Mr & Mrs Smith

Diamant Hotel Canberra

Canberra, Australia

Blending a revamped Twenties building with cutting-edge contemporary furniture and art, Diamant Hotel Canberra is a must for design fans in search of a culture fix – and it's centrally located near the lake in one of the city's most happening hubs.

Need to know

• Rooms 80, including one suite.
• Rates Double rooms from $173.87 (AU$163), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
• More details Rates exclude breakfast.
• Facilities Free WiFi in the lobby, book, CD and DVD library, Fitness First gym pass, garden. In rooms: broadband internet (from AU$7 an hour), Bang & Olufsen flatscreen TV with cable, CD/DVD player with MP3 port, iPod docks on request, minibar, Romy toiletries.
• Poolside The Diamant doesn’t have a pool but there is no shortage of public pools in the city.
• Check-out 11am, but you can pay AU$10 an hour for late check-outs until 1pm. Check-in, 3pm.
• Children The hotel doesn’t really cater to children, but baby cots can be provided for AU$15 a night, babysitting is available and the restaurant can heat up milk or baby food. Ask for a quiet room in any category above a Standard. More...
• Also The hotel is housed within the New Acton complex which also contains a selection of restaurants, bars and the Soma Day Spa. Guests of the Diamant have complimentary use the Fitness First gym just a 10-minute walk up the road.

Food and drink at Diamant Hotel Canberra

• Hotel restaurant

  Bicicletta and Flint Dining Room & Bar are the two restaurants in the New Acton Pavilion, the ‘urban village’ that encompasses the hotel. Biciletta dishes up classic Italian fare from Venice-born chef Luca Zanini (ex Mille Vini and Pizza e Birra, Sydney), such as tagliatelle with duck ragu, wonderful wood-fired pizzas and a wicked tiramisu. Flint serves modern seasonal Australian cuisine for lunch and dinner in a contemporary space furnished with black wood tables, a Carrara marble communal table running the length of the restaurant. The two outdoor terraces also make a good perch for tackling Flint's savvy wine list or evening cocktails.

• Dress code

  Lose the lycra but avoid the corporate suited and booted look. This is a designer playground, after all.

• Top table

  Cosy corners for canoodling couples or communal tables for conviviality.

• Last orders

  Breakfast and lunch is served in Bicicletta from 7am–3pm and dinner from 6pm–10pm. Flint is open for lunch from 12pm–3pm Tuesday–Friday and dinner from 6pm–11pm Monday–Saturday.

• Room service

  Available from Flint from 12pm–3pm, then 6pm–11pm on opening days and all day long from Bicicletta, reflecting their menus.

• Hotel bar

  A far cry from your average lacklustre hotel lobby, the Diamant Lounge Bar & Library works a sexy yet smart look with turquoise- and cobalt-backed dark wood book shelves and round mirror-topped tables etched with floral designs. Grab a banquette and browse the eclectic literature decorating the rear wall while you relax with a glass of wine and some smooth jazz. Drinks are available from 4.30pm–1am but guests can use the space, and its free WiFi hotspot, all day long. There's even a fireplace for cosying up in winter.

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

Diamant Hotel Canberra 15 Edinburgh Avenue, Canberra, 2601