The West Australian
St Georges House to be Luxury Hotel
Beatrice Thomas – thewest.com.au, Jan. 31, 2011
A new era in accommodation has been flagged for Perth with plans to transform heritage-listed St Georges House in to a small, luxury hotel. Described by its proponents as a mix of old-world sophistication with modern elements, The Terrace Hotel would comprise 15 rooms in the 120-year-old, two storey house and a new six-storey modern extension behind the building, on the corner of Milligan Street and St Georges Terrace.
It will have eight suites and seven luxury business rooms, along with a salon and restaurant with garden terrace dining.
At the rear, a seated dining area will back on to a piazza in the Bishop's See precinct where Kate Lamont's restaurant is housed in the old Bishop's House.
Project designer and acclaimed local architect Jean°mic Perrine said the $6 million project was inspired by the French tradition of the "hotel particulier" - luxury, small, family-run hotels - and he hoped that it would lead a renaissance in this style of accommodation in Perth.
"We're really looking forward to doing things in the city that people probably don't do anymore beautiful weddings on Sundays, high tea, those experiential things that the city's lost," he said.
"It's really aimed to be a bit of a signature for Perth".
Mr Perrine said St Georges House was vacant and in remarkably good condition.
He said the hotel would be man aged by The Hospitality Group.
There would bea live-in manager as part of a focus on personalised service for corporate and seasoned travellers.
He said room rates would be priced in Hne with the "mid to upper-level of accommodation in the city".
MrPerrine said the extension - a bold, modernist cube enshrined in textured material that would light up at night - would be built using his revolutionary Perrine pod building method.
As a result, an ambitious August opening is proposed.
The project was due to go before the City of Perth council in the next month with support from the Heritage Council and TourismWA.