New Cairns hotels to boost city’s ‘Instagram moments’

After 40 years in the business, Cairns architect Tim Bentley is pleased the city is finally coming into its own in terms of building design.

The ThomsonAdsett Cairns and South Pacific regional partner is working on the new Crystalbrook Collection hotels, Riley and Bailey, and says the additions to the city will boost the region’s ‘Instagram moments’.

“Cairns has a focus on tourism, and it has been a long time between drinks since the last hotel was built in Cairns,” he says.

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“Cairns is the sort of thing that should be on everyone’s bucket list and the high level of sophistication in these new hotels’ designs, I think, is going to be the takeaway for our visitors.

“I think there’s a range of aspects that make design and buildings in Cairns unique and to start with it’s all about liveability.

“It is a community that breathes and that means that you need to talk about homes and an environment which will extend to nature and permit a style of outdoor lifestyle.

“Homes and buildings here really bring the outside in with lots of plants and the ability to live internally in a comfortable environment.

Thomson Adsett Cairns and South Pacific regional partner Tim Bentley.

“There had got to be somewhere to store the fishing rods – we live outdoors, we have a beautiful environment which allows us to do that.

“Houses here are building more cross ventilation in to capture the breezes and cool places down and there has to be the ability to access natural light. In the past, there has been a desire to move to the lowest common denominator, which is often price driven.

“People are starting to realise and recognise designs which already reflect the environment and more sustainable and energy efficiency.”

Bentley says the tourism market is a lot more informed, through access to information and technology.

He says the ability to research the accommodation to be rented in “quite a degree of detail” means design is even more important moving into the future.

“Cairns is a specific brand — it is Australian, first world, tropical,” he says.

This article from the Cairns Post originally appeared as “Thomson Adsett partner says Cairns design finally embracing lifestyle”.