Home > Quay Perth Review
Updated: September 10, 2020
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Quay Perth – Compact, convenient, functional, and such good value.
This likable boutique hotel is dwarfed by office blocks in a prime inner-city location. Most rooms are small but feature an appealing décor, while the contemporary Luxury Studios are more spacious and offer attractive views from the window-side seats. No pool, gym, or spa, but the excellent rates reflect this and added attractions include the communal working space and personable service often absent at much larger hotels. And the location is superb: only three blocks from all the amenities and attractions in the city center and facing Elizabeth Quay, a rejuvenated waterfront precinct with bars, cafés, ferries, and cruises.
Quay Perth – The Location
- Address: 18 The Esplanade, Elizabeth Quay, on the southern edge of the city center.
- Area: Faces the road alongside the edge of Elizabeth Quay, which is based around an inlet of the Swan River. Recently redeveloped, this wonderful, rejuvenated precinct is a steepish half-mile walk to downtown.
- How to Get There: Confusingly, there are 4 terminals across the separate (but nearby) international (11 miles, 30-minute drive) and domestic (8 miles, 25-minute drive) airports. Only real options are door-to-door shuttle buses by Perth City Shuttle or Just Transfers and taxis for about A$50. (See ‘Local Transport’ below for more information about taxis and ride-shares.) Also, express public buses (45-60 minutes) #380 (for Terminals 1 and 2) and #40 (for Terminals 3 and 4) stop at the Elizabeth Quay Bus Station (0.3 mile, 7-minute walk). Free shuttle buses operate 24/7 between the 2 airports. Note: Always double-check which terminal your flight arrives at/departs from.
- Handy to: Elizabeth Quay (see later).
Quay Perth – The Basics
- Guests: Combination of business people and those looking for an affordable city getaway.
- Pets: Only service animals (e.g. guide dogs) allowed.
- Views: Half the rooms overlook the city streets to the back. The rest face Elizabeth Quay but views of the water, particularly from the lower floors, may be obstructed by the large trees along the street.
- Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not expected (or provided) at a boutique hotel like this.
- Wi-Fi: Available free throughout for all guests.
- Parking: Secure parking next door for a reasonable charge.
- How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
- Phone: +61 (0)8 9325 2000
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: quayperth.com
Quay Perth – Amenities
- Pool, Spa, & Fitness Center: Not provided but not really possible at such a small inner-city hotel, and the comparatively low rates reflect the absence of these facilities.
- Other Facilities: The LEVEL NINE co-working business space is open 24 hours and features individual offices, communal work-stations, and fabulous views.
Quay Perth – Food and Drink
- Restaurants & Bar: HQ BAR + KITCHEN – On the rooftop (a modest 10th floor compared to neighbors). Cocktails and contemporary Chinese cuisine on the terrace, but only open in the evening. Nice décor featuring timber floors and leather seats. • Community at Quay – Busy but casual street-level café for sandwiches, burgers, and tasty options for the kids. Breakfast and lunch only.
- Breakfast: Can be included depending on how the room was booked.
- Room Service: Available when HQ BAR + KITCHEN is open, which is from 5 pm daily except Sunday.
Quay Perth – Rooms
- Room Types: Perth Essential Rooms • Esplanade Studios • Elizabeth Quay Studios • Elizabeth Quay Luxury Studios • Perth Loft
- Smoking Rooms: No smoking allowed anywhere on the hotel premises.
- Best Room: The Elizabeth Quay Luxury Studios are aptly named: they’re spacious, very comfortable, and offer lovely views of Elizabeth Quay from the higher floors. The chic décor and furnishings include stand-alone bathtubs and extended window-side seating.
- For Families: No space for more than two people in any type of room, so book those with connecting doors. Better options elsewhere.
Quay Perth – Local Transport
- Walking & Cycling: With parks nearby, minimal traffic, and so much to see, walking and cycling in this area is particularly enjoyable. Elizabeth Quay is part of the fantastic 17-mile long Perth Discoverer cycling trail that skirts the edge of downtown, meanders along the foreshore of Swan River, and circles the massive Kings Park in West Perth. Shared-bikes can be rented through Spinway – the closest pickup point is outside The Ritz-Carlton, Perth hotel (0.1 mile, 3-minute walk).
- Buses, Trains & Ferries: The excellent public transport system includes the 4 free CAT bus services around the city center, West Perth, East Perth, and Northbridge respectively. Buses travel every few minutes daily from about 6 am to 7 pm (until later on Fridays and Saturdays). The Blue CAT and Green CAT buses loop around Elizabeth Quay. Trains to the re-energized port and seaside district of Fremantle leave from the Perth Underground station (0.4 mile, 9-minute walk north up William Street). From Elizabeth Quay, ferries head to South Perth for Perth Zoo.
- Taxis & Ride-shares: There are plenty of taxis along the city streets, or organize a pick-up through the 2 major companies: Swan Taxis (phone 131330) and Black & White Cabs (phone 133222). Ride-shares are also available through Uber, Ola, and DiDi.
Quay Perth – What’s Nearby?
Restaurants & Bars
All pubs serve meals and most restaurants sell alcohol. All the places listed below are easy to find in the Elizabeth Quay precinct.
- Amberjacks – Pleasant waterfront setting for fish and chips and other casual meals. 3-minute walk (0.1 mile).
- The Reveley – Triple-level building offering fabulous views from the rooftop bar. Modern Australian cuisine, classy service, and family-friendly. 3-minute walk (0.2 mile).
- The Island at Elizabeth Quay – An extended complex with a coffee shop, microbrewery, and ‘ritzy’ restaurant. Also, water views, play area for the young ones, and live music weekends on an outdoor stage. 5-minute walk (0.3 mile).
- Riverside Café, Bar & Restaurant – Tables spread across a deck above the water. Contemporary Australian cuisine and ideal while waiting for a ferry or cruise (see below). 7-minute walk (0.3 mile).
- The Lucky Shag Waterfront Bar – Appealing waterside position quietly set back from the crowds. Pub-style meals, signature cocktails, and live music sometimes. 7-minute walk (0.3 mile).
Shops
A steepish walk north of the hotel, 2 parallel pedestrian streets are packed with arcades, department stores, and boutiques: Hay Street Mall (0.4 mile, 9-minute walk) and Murray Street Mall, along which is a tourist information kiosk (0.5 mile, 10-minute walk).
Attractions
Elizabeth Quay offers so much: a waterpark, many cafés and bars, sightseeing cruises along the Swan River and as far as Fremantle, direct ferries to the amazing Rottnest Island, very long cycling/walking path (see above), and The Bell Tower (80m high and packed with historical displays).
Quay Perth – The Hotel
This likable boutique hotel is a lot smaller than the office blocks that surround it.
The Quay Perth retains a personable vibe despite being in a heavily-built area.
This compact and functional hotel faces a shady inner-city street.
At ground-level within the hotel is the inviting Community at Quay café.
Some tables at the Community at Quay café are placed along the sidewalk. In the background is the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Bicycles can be rented outside that hotel.
Half the rooms at the Quay Perth hotel face the front but only those on the higher floors will offer possible views of Elizabeth Quay.
Most views, however, from rooms facing the front may be obstructed by large trees.
Rooms are compact, functional, and great value.
One attractive feature of the rooms and studios is the window-side seat in each.
A major attraction of staying at the hotel is the location just over the road from the rejuvenated waterfront precinct of Elizabeth Quay.
Dominating the section of Elizabeth Quay in front of the hotel is the Spanda sculpture.
There is so much to see and do across Elizabeth Quay.
Linking the two sides of the bay at Elizabeth Quay is the namesake bridge.
The Elizabeth Quay Bridge and surrounding paths are popular with walkers, joggers, and cyclists.
Elizabeth Quay, especially around the area where ferries, cruises, and boats leave, is dotted with appealing cafés.
Selling some of the tastiest fish and chips in Perth, Amberjacks is one of several cafés at the Elizabeth Quay precinct.
This café is part of The Island at Elizabeth Quay complex which is in a section of the waterfront area that (sort of) resembles an ‘island’.
Perfect for a coffee or casual meal while waiting for a ferry or boat is the aptly-named Riverside Café.
In a quieter section of Elizabeth Quay, distant from the crowds waiting for ferries and boats, is this likable bar and café.
The triple-level Reveley, also at Elizabeth Quay, has a café on ground level, sophisticated dining room on another floor, and rooftop bar.
All sorts of boats (even gondolas) cruise along Swan River from Elizabeth Quay.
Ferries from Elizabeth Quay head directly to the very popular Rottnest Island, avoiding the need for a transfer at the terminal in Fremantle.
The Quay Perth hotel is only a couple minutes’ walk from Elizabeth Quay Bus Station for services to/from the airport.
The free CAT buses that also connect to Elizabeth Quay are very useful for exploring the city center.
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