Perth is Australia's most isolated capital — closer to Jakarta than to Sydney, separated from the east coast by a continent of red desert and a four-hour flight. That isolation has bred a particular kind of confidence: a city that doesn't try to be Melbourne or Sydney, but does things its own way, on its own terms. And in recent years, it has quietly assembled one of the most interesting five-star hotel scenes in the country.
Three hotels now compete for the title of Perth's most exclusive. They are radically different propositions — a 500-room Forbes-rated resort with private butlers and a 14,000-square-foot spa; a 48-room heritage boutique in the city's oldest buildings; and a 205-room waterfront tower on Elizabeth Quay with a fifth-floor infinity pool. Together they represent the full spectrum of what luxury means in Western Australia: scale, intimacy, and spectacle.
Perth at golden hour — the Swan River, Elizabeth Quay, and a city quietly building one of Australia's most compelling hotel scenes.
Crown Towers Perth — The Forbes Five-Star Heavyweight
The credential is unambiguous: Crown Towers Perth is Australia's only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel (2025 Star Awards). That makes it, on paper at least, not just the most exclusive hotel in Perth — but the most exclusive in the country. And the scale matches the ambition. With approximately 500 guest rooms ranging from 47m² to 715m², it is the largest luxury hotel in Perth, and the only one with villas.
Crown Towers' Villas — 24-hour butler service, showers that double as steam rooms, and the Chairman's Villa with six-metre ceilings. Australia's most awarded hotel room.
The Villas are the headline act. Each comes with a 24-hour butler service, marble bathrooms with showers that double as steam rooms, and the kind of space usually reserved for penthouse suites. The Chairman's Villa — at 715m² with six-metre ceilings — is one of the largest hotel rooms in Australia. Even the standard rooms start at a generous 47m², which would be considered a suite in many European hotels.
The Crown Spa spans nearly 14,000 square feet, designed as an underwater world of refracted light and aqua-hued treatment rooms. It features La Prairie treatments (among the most expensive skincare brands in the world), men's and women's Aqua Retreats with Roman hot tubs, saunas, and relaxation areas. The spa alone would be a destination in its own right.
Crown Spa Perth — nearly 14,000 square feet of underwater-inspired wellness with La Prairie treatments and Roman-style Aqua Retreats.
Dining is resort-scale: Nobu for Japanese, Rockpool Bar & Grill for premium steaks, and Silks for Cantonese. The Crystal Club provides exclusive lounge access for suite guests, with complimentary breakfast, all-day refreshments, and evening cocktails. Outside, expansive lagoon pools stretch across the resort landscape with private cabanas and poolside dining. The Crown Perth complex also includes a casino, theatre, and upscale shopping.
The location, however, is the trade-off. Crown Towers sits in Burswood, across the river from the CBD — a resort campus rather than a city-centre hotel. You'll need a taxi or a short drive to reach Perth's central shopping, dining, and cultural districts.
Standout feature: The Forbes Five-Star rating. It's the only hotel in Australia with it. That's not opinion — it's the most rigorous independent hotel assessment in the world.
Best for: Travellers who want the full resort experience — spa, pools, fine dining, casino, and villa-level luxury without leaving the property.
COMO The Treasury — The Heritage Boutique
If Crown Towers is the heavyweight, COMO The Treasury is the connoisseur's choice. With just 48 rooms and suites, it is Perth's most intimate luxury hotel — and at room rates from A$538 to over A$1,000 per night, it is also Perth's most expensive. Housed within the restored 19th-century State Buildings in the heart of the CBD, it occupies three heritage-listed structures that have been reimagined by legendary architect Kerry Hill.
COMO The Treasury — 19th-century State Buildings reimagined by Kerry Hill. 48 rooms, high ceilings, and a 20m heated indoor pool within Perth's CBD.
The room types tell the story. There are 15 Heritage Rooms (averaging 55-60m²) with views of Cathedral Square and Stirling Gardens, Treasury Rooms with balcony views, and Suites up to 120m². Every room has the kind of ceiling height and architectural detail that simply cannot be built new — arched windows, exposed brick, and a sense of history that permeates the walls. The design is pure COMO: minimalist, calm, cream and white tones with natural materials, no unnecessary ornamentation.
The COMO Shambhala Spa received a Forbes Five-Star rating in its own right — one of the few hotel spas in Australia to achieve that distinction. It features a 20-metre heated indoor pool, treatment rooms, a gym, and COMO's signature wellness approach that blends Asian therapies with contemporary science. It is the kind of spa where you arrive for a treatment and stay for the afternoon.
Dining is exceptional and two-tiered. Wildflower, the rooftop restaurant, serves a farmer- and forager-driven menu that has made it one of Perth's most acclaimed dining destinations — a tasting experience rooted in Western Australian produce. Post, the ground-floor osteria, offers a more relaxed contemporary Italian menu with two private dining rooms. Both are destinations in their own right; Wildflower in particular draws Perth's food crowd independently of the hotel.
At 9.5/10 across 134 reviews on Luxury Escapes, the guest satisfaction is among the highest of any luxury hotel in Australia. The location is unbeatable — you're in the CBD, walking distance from the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Perth Mint, and the city's best shopping.
Standout feature: The heritage. You cannot replicate a 19th-century State Building. The architecture, the proportions, the history — it gives COMO a soul that no new-build tower can match.
Best for: Couples and design lovers who want boutique intimacy, architectural character, and a genuinely world-class spa in the heart of the city.
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth — The Waterfront Newcomer
The newest of the three, The Ritz-Carlton, Perth opened on Elizabeth Quay with 205 elegantly appointed rooms and suites overlooking the Swan River, the city skyline, and urban parks. It is the most visually dramatic of the three — a glass tower on the waterfront with a heated infinity pool on the fifth floor that has become one of Perth's most photographed features.
The Ritz-Carlton Perth — a fifth-floor heated infinity pool over the Swan River. The most spectacular pool view of the three.
Rooms are spacious and well-appointed, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing river or city views. Reviewers consistently praise the functional walk-in wardrobes, high-quality wooden flooring, and generous bathroom layouts. The Ritz-Carlton Suite is the top-tier room, with Elizabeth Quay river views and a separate bedroom. Room categories range from Premium River View rooms to the Elizabeth Quay Suite, with rates starting around A$285 per night.
The spa is more compact than Crown's but well-designed, with four treatment rooms, a sauna, vitality pools, and relaxation areas. Guests have complimentary use of the pool, gym, and sauna, with only treatments carrying an additional charge. The signature restaurant, Hearth, focuses on wood-fired cooking, and the hotel bar has become a popular spot for after-work drinks among Perth's business crowd.
The Elizabeth Quay location is the key differentiator. You're on the waterfront, walking distance from the Bell Tower, the Swan River promenade, and the ferry terminal to South Perth. The views from the pool and the rooms are genuinely spectacular — the kind of outlook that makes you want to linger.
The one caveat noted by some reviewers: service consistency. While many guests report excellent experiences, others have noted occasional gaps in attention to detail — unusual for a Ritz-Carlton. It's the newest of the three, and there's a sense it's still finding its rhythm.
Standout feature: The fifth-floor infinity pool over the Swan River. It's the best view from any hotel pool in Perth — and possibly in Australia.
Best for: Travellers who want waterfront drama, a brand-name luxury experience, and the best pool views in the city.
The Verdict
So which is the most exclusive? It depends entirely on what you mean by exclusive. If exclusive means officially rated the best by the most rigorous independent standard in the world, Crown Towers is the answer — the Forbes Five-Star is unambiguous. If exclusive means the smallest, the most expensive, and the most architecturally rare, COMO The Treasury wins — 48 rooms in a building that can never be replicated. If exclusive means the most visually spectacular location and the best pool in the city, The Ritz-Carlton takes it.
For our money, COMO The Treasury is the genuine article. The combination of 48 rooms, heritage architecture, a Forbes Five-Star spa, and the Wildflower restaurant creates something that the larger hotels cannot replicate — intimacy with substance. Crown Towers is the better resort; The Ritz-Carlton is the better view. But COMO is the better hotel.
That said, for a first-time visitor wanting the full Perth luxury experience, a stay split between two properties — one night at COMO for the heritage and the dining, two nights at Crown for the spa and the pools — would be hard to beat.
Quick Facts
Crown Towers Perth
Location: Burswood, Greater Perth (across river from CBD)
Star rating: 5-star, Forbes Five-Star (2025)
Rooms: ~500, ranging from 47m² to 715m² (Chairman's Villa)
Spa: Crown Spa — 14,000 sq ft, La Prairie treatments, Aqua Retreats, Roman hot tubs
Dining: Nobu, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Silks, Crystal Club lounge
Pools: Expansive lagoon pools with private cabanas
Airport: Perth Airport, 15 minutes by car
CBD: 10 minutes by car
Part of: Crown Perth resort complex (casino, theatre, shopping)
COMO The Treasury
Location: Perth CBD, housed in heritage State Buildings
Star rating: 5-star, Forbes Five-Star Spa
Rooms: 48, from 55m² Heritage Rooms to 120m² Suites
Spa: COMO Shambhala — 20m heated indoor pool, Forbes Five-Star spa
Dining: Wildflower (rooftop, forager-driven tasting menu), Post (osteria)
Price from: A$538 per night
Airport: Perth Airport, 25 minutes by car
CBD: In the CBD — walking distance to Art Gallery, Perth Mint
Design: Kerry Hill architect, 19th-century heritage buildings
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth
Location: Elizabeth Quay waterfront
Star rating: 5-star
Rooms: 205, from Premium River View to Ritz-Carlton Suite
Spa: 4 treatment rooms, sauna, vitality pools, relaxation areas
Dining: Hearth restaurant (wood-fired), hotel bar
Pools: Heated infinity pool on 5th floor overlooking Swan River
Price from: A$285 per night
Airport: Perth Airport, 25 minutes by car
CBD: Adjacent to CBD, Elizabeth Quay waterfront
Part of: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (Marriott International)
Verified Traveler Scorecard
The Hotels-Reviewed Verified Traveler Scorecard aggregates structured, verified guest ratings to provide high-trust social proof.
Crown Towers Perth — Staff 9.1 | Spa Facilities 9.5 | Rooms 9.2 | Dining 9.0 | Value 8.2 | Overall 9.0/10
COMO The Treasury — Staff 9.5 | Spa Facilities 9.4 | Rooms 9.3 | Dining 9.4 | Value 8.3 | Overall 9.4/10
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth — Staff 8.7 | Spa Facilities 8.3 | Rooms 8.9 | Dining 8.5 | Value 8.5 | Overall 8.6/10
[Editor's note: This article includes AI-generated editorial imagery. High-resolution official photography from each property will be requested during partner outreach to replace generated images and enhance the visual presentation of this article.]
