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Is Ovolo Nishi In Canberra The Best Hotel In Australia?

Are you looking for Canberra accommodation and wondering what it’s like to stay at Ovolo Nishi?

Having travelled all over Australia, my final city (and state for that matter) I hadn’t ticked off the list yet was indeed the ACT’s Canberra.

When we decided to head down to the nation’s capital city for the launch of Floriade Festival, we knew when choosing where to stay in Canberra we just HAD to stay at the famous Ovolo Nishi. Known for being the best hotel in Canberra, would it live up to its reputation?

I remember when this Canberra hotel launched previously as Hotel Hotel in 2013, the entrance itself was not only an attention grabber, it made me want to visit straight away.


When the Hotel Hotel Canberra was built, it was originally an art project that involved over 60 artists in the new cultural precinct called New Acton.

Ovolo Nishi bought the hotel off Hotel Hotel in 2018 and spent a cool $5m on upgrading it with 17 new rooms for the corporate overnight traveller, and an upgrade of their exceptional restaurant called Monster.

I have visited Ovolo Woolloomooloo once before which is also an amazing hotel in Sydney so I had high hopes for this accommodation in Canberra.

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Watch our video of our visit to Ovolo Nishi below!


So what’s it like to actually stay at Ovolo Nishi?

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We spent two nights at Ovolo Nishi when we visited in September 2019. As two creatives, we much prefer to stay at interesting places around Australia (remember when we stayed in the church in the Sunshine Coast here?). So, Ovolo Nishi was somewhere we were incredibly excited to finally visit. If you’re wondering where to stay in Canberra, find out more in this post.

We also loved their spin on the Floriade festival and we opted for their Feast and Flourish package which we’ll talk more about below.

In this post we’re going to describe everything we learnt about what it’s like to stay at Ovolo Nishi and whether it’s worth staying at.


Is the whole building dedicated to Ovolo Nishi?

The building itself is just as impressive on the outside as it is inside but Ovolo Nishi is actually home to the first three floors. The rest of the building is apartments.

There’s also a cinema on the ground floor so you don’t even need to leave the building. 


What’s the location like at Ovolo Nishi?

ovolo-nishi-canberraOvolo Nishi is based at the new cultural precinct of New Acton in Canberra. It’s a modern part of Canberra that’s home to apartment buildings and a couple of galleries. We checked out the nearby Mocan and Green Gout restaurant which looked beautiful. It’s supposedly good for brunch in Canberra but we didn’t need it because the breakfast at Ovolo Nishi was so good.

Ovolo Nishi is also located just around the corner from Floriade and a five minute drive from Parliament House.

It’s also located right near the centre of town and near to the restaurant lined streets of Braddon.


Parking at Ovolo Nishi

There’s a car park underneath the hotel which costs $35 for 24 hours. On Sundays it’s a flat rate of $4 or you can park over the other side of the bridge in a car park for free on weekends.


Let’s talk about the entrance at Ovolo Nishi

ovolo-nishi-hotel-hotel-canberraThe entrance at Ovolo Nishi is so impressive, it’s literally an Instagrammers dream. Actually, the whole hotel is an instagrammers dream. You could literally spend your entire stay taking photos at Ovolo Nishi because it’s so incredible. The detail in the whole hotel is second to none.ovolo-canberraThe entrance at Ovolo Nishi leads you into a design feast. The amount of different textures throughout the hotel is so incredible, you’ll want to touch all of the walls and spend a long time just taking it all in.

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Stay in the sun rooms or the atrium at Ovolo Nishi

There’s a few options to choose from when staying in Ovolo Nishi. You have the sun rooms or the atrium. The sun rooms offer up light filled rooms and the atrium are on the side where there’s not a lot of light which creates a cosy den.

If you’re looking for a Canberra apartments hotel, Ovolo Nishi also offer apartments as well as hotel rooms.


What was our room like?

We stayed in the Meandering Atrium – the biggest room at Ovolo Nishi. Because we were on the ground floor, our window looked out onto what looked like a jungle, amongst the ferns – a cleaver and well thought out idea.

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Our room was very dark which meant unless we looked at our clocks, we had no idea what time it was. I woke up one night at 2:30am and again at 7am – the light in the room was no different.

Honestly, you could just sleep and sleep in the room if you wanted to. It’s the perfect hideaway from it all and a beautiful romantic getaway from Sydney.

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We absolutely loved our room though. The king size bed was an absolute dream and the kind of bed we would buy for our own home.

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We LOVED the bathroom which was complete with two rainfall showers, two sinks and a bathtub. The bath is honestly amazing, again it’s the type of bath I would buy myself.

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The only thing I can suggest is to bring your own bubble bath which wasn’t included in the room. Eco friendly shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand wash was all included in the bathroom including two towels each and a hairdryer.

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We both have to say, it was the best bathroom we’ve ever seen in a hotel.

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We also loved all of the details in the room such as the light switch next to the bed which turned everything off, the iPad, Amazon echo, Apple TV and everything else.

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Did we mention there’s even two TV’s in the room as well? Everything has been so well thought out, even the TV opposite the bed was at a height that was directly opposite the bed so you don’t even need to sit up to watch it.


What’s included in your stay at Ovolo Nishi

There’s loads of little extras included in your stay at Ovolo Nishi when you book through their website here. It really makes you feel like you’ve got a good deal when staying in one of the best hotels in Australia.

Free mini bar

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We were genuinely surprised that our Canberra accommodation included a free mini bar that’s stocked up daily. Don’t worry we took a picture of what’s actually included because mini bars can vary massively. We even checked with reception before we touched it and yes, it’s all completely free. Expect a couple of beers, white and red wine, water, coke, juice and T2 tees.

Free takeaway loot bag

Stevo loved coming back for a beer after our day of exploring and he raided the takeaway loot bag which includes peanuts and crisps as soon as we walked into the room which is again stocked up daily.

Free wifi

There’s free wifi in the hotel and more so, it’s easy to connect and works very well which is perfect for anyone who’s coming to Canberra for business.

Free continental breakfast

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You know I always thought a continental breakfast basically meant croissants, toast, fruit and cereal. At Ovolo Nishi, it’s a whole new experience.

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Expect a huge buffet breakfast including cheese, meats, guacamole, soft boiled eggs, sourdough, fruit, yoghurt, various types of muesli and pastries. The food was awesome, like genuinely one of the best breakfast buffets we’ve ever had.

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Free yoga

Although we didn’t have time to do yoga, Ovolo Nishi guests gain access to free yoga over the road at Nishi Gallery. We didn’t get chance to explore the gallery which was on our list as the sculptures look excellent and well worth a visit.

Free bike hire

Now we’ve visited Canberra, I can certainly say that hiring a bike would be a great activity to explore the city. It’s very flat and there’s some great bike tracks along the lake. Luckily you’ll get free bike hire at Ovolo Nishi.

Free 24 hour gym

The 24 hour gym has views out to the lake and is a brilliant little gym that you could easily take advantage of and have it all to yourself.

Free social hour aka happy hour

Between 5:30-6:30pm you’ll get free happy hour to start the evening. Choose between Pete’s Pure Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Shiraz and local beers. Nibbles are of course accompanied with the drinks.


It’s a dog friendly hotel!

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Finding dog friendly Canberra accommodation might be tricky but Ovolo Nishi provide it for up to two pooches per room. For an extra $80 per night, you’ll get a dog bed and all the extras you’ll need to make sure your dog is comfortable.


What are the other guests like at Ovolo Nishi?

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Sometimes you wonder if a super cool hotel like Ovolo Nishi is going to attract a crowd that can be a bit intimidating to be around. Truth is, we felt really comfortable here. There weren’t any pretentious people in sight, even the staff were really nice.


Choose your package for the perfect weekend away from Sydney

Ovolo Nishi run a range of packages from the Date Night package which includes tickets to the cinema and $50 to use at the Monster bar & kitchen, to the Babymoon package consisting of a 60 minute pregnancy massage and more. ovolo-feast-and-flourish-package-floriade

We chose the Feast & Flourish package which was perfect for the launch of Floriade. It included a Floriade inspired cocktail with gin and elderflower. I can honestly say I don’t EVER drink gin and I loved this drink.

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It also included a picnic of sandwiches and sweet treats which we took along to Floriade. The mozarella, tomato and pesto sandwich was a winner and we loved the treats included. This meant we didn’t need to buy any over priced food at the festival, knowing full well the Ovolo Nishi picnic would be amazing, and it was.

Read more about the packages at Ovolo Nishi here >


Should you stay at Ovolo Nishi?

To be honest, Ovolo Nishi is what made Canberra awesome for us. It’s the type of hotel we’d happily drive three hours from Sydney just to spend the entire weekend here. You don’t even need to leave the hotel at all and why would you when you have everything you need in one place?

Ovolo Nishi is not only one of the best hotels in Canberra, we think it’s easily one of the best hotels in Australia, by a mile.

I’d be surprised to hear anyone say they didn’t like this incredible Canberra accommodation.


How much does it cost to stay at Ovolo Nishi?

There are various rooms and rates to stay at Ovolo Nishi but if you’re looking for a good deal without the freebies click here. Otherwise book here to get the freebies included.

Read Trip Advisor reviews here. 

Thank you to Ovolo Nishi for hosting our stay with them. It’s the type of hotel we would stay in regardless and we hope we’ve inspired you to stay here too. 


Don’t forget to watch our video at Ovolo Nishi below!