The Eat Drink Design Awards finalists for 2025 have just been announced and today, we’re taking a look at the hotel finalists. With three in Australia and one in New Zealand, they are a seriously stylish bunch and I feel a minibreak coming on!
In the highly competitive hospitality industry, a key ingredient to a successful and memorable venue is an exceptional design. Australia and New Zealand’s best-designed restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels and hospitality retailers for 2025 have been revealed in the Eat Drink Design Awards shortlist. For culinary connoisseurs, the 64 venues recognised in the Awards shortlist are a roadmap to the most arresting, innovative and must-visit new venues around Australia and across the Tasman.
Much more than just a list of 2025’s most Instagrammable restaurants and bars, the Eat Drink Design Awards reveal the latest innovations and shifts in contemporary design and give insights into the cultural and economic forces shaping the hospitality landscape. Notable in this year’s shortlist is the strong presence of regional venues; the dominance of industrial interiors; a patriotic embrace of local materials and the Australian identity; and an expanded vision of what hospitality venues can be — both as destinations and as community hubs.
The four finalists in the hotel category are The Eve Hotel Sydney by SJB (Redfern, NSW), Melbourne Place by Kennedy Nolan (Melbourne, VIC), The Standard X by Hecker Guthrie (Fitzroy, VIC), and Drifter by CTRL Space (Christchurch, New Zealand). Let’s take a closer look at these beauties…
The Eve Hotel, Sydney
Photos of The Eve Hotel by Anson Smart
Melbourne Place, Melbourne
Photos of Melbourne Place by Derek Swalwell
The Standard X, Fitzroy, Melbourne
Photos of The Standard X by Shannon McGrath
Drifter, Christchurch, New Zealand
Photos of Drifter by Ain Raadik
See the Eat Drink Design Awards finalists in every category
The winners will be revealed on Wednesday 29 October 2025.
