Where to stay in Australia: the best places and hotels

Sydney is a city that knows it's beautiful. The Opera House and the Harbour Bridge frame a harbour busy with ferries, the historic lanes of The Rocks sit at the water's edge, and the beaches of Bondi and Manly are a bus or ferry ride away. Darling Harbour and Pyrmont, west of the centre, are lively with restaurants and family attractions.

Stay near Circular Quay for the classic views. The Four Seasons is steps from the Museum of Contemporary Art and The Rocks; Pullman Quay Grand is close to the Opera House and the Royal Botanic Garden; and The Sebel Quay West Suites has apartment-style suites looking out over the Harbour Bridge. Hotel Woolstore 1888 fills a former wool store in Pyrmont, a hop from Darling Harbour.

Melbourne doesn't have Sydney's harbour, so it built a personality instead. Its grid of laneways is packed with cafés, street art and tiny bars, trams rattle down the main streets, and the arts precinct at Southbank sits beside the Yarra River. Sport is a religion here, with the MCG and the Australian Open courts a walk from the centre.

Quay West Suites, at Southbank, has apartments overlooking the Yarra, next door to Hamer Hall and the National Gallery of Victoria. In the city centre, the Pullman Melbourne City Centre is a new five-star, and the Melbourne Marriott has an indoor pool. Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is great for families, with children staying free when sharing a room.

Brisbane is a city that lives outdoors. The South Bank Parklands have a free swimming lagoon beside the river, CityCat ferries zip along the water, and Fortitude Valley is the place for bars and live music. The Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are each about an hour away, making it a good base for both.

W Brisbane has an outdoor pool and a spa. The InterContinental Brisbane, near Queen Street Mall, is Australia's only hotel designed by the modernist architect Harry Seidler. The Sofitel Brisbane Central has direct access to Central Station for airport and Gold Coast trains, and The Alva, with its rooftop pool, sits in the thick of the city's fashion, nightlife and restaurant scene.

The Gold Coast is Australia's answer to Florida: a strip of golden surf beaches backed by high-rises, with theme parks inland and lush rainforest in the hinterland. Surfers Paradise is the busy heart, Broadbeach is a little calmer, and the beaches are patrolled by lifeguards in their famous red and yellow.

QT Gold Coast is a fun, design-led hotel by the beach; the Hilton Surfers Paradise towers above the famous beach; and the JW Marriott Gold Coast has a lazy river and supervised childcare. For a quieter, resort-style stay, the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove has golf courses, a marina, a one-acre lagoon pool and kangaroos grazing in its grounds.

North of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast trades skyscrapers for low-key beach towns. Noosa is the star, with boutiques and restaurants along Hastings Street, a national park on the headland and calm water for swimming. Mooloolaba has a fine beach and a lively esplanade, and Caloundra and Peregian Beach are quieter still.

Elysium Noosa Resort, an MGallery hotel, is on Hastings Street itself, and the RACV Noosa Resort is a family favourite with relaxed poolside dining. Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel is steps from the esplanade and the sand, while Essence Peregian Beach is a boutique hotel opened in 2023.

Byron Bay is the beach town everyone wants to be in. Surfers ride the breaks below Cape Byron lighthouse, the most easterly point of mainland Australia, and the town is full of cafés, yoga studios and boutiques. The hinterland behind is lush, hilly and dotted with markets and villages, and the coast runs south past quieter beaches and national parks.

Elements of Byron, an MGallery resort, has private villas spread along two kilometres of beachfront, and Crystalbrook Byron is set in 45 acres of subtropical rainforest with an infinity pool. The Villas of Byron are a short walk from the town centre and the beaches, and Angourie Resort, further south, has a spa and two pools.

Tasmania is Australia's island state, a heart-shaped place of mountains, rainforest and empty white beaches. Hobart, the capital, has a working waterfront, the Salamanca Market and MONA, one of the world's most provocative art museums, reached by ferry. Further afield are Cradle Mountain, Freycinet's Wineglass Bay and the vineyards of the Tamar Valley around Launceston.

The Henry Jones Art Hotel occupies a row of 1820s warehouses and a former jam factory beside Hobart's Victoria Dock, with original artworks throughout. Sullivans Cove Apartments are a five-minute walk from Constitution Dock and close to the MONA ferry, and Villa Howden is another Hobart option. In Launceston, Peppers Seaport sits on the waterfront in the old seaport dock.

Perth, on the west coast, is one of the sunniest and most isolated big cities in the world. The Swan River curves past the centre, Kings Park looks down from above, and the beaches of Cottesloe and Scarborough are a short drive away. Fremantle, the port, has markets and old pubs, and ferries cross to Rottnest Island, home of the quokka.

The Ritz-Carlton, Perth has an outdoor pool, a spa and the Hearth restaurant. The InterContinental Perth City Centre is on Hay Street in the heart of the CBD; QT Perth is a stylish, central option; and the Parmelia Hilton Perth is a newly renovated city icon a short walk from the shops.

Beyond Melbourne, Victoria opens up into wine country, forests and mountains. The Yarra Valley, about an hour or so from the city, is famous for its cool-climate wineries; the Goulburn River winds through vineyards further north; and in winter the high country turns into ski fields.

Chateau Yering is a grand Victorian-era hotel with its own winery. Peppers Marysville, about 90 minutes from Melbourne, sits by a river near the Yarra Ranges National Park. The Mitchelton Nagambie, an MGallery hotel, overlooks the Goulburn River with a spa and an infinity pool, and St. Falls Resort has apartments at the foot of the ski runs.