The 5 best rooms with views in South Australia
When you’re out and about on a road trip, soaking up the sights, sounds and excitement of your chosen destination, there’s nothing more disappointing than retiring to a hotel room that looks out onto a car park. Starting now, the scenery is all pristine beaches, valley vistas, soaring city skylines and other picture-perfect sights. Do peruse these rooms with views while planning your next weekend break, but be warned: you might spend the whole trip inside your retreat. With scenery like this, who could blame you?
Brother and sister duo, Nick and Rachel Hannaford are passionate about Kangaroo Island, investing their creativity into ensuring visitors come away with the same love of this special part of South Australia.
The Hannafords run LifeTime Retreats, a collection of elegantly relaxed beach houses, each in a unique location with views to die for.
The Cliff House, overlooking the white half-moon sand and jeweled waters washing into the cove of Snelling’s Beach, has an amazing circular tower bedroom with a panoramic window looking out to sea and an outdoor cliff-edge Jacuzzi in a corner of a terrace positioned perfectly for the view. There are stairs leading directly down to the beach.
The Sky House is a couple’s roost that affords a breathtaking panorama of Kangaroo Island’s rolling pasture leading down to the hypnotic curves of the coast and the sapphire ocean beyond. Sheoaks is similarly lofty, with an uninterrupted seaside and pastoral backdrop, sleeping seven.
Families love Settler’s Homestead, a three-bedroom home with huge windows letting in the bush-and-beach aspect.
Beguiling Goolwa at the mouth of the mighty Murray River has many charms; many of them to do with the water. This historic river port town is storybook perfect in its gentle character that almost seems to belong to another time. It hosts a biennial Wooden Boat Festival and attracts vintage boat and water sport lovers year round.
Capturing the allure of this peaceful, picturesque enclave, Birks Harbour Marina is a luxury retreat where time falls away and all there is to do is enjoy aquatic glory and exquisite gardens.
The property dates back to the early 1900s when Napier Birks, a chemist from Adelaide created his private marina and waterfront home, indulging in his passions for gardening and boats.
Today, the property offers guests two separate Birks River Retreats in the original house and The Boathouse, an open-plan romantic haven with absolute frontage to the marina and its historic wooden boats tinkling in the tide. All are sublimely decorated in period and nautical theme.
Stoke the wood fire, relax in the claw foot bath with a book, or sip a special South Australian wine on the expansive deck as you soak up that gorgeous view. You can even take a dip in the shared swimming pool.
You only need to head 15 minutes out of Adelaide for South Australian wine country beauty in super abundance.
Mount Lofty House exemplifies it, encapsulating all that is famous about the Adelaide Hills: sublime vineyards, heritage architecture, exemplary hospitality and cinematic vistas.
The MGallery property dates from 1852 when it was established as the summer home for the famous Hardy family. Today, it’s a much-loved boutique hotel and restaurant, hosting weddings, special occasions and guests seeking a genteel stay combined with outstanding South Australian cuisine and wines.
Then there’s the view, over manicured gardens, rosebushes, treetops, and hedges, and vineyards, across the patchwork valley below. Balconies, verandahs, lawns and other vantage points invite guests, South Australian wine in hand, to gaze at length across the majestic Piccadilly Valley.
Top the day with sunrise yoga on the lawn and tale with a port on a starlit portico.
A game changer and flagship for the global brand, Adelaide’s funky ibis hotel has five-star views. Snaffle the right room, and you’ll be looking out over the Adelaide Hills in uninterrupted fashion.
Regardless, the cityscapes afforded by this smart, stylish hotel are photograph-worthy.
Compact, highly functional and cutting-edge stylish rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows that connect visitors to a cool sector of the city and beyond to the hills. This is a remarkably well-designed hotel that feels like an event stay despite its budget price tag.
No view from your room? The Ibis Kitchen, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and the adjacent bar are connected to a roomy terrace that captures the Grenfell Street aspect as well as glimpses to the hills.
But do see if you can snaffle a corner Queen Superior Room , located fifth floor and above, for those stunning Adelaide Hills views.
The Murray River’s most glamorous stay sits high on a clifftop at Paringa, three hours out of Adelaide. It comprises three villas with ultra-private balconies overlooking the river, private heated pool, spa, sauna, barbecue and immaculate design, each differently themed with artworks to match.
The owners take pride in the small details as well, such as king-sized electric beds with tilt functions, high-end appliances in the kitchens, and other comforts.
You can order sumptuous meal packages ready to heat and serve, or gourmet barbecue packs. There’s a chef available for in-villa cooking at an additional cost.
