A weekend at COMO The Treasury

Perth Point Zero

The State Buildings in Perth are situated at “Perth Point Zero”. The place where all distances from Perth, in Western Australia are calculated. Located in the heart of Perth CBD, and originally known as the Lands, Titles and Treasury buildings, the State Buildings brings three buildings together into one vibrant cultural destination offering bars, restaurants, a bookshop, spa, and the luxury hotel that is COMO The Treasury. Our home for the next two nights.

Awarded the title of The Best Hotel In Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific by Travel and Leisure in 2020, we had wanted to come and visit COMO The Treasury for some time.

Anyone for bubbles?

And so, we found ourselves arriving before noon to check in, demurring on the offer of complimentary bubbles, sure that we would enjoy it more, a little later. Right now, we were on the clock. At midday we had a date at the Fleur in the Royal on Wellington Street for our lunch of “Afternoon Bloom”. A modern take on high tea. Something a little different to our usual high teas.

The reception at COMO The Treasury is unlike any hotel I had ever been to. Granted I had never been to any of the other COMO properties around the globe, and before this weekend I didn’t even know any existed. A gentle fire burning against the back wall. No queues of people at check in, which I can tell you is a rarity for Perth. And there was no baggage. Anywhere. Which did confuse me a little. This was a hotel, right? A carefully curated collection of books and a couple of chaise longs completed the rather modern looking reception.

What I am trying to convey, I suppose, is that as soon as you cross the threshold from Cathedral Square, you really are entering a different world. A world where the sound seems to have been turned down. The colours are muted. And you feel a little like you are in a cocoon. And your bags? They magically find their way to your room to meet you there.

Arriving back at the COMO after lunch, we had a rather comical moment. There had been a change in staff since we had checked in earlier in the day and it caused a little confusion about whether we were arriving, or departing. After the room key was passed back and forth between Victoria and the concierge, we all established that we had checked in earlier, and were in fact returning to the hotel. And yes, we would love a glass of bubbles.

A mini moon

This was our second attempt at staying at COMO The Treasury. The first weekend, which was a splurge to ourselves as we are unable to fly anywhere for our honeymoon, was a victim of COVID, and a snap lockdown across Perth. Undeterred, we were finally here, walking down the hushed corridor on the fourth floor, thick carpet absorbing all noise.

As we were shown into room 46, there are only 48 rooms in the whole hotel, we both did a short intake of breath. Without doubt the largest hotel room I had ever stayed in. Even larger than some apartments I had lived in. And that is a true story. Thankfully, there was an intercom to the bathroom so me and Mrs C could stay in touch.

It is the little touches

It is the case with hotels such as COMO The Treasury that discreet touches hint at the stay you are about to have. Understated luxury. Contemporary. Delicate slices of delicious Honeycake. A complimentary mini bar, replenished daily, offering beer from a local outfit made good, Little Creatures. Once of Fremantle, and now of the world. I even hear you can now buy cans of their finest beer in Waitrose, in the UK. We had fresh coffee and a bowl of apples so shiny that I suspect they get a polish when your room is made up. Talking of making the room up, returning later in the evening our room had been subject to the “turn down” service, with locally produced chocolates adorning our pillows.

And to the pool

Taking an apple for later, we donned our hotel bathrobes, discreetly embroidered with the hotel name, we headed out, and down a level on the grand staircase. The staircase wrapped around an old elevator shaft, which we were told was possibly the first ever elevator in Perth. Level 3 housed the swimming pool and steam room. There was also a gym but that was a level of exercise too far for us this weekend. A few laps in the pool and time spent in the steam room was strenuous enough.

Heading back to our room I had time for a long soak in the very large freestanding bath, silently contemplating how grateful I was to be here, in this moment, and thinking ahead to this evening, where we had a dinner reservation at the fabled Wildflower restaurant, situated on the top floor of the hotel, with views out across the Swan River and the expansive night sky.

What I need to say about dinner has to be reserved for a blog by itself. It was that good. That. Good. We had read about the Saturday dinner option being the 6 course degustation only. What we weren’t prepared for was how blown away by the quality we would be. Indulging in the matching wine option, it was our mini moon after all, we had possibly our best meal ever, and definitely our most expensive meal ever. Would I ever eat again?

This was answered in the morning. It would be a shame to miss the included breakfast. Wouldn’t it? Both mornings, breakfast was served in the excellent restaurant, Post, within the State Buildings. Mindful of how full I was yesterday I was planning to skip everything but the cooked breakfast. This was until I saw the freshly baked croissants and the bowls of fruit. I put the diet on hold, and dived right in.