Hotel Vera Ballarat

Hotel Vera is the latest enterprise presented by Ballarat’s David Cook-Doulton and Martin Shew. A tribute to David’s maternal grandmother Vera, the hotel is an all-embracing journey that inspires a change of pace and an immersion into warmth, seclusion and graciousness.

With a passion for restoring grand heritage buildings, David and Martin are renowned for their creative prowess, keen eye for style, and deep appreciation for historic architecture.

Upon discovering the 19th-century mansion in the heart of Ballarat, the couple immediately took on the challenge of developing a bespoke accommodation offering that would tastefully juxtapose historic elements against a clean, contemporary aesthetic.

While the hotel is a celebration of yesterday’s majesty and today’s design, at the heart of the Vera experience lies the virtue of graciousness. From the moment guests arrive through to their day of departure, their stay is managed with the utmost care, attention, thoughtfulness and grace.

For David, these were the very qualities embodied by his beloved grandmother. As such, these are the qualities embodied by Vera.

With an emphasis on sense-memory, Vera hopes to provide guests with a forever-lingering image, scent, memory or event. This is achieved through the curated art, design, lighting, products and decor within each suite, as well as through the look-and-feel of the adjoining restaurant and solitudinal garden space.

A commitment to sustainability and slow living also lies at Vera’s core. The hotel walls, the suites, the spaces and surrounds are each imbued with a certain slowness that creates an essentially luxurious stay.

Rounding off the guest experience is David and Martin’s commitment to celebrating every individual. In a world where everything is a commodity, the couple’s mantra to treat guests as people and not as numbers permeates throughout the entire hotel experience.

2021

Hotel