Images: The Elandra Resort, Mission Beach
The Elandra Resort, Mission Beach
Two hours south of Cairns, The Elandra sits on a rainforest-clad ridge above South Mission, its whitewashed walls cutting through the green like something plucked from the Amalfi and dropped in the tropics. It’s the kind of hideaway that feels slightly unreal, like you’ve stumbled into a set before the film crew arrives.
The pool deck is covered with palms, and parasols, while the ocean below runs all the way to the Great Barrier Reef. By late afternoon, the sun hits that molten-gold angle, the Aperols come out, and someone always seems to start singing. It’s casual, not pretentious, the good kind of unpolished.
Rooms are modern and coastal, with striped bed linen, travertine floors and checkered pillows. The balconies were made for slowly sipping your morning coffee while listening to the sound of the distant surf. The restaurant spills straight onto the pool terrace, order the spanner crab spaghetti, trust the wine pairing, and watch the horizon shift through fifty shades of blue.
If you can tear yourself away, Dunk Island is 15 minutes offshore for day trips, the Great Barrier Reef is a quick boat ride away, and the Wet Tropics wait inland with rainforest trails straight out of a nature doc.
What we love: The Elandra’s resident cassowaries sometimes wander past the pool at dawn, prehistoric, enormous, and otherworldly. It’s the perfect reminder that up here, nature still gets the final word.
Images: Mondrian Gold Coast Hotel, Burleigh Heads
The Mondrian, Gold Coast
Burleigh has always been the Gold Coast’s golden child, but until now, it didn’t have a stay to match its reputation. Enter The Mondrian, a sleek twin-towered hotel perched right above the sand. It’s bold but not brash, modern without the pretense. Exactly what Burleigh’s been waiting for.
The ground-floor restaurant, Lito, has already become a local fixture for breakfast and Negronis with equal conviction. Upstairs, Haven is the scene-stealer, a cabana-lined pool club and sunset bar that slides from poolside oysters to Champagne with DJs spinning as the sun drops behind the hinterland. There’s a party atmosphere at Mondrian, but it’s relaxed, the kind of chilled beach club vibe that naturally happens when the weather and the views are this good.
And when you’re ready to rebalance, Ciel Spa brings the goods. Infrared saunas, cryotherapy dry floats, magnesium plunge pools, and high-tech treatments make this one of the smartest wellness offerings on the Coast.
What we love: The Mondrian makes room for both, salt and sun by day, peptides and plunges by night. Call it self-care with a side of champagne.
Images: Essence Peregian Beach Hotel, Sunshine Coast
Essence Peregian Beach, Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast has long been one of Queensland’s most popular regions. A sprawl of surf towns, riverways, and hinterland villages that draw an easy-going, stylish crowd.
Twelve minutes south of Noosa, Peregian Beach feels like it’s still slightly under-the-radar, a little smaller, sleepier, and better dressed than the neighbouring towns. The village is a few sandy streets deep, lined with boutiques and low-key restaurants that spill onto the town square.
You’ll find locals barefoot from the beach, eating grilled fish and drinking natural wine, with no one trying too hard.
Essence Peregian Beach fits right in. It’s a boutique stay with that same kind of laidback coastal appeal. Thoughtful rather than flashy. The rooms are modern, and spacious. With well appointed furniture, cloud like bedding, and rattan hanging chairs for soaking up the burnt orange sunsets. Everyone knows you can rate a hotel on the minibar alone, and Essence is scoring a 12/10. The fridge is stocked with locally brewed beers, small-batch espresso martinis, and some seriously good chocolate.
The café, Outer Square, could hold its own in any city but feels right at home here, serving standout coffee and chilli scrambled eggs that locals line up for.
Beyond the hotel, there’s a coastline that changes character every few minutes, Peregian’s wide, uncrowded stretch, Noosa’s calm curve, the surf at Mooloolaba. Inland, you’ll find the black-barked slopes of Mount Coolum, the glassy Everglades, and the hinterland towns of Montville and Maleny, all within easy reach.
Images: Qualia, Whitsundays
Qualia, Whitsundays
Qualia is a world apart, literally at the tip of Hamilton island, and figuratively in a league of its own. While the rest of Hamilton is packed with people in boat shoes and beach towels, qualia is quiet, and calm. You’re greeted on arrival with cold towels, perfectly placed orchids, and a landscaping so green and overgrown it almost feels like you walked through the gates of Jurassic Park.
The hotel’s architecture and interiors are designed to frame the surroundings, and not compete with them. Warm timber, stone, glass, and plenty of space. The main pool looks straight out of White Lotus, framed by palms, sun umbrellas, and meticulously maintained gardens.
Qualia’s dining options are the best in the region. While Long Pavilion is the hotel’s famed formal pick serving up elevated Australian dishes, we prefer Pebble Beach. A barefoot, open air restaurant just steps from the pool area.
There’s plenty to do, if you're up for it. Reef snorkelling, heli-tours, sailing, and golf at Dent Island, but many guests don’t leave their pavilion, and that’s kind of the point.
What we love: Every stay includes your own golf buggy, and it’s hands-down the best way to explore Hamilton Island. Champagne in the cupholder, sun setting somewhere behind you. Make sure you book Spa qualia the moment you confirm your trip. Appointments disappear fast, and the lemon myrtle scrub is worth the flight alone.
Images: The Sundays, Hamilton Island, Whitsundays
The Sundays, Whitsundays
For decades, Hamilton Island has been the gateway to the Whitsundays, beautiful, yes, but often better known for golf buggies and towering resorts than great design. That’s changing with The Sundays. It’s the island’s first genuinely fresh face in years, playful, design-forward, and made for families who want something a little less formulaic.
General Manager Raza Syed, brings nearly two decades of island experience to the helm. His touch is felt in the details, creating an atmosphere that’s warm, easy, and instinctively hospitable.
Inside, designer Carrie Williams has transformed the existing structure into a calm, coastal space defined by sculptural stonework, reeded glass, and soft pastel tones. Queensland artist Tiarna Herczeg’s colourful works add personality and a sense of play, keeping the aesthetic grounded but never too serious.
Where Qualia offers quiet seclusion, The Sundays feels open, social, and sun-drenched. Its restaurant, Catseye Pool Club, led by Josh and Julie Niland, centres on relaxed, share-style dining . Fresh Australian seafood, grilled dishes, and bright, summery flavours served poolside.
Beyond the restaurant, an open-air deck hosts yoga sessions, movie nights, and kids’ activities. Thoughtful touches that tie together the hotel’s vision of balancing family time with downtime.
What we love
A contemporary counterpoint to Qualia’s quiet luxury, The Sundays brings warmth, colour, and character to Hamilton Island. Perfectly positioned on Catseye Beach, it’s the island’s new mood, fresh, easy, and full of life.
Images: Mount Mulligan Lodge, Queensland
Mount Mulligan Lodge, Northern Queensland
Four hours inland from Cairns, at the end of a red dirt road and tucked beneath a towering sandstone escarpment, the area surrounding Mount Mulligan Lodge was once a bustling mining town, now a near-deserted landscape save for the retreat itself.
Set on a 28,000-hectare cattle station, accommodation ranges from high spec outback safari tents, to standalone suites. Cruising around the outback on the electric buggy is as fun as it sounds and included for every guest throughout their stay. Daily guided activity options range from ATV tours to morning mountain hikes, and kayaking through riverbeds.
Food is strong across the board, with a focus on locally sourced produce like Moreton Bay bugs in bisque, kangaroo done simply over charcoal, tropical fruit and native herbs. Wines, spirits, snacks, and all meals are covered across your stay.
Guests can arrange helicopter transfers that link Mount Mulligan to the Great Barrier Reef, either for a day charter on a private yacht, or a cultural tour with Kuku Yalanji guide Johnny Murison to view ancient Indigenous rock art at a rarely accessible site on Cape York.
Mount Mulligan is part of the Morris Escapes portfolio and can be booked with Orpheus Island Lodge for a two-stop itinerary that covers the full range of high-end Queensland reef and outback.
What we love: The lodge runs entirely off solar and has just eight suites, making it one of the most exclusive off-grid stays in the country. If you're lucky, you’ll spot wild brumbies at the foot of the escarpment, descendants of the working horses from the old mining days.
Images: Beechmont Estate, Scenic Rim
Beechmont Estate, Scenic Rim
Set beside the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia’s World Heritage–listed Lamington National Park, Beechmont Estate is a 75-acre hillside retreat. For travellers craving that classic countryside escape, Beechmont delivers all the clichés, in a good way. Fires crackling, horses grazing in misty paddocks, and farm-to-table food sourced from the same postcode.
At The Paddock, the estate’s hatted restaurant, chef Simon Furley takes a casual approach to fine dining, championing regional produce in dishes that shift with the season. Outside of the Paddock, foodies can indulge in chef-prepared picnic hampers to enjoy on the grounds, local cheese tastings, or tour the nearby LOBORN Gin distillery, with some heavy handed sampling, of course.
Just twenty minutes away, Canungra Golf Club offers a relaxed nine-hole course. Or wake up early to float over the hinterland in a hot-air balloon, complete with Champagne breakfast and a vineyard stop.
Back on the property, the Beechmont Day Spa specialises in restorative treatments and pregnancy packages, a favourite for babymoons. Those looking to stretch their legs can join guided hikes through the Gondwana Rainforests, where local guides lead you through hidden gorges and mountain trails, sharing stories of the pioneering families who shaped the region.
What we love
It’s a true countryside retreat, perfect for city dwellers in need of some fresh air, just one hour and a half from Brisbane. Come for a weekend nature reset, and stay for the food.
Images: Silky Oaks Lodge, Daintree Rainforrest
Silky Oaks Lodge, Daintree Rainforest
Deep inside one of the world’s oldest rainforests, Silky Oaks Lodge is part luxury stay, part wilderness retreat. The lodge sits on the edge of the Daintree, just outside Mossman Gorge, a spot that puts both the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef within easy reach.
The treetop rooms are built on stilts above the canopy, with timber decks and open-air baths that look straight into the jungle. Down below, the restaurant spills onto the riverbank, turning breakfast into a front-row seat to the forest.
Once you’ve had enough of soaking in your outdoor tub, drift down the Mossman River, floating on a river sled beneath a green ceiling of ancient fig trees. The clear, crocodile-free water that locals call Jinkalmu. Or try the dawn cruise with The Daintree Boatman, and spot saltwater crocs and kingfishers in the wild. One of the only places in the world where the rainforrest meets the reef, a charter to Great Barrier Reef is a must-do when in town. Or opt for the helicopter flight to Vlasoff Cay, a white-sand speck surrounded by coral and turquoise, a particularly brag-worthy option.
Back on land, the region is a paradise for birdwatchers, with over 400 species flitting between the forest, mangroves, and wetlands. You don’t have to be an expert, just sit still long enough and the rainforest will do the rest.
What we love: Silky Oaks is the Daintree done right. A wild but lush, eco-stay without the lecture. Stay at least three days, and explore Cairns, Cape Tribulation, and the great barrier reef.
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