Two five-star hotels sit within a few minutes' walk of each other in central Perth, and they answer two different questions. The Ritz-Carlton, Perth is the resort-style choice on Elizabeth Quay: 205 rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling windows over the Swan River, an infinity pool, a spa and a rooftop bar. COMO The Treasury is the boutique choice inside the restored nineteenth-century State Buildings: 48 rooms, a heated indoor pool, and three restaurants that have made this corner of the city a dining destination in its own right.
If you are travelling with children, want river views and a full-service pool deck, the Ritz-Carlton is the easier fit. If you are travelling as a couple, care about design and food, and would rather stay in a 48-room house than a 205-room hotel, COMO The Treasury is the one to book.
Perth hotels at a glance
| The Ritz-Carlton, Perth | COMO The Treasury | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Elizabeth Quay, 1 Barrack Street | State Buildings, 1 Cathedral Avenue |
| Rooms & suites | 205 | 48 |
| Built in | Contemporary tower on the waterfront | Restored nineteenth-century government buildings |
| Pool | Outdoor infinity pool with river views | Heated indoor pool |
| Wellness | The Ritz-Carlton Spa | COMO Shambhala Urban Escape |
| Dining | Hearth, Hearth Lounge, Songbird rooftop bar | Wildflower, Post, Cape Arid Rooms |
| Children | Ritz Kids programme; family rooms | Children under 12 dine free at Post |
| Check-in / out | 15:00 / 11:00 | Early check-in from 10:00 when booking direct, subject to availability |
| Distance to airport | 16 km | About 17 km, roughly 20 minutes by car |
| Suits | Families, first-time visitors, longer stays | Couples, design and food travellers, short city stays |
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth — the waterfront option
The building cuts a sharp silhouette along the Swan River and the rooms are arranged to use it: wide windows, river or park outlooks, and a colour palette that leans on Western Australian light rather than dark timber. With 205 keys it is a full-service hotel in the traditional sense — a Club Lounge on a high floor, a spa, a pool deck that faces the water, and room service around the clock.
Dining is built around fire and local produce. Hearth runs an open-fire kitchen; Hearth Lounge is the quieter, darker room next door; Songbird sits on the rooftop with the skyline on one side and the river on the other. For families, Ritz Kids gives the stay a structure that a boutique property does not attempt, and the Elizabeth Quay waterfront — with its playground, ferry jetty and riverside walk — is directly outside.
Practical notes worth knowing before you book: check-in is from 15:00 and check-out is 11:00, the minimum age to check in is 21, pets are not permitted, and parking is on site with both self-parking and valet available. Perth Airport is 16 km away and the hotel does not run a shuttle, so a private transfer is the simplest arrival — which is how we normally arrange it.
COMO The Treasury — the boutique option
COMO The Treasury occupies the State Buildings, the group of nineteenth-century government offices that once held the city's treasury, lands and survey departments. The restoration kept the stone, the corridors and the scale of the original rooms; designer Kerry Hill then fitted 48 rooms and suites inside them with pale timber, linen and a great deal of daylight. The result feels closer to a private house than a hotel, and the service ratio reflects that.
The dining is the reason many people choose this address. Wildflower sits on the rooftop and works with Western Australian producers; Post is the street-level brasserie; Cape Arid Rooms is the more intimate space. In 2025 the property was awarded One MICHELIN Key, and it has also been named Australia's Leading Boutique Hotel at the World Travel Awards — recognition that comes from the restaurant and service side as much as the rooms.
Wellness sits below the building: a heated indoor pool, sauna, gym and the COMO Shambhala Urban Escape treatment rooms, which is a genuinely useful thing in a city where summer afternoons can be fierce. Children under 12 eat free at Post, and guests booking direct can request check-in from 10:00, subject to availability. The hotel is about 20 minutes by car from the airport and arranges private transfers and limousine services on request.
Which one should you book?
- Travelling with children: the Ritz-Carlton. Bigger rooms, the Ritz Kids programme, the outdoor pool and the waterfront playground at the door.
- A couple's city break: COMO The Treasury. Forty-eight rooms, a rooftop restaurant and a building with a history you can feel.
- First time in Perth, three nights or more: the Ritz-Carlton, because the river and the quay give you an easy orientation to the city.
- Food is the point of the trip: COMO The Treasury, then book Wildflower for the first night and Post for the last.
- You want a pool in the middle of a hot day: both work, but only one is indoors — COMO's pool is heated and under cover, which matters in January.
Getting there, and what to do from Perth
Both hotels sit in the same central grid, so the choice does not change your day trips. Perth Airport is 16–17 km away; the drive takes roughly 20 to 25 minutes outside peak hours. Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens are a short drive west, Cottesloe Beach is another fifteen minutes beyond that, and Rottnest Island is reached by ferry from the Swan River — the quay is a two-minute walk from the Ritz-Carlton and ten from COMO.
Longer excursions need a car and a driver, which is exactly how we run them. The two itineraries we operate in this part of Australia are an eight-day Western Australia private tour and a shorter seven-day Western Australia private tour, both built around Perth, the south-west forests and the coast. If you would rather combine the city with Margaret River wineries or the beaches around Esperance, that is a conversation we have before you book, not after.
When to visit Perth
Spring, from September to November, is the most comfortable window: wildflowers across the state, mild days and cool evenings. Summer (December to February) is hot and dry, which is when an indoor pool and air-conditioned restaurants stop being luxuries; the coast is at its best. Autumn, March to May, is calm and clear. Winter, June to August, is mild by European standards — wetter, greener and much quieter in the south-west forests.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Ritz-Carlton and COMO The Treasury close to each other?
Yes. Both are in central Perth within a few minutes' walk — the Ritz-Carlton on Elizabeth Quay at 1 Barrack Street, COMO The Treasury in the State Buildings at 1 Cathedral Avenue.
Which Perth hotel is better for families?
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth. It has 205 rooms including family configurations, a Ritz Kids programme, an outdoor infinity pool and the Elizabeth Quay playground directly outside.
Does COMO The Treasury have a pool?
Yes — a heated indoor pool, together with a sauna, gym and the COMO Shambhala Urban Escape treatment rooms.
How far are the hotels from Perth Airport?
The Ritz-Carlton is 16 km from the airport; COMO The Treasury is about 17 km, roughly 20 minutes by car. Neither runs a shuttle, so we normally arrange a private transfer.
Can I combine a Perth stay with a longer Western Australia trip?
Yes. We build private itineraries that start with two or three nights in the city and continue south through the forests and wine country — see our Australia private tours.
Planning a Perth stay?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will put together an itinerary with the hotel that fits — plus the transfers, the day trips and the table bookings that make a short stay work. There is no charge for the planning and no obligation to book.
Message us on WhatsApp or check current rates for The Ritz-Carlton, Perth and COMO The Treasury.
BLISS TRAVEL plans private tours across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and Europe. Hotel details in this guide come from the official Ritz-Carlton and COMO The Treasury websites; facilities and policies can change, so we confirm them with the hotel before you book.
Putting Perth into your itinerary
Perth works best as a three-night base: one day in the city, one on the water, one in the hills or the vineyards.
1 day — Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens, Elizabeth Quay and the river foreshore, then Cottesloe Beach for sunset.
2 days — The Rottnest Island ferry leaves from Barrack Street jetty — a two-minute walk from the Ritz-Carlton — for a day of beaches and quokkas.
3 days — Swan Valley wineries are 25 minutes from the city; with a third day you can push further south to Margaret River and the tall forests of the south-west.
We can arrange this as a private itinerary, with a car and a private guide. WhatsApp us.
Planning a private tour?
Tell us your travel dates and we will shape an itinerary around them — hotels, cars and a private guide.
BLISS TRAVEL is part of ZEUS GROUP