35 Australian Hotels Have Been Awarded Michelin Keys in the Inaugural Awards

We don’t have Michelin stars in Australia, but you’d be hard pressed to find an Aussie who hadn’t heard of the restaurant ranking system.

Now, the little tyre company that could has made the foray into the world of hotel awards. The Michelin Guide first made hotel recommendations for Paris in the 1920s, but yesterday it announced a new global, tiered awards system called Michelin keys – a hotel equivalent of a Michelin star.

Michelin inspectors take five criteria into account when awarding keys: excellence in architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, overall personality and character, value for money, and contribution to the area.

Like with Michelin stars, hotels can be awarded one to three keys. One key is for “a very special stay”, two keys indicate “an exceptional stay”, and three keys are for “an extraordinary stay”.

But unlike with stars, which are only handed out in regions where a Michelin guide is produced, Michelin keys are given to hotels anywhere in the world. Thirty-five Australian hotels have been awarded keys.

Lizard Island, an hour’s flight from Cairns within the Lizard Island National Park, with direct beach access, was the only Australian hotel to be awarded three keys, a distinction which makes it “one of the most outstanding experiences in the world”, according to Michelin.

Nine hotels earned two keys, including Jackalope Hotel in the Mornington Peninsula, Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island, Tasmania’s Saffire Freycinet, Kangaroo Island’s Southern Ocean Lodge and Longitude 131 in the Northern Territory.

The state with the highest number of key-worthy hotels was NSW with 14 properties, followed by Victoria with six, Queensland and Tasmania with five each, SA and WA with two each and the Northern Territory with one standout hotel.

The following Australian hotels made the list:
Three keys
• Lizard Island Resort, Lizard Island, Qld.

Two keys
• Jackalope Hotel, Mornington Peninsula, Vic.
• Spicers Sangoma Retreat, Blue Mountains, NSW.
• Capella Lodge, Lord Howe Island, NSW.
• Silky Oaks Lodge, Daintree Rainforest, Qld.
• Spicers Peak Lodge, Maryvale, Qld.
• Thorngrove Manor, Adelaide, SA.
• Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island, SA.
• Saffire Freycinet, Coles Bay, Tas.
• Longitude 131, Yulara, NT.

One key
• The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic.
• The Interlude, Melbourne, Vic.
• Hyde Melbourne Place, Melbourne, Vic.
• Drift House, Port Fairy, Vic.
• 1 Hotel Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic.
• QT Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
• Ace Hotel, Sydney, NSW.
• The Eve Hotel, Redfern, NSW.
• Basq House, Byron Bay, NSW.
• Il Delfino Seaside Inn, Yamba, NSW.
• Wildlife Retreat at Taronga, Mosman, NSW.
• Capella Sydney, Sydney NSW
• The Langham, Sydney, NSW.
• Park Hyatt, Sydney, NSW.
• Osborn House, Bundanoon, NSW.
• Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
• Crystalbrook Albion, Surry Hills, NSW.
• Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld.
• The Calile Hotel, Brisbane, Qld.
• Empire Spa Retreat, Yallingup, WA.
• Como The Treasury, Perth, WA.
• Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hobart, Tas.
• The Islington Hotel, Hobart, Tas.
• The Tasman Hotel, Hobart, Tas.
• Macq 01 Hotel, Hobart, Tas.