Como Hotels and Resorts has finally confirmed it will be opening a new hotel in Perth as the centrepiece of a new city centre development designed by architect Kerry Hill and opening on October 15.
Como The Treasury, the company’s first Australian property, is situated on Cathedral Avenue in Perth’s Central Business District, set within a new artisanal precinct called the Cathedral Square Development.
This re-vamped heritage site contains a group of buildings — known locally as the ‘State Buildings’ — which have played an important role in the city’s history for the past 140 years, serving as town hall, post office, land titles office, and treasury.
Before construction began in 2012, the building sat unused for nearly 20 years.
Como The Treasury will comprise 48 elegant rooms and suites averaging 70 m2 each. They will pair Kerry Hill’s contemporary design with Como’s familiar emphasis on understated luxury, including custom-made ‘Grand Posture’ kingsize beds and handcrafted bespoke European furniture. Large windows will ensure guest accommodations are flooded with natural light. Ensuite bathrooms feature German Kaldewei Duo freestanding oval bathtubs, twin vanities, Travertine stone tiles and heated floors. Amenities will include Como’s signature aromatherapy-based Como Shambhala toiletries, minibars and the customary luxuries of a leading-edge hotel, including Wi-Fi technology.
The hotel’s food and beverage offering has ambitions to augment Como’s international reputation for award-winning cuisine. At Como The Treasury, there will be a fine-dining restaurant on the rooftop with views across the Swan River and a menu showcasing contemporary European cuisine with the best of West Australian produce. There will also be a more casual restaurant on the ground-floor serving modern Australian dishes. All menus will be overseen by Como’s Australia-born Executive Chef Amanda Gale, together with Hotel Executive Chef Jed Gerrard. Other facilities will include a spacious lounge bar, meeting rooms, state-of-the-art gym, heated indoor swimming pool and a Como Shambhala Urban Escape offering holistic wellness therapies along with a wellness centre for yoga and pilates.
The hotel was designed by Singapore-based Australian architect Kerry Hill, whose previous projects have included Ogilvie House, Queensland, and the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia. Ninety-five per cent of the original heritage building has been meticulously returned to its 19th-century origins, featuring re-installed dormer windows, rooftop copper trimmings and a stripped facade showing off the original render.
This venture is in conjunction with FJM Property, an Australian property development and investment company with a wealth of experience in dining and retail spaces. FJM’s principals include Adrian Fini, well known in the city as one of the founders of Little Creatures brewery and eatery.
On completion, the new precinct will serve as a modern centre of town for up-and-coming Perth, offering hand-picked food and drink outlets, retail stores and this world-class hotel from Como.