Powered By Blogger

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Perth Open House Part 1: Alex Hotel and new State Buildings







I went to the annual Perth Open House sometime last November (yes I know it has been a while!), and went to a number of different landmarks around the CBD. I think I visited a total of 18 landmarks.

Apart from the existing landmarks like His Majesty's Theatre, there were also other new landmarks which I got to explore. Two of the landmarks featured here include the new boutique Alex Hotel (in Northbridge), and the recently revamped Treasury Buildings. And - while I was exploring the new State Buildings, I discovered a small cafe which had EVERYTHING in pink! I have not been there for about six months now, but I hope to go back there again someday, just to be immersed in all that pink!

Before I go on about the pink cafe, let me first direct my attention towards Alex Hotel - here it is, in its full glory, right at the end of a street in Northbridge. It is about 5 minutes away from the State Library of Western Australia - which I visited after the Open House event. 

The weather was quite hot that day, so entering the Alex Hotel allowed me to cool off a bit, before heading back out to other destinations. I took a photo of the details on one of the facades too.






The interior of the hotel wasn't very big, but the place gave a very cosy and friendly vibe. I didn't get to see the hotel rooms (I think they were closed), but I managed to hang around some of the common areas, including the bar. I initially wanted to grab a bite from here, but decided against it in the end. Anyway - here are some photos of the inside. There was even an outdoor seating area for people to relax.

I'd love to hang out in Alex Hotel again someday - probably for a bite or something. It looks pretty classy and comfortable. And - I'd like to accumulate more photos of the inside and outside!











The Alex Hotel is pretty prominent in Northbridge - I spotted part of it while walking towards another destination in Northbridge. I'll be back there again, someday! Perhaps they will open it again for this year's Open House?! I hope to be able to gallivant around the city again - it was really worth it!




Next up - the newly revamped State Buildings. The State Buildings had been under restoration for some time, and it opened three weeks before the Perth Open House event. And of course, I was really curious to find out what was inside!





I was completely mind-blown and impressed by how beautiful and classy the inside is! Simple yet clean...and I really loved the colour scheme too! There were quite a number of new shops/cafes too, including some in the new basement. Here's the full listing of shops/cafes: http://statebuildings.com/)






First up - Telegram Coffee, a new coffee stall towards the back of the buildings. I didn't get to try any of the coffee, but I managed to sneak a photo of the booth.




There was also a florist opposite the coffee booth, and I took a couple of pics of some of the featured flowers...mainly because most of them were pink :)





Next stop - Petition Wine Bar and Merchant. They had an excellent selection of wines and other alcoholic beverages. I got to taste one of their house wines too. I was pretty impressed by their collection - they even had French wine from the Burgundy region - one of my favourite types of wine! 








Explored Ginger B next - I really loved the light fixtures in this little shop, as well as all the lovely gift ideas! Definitely a place I'd visit again - for gifts.







Perhaps the highlight of the day for me was the Sugarplum Sweets cafe, because it was pink-themed! Pink tissues, pink logo, pink decorations...even the staff wore baby pink - one of my favourite shades of pink! The staff even put up a pink Christmas tree (which I spotted while on my way to a concert a couple of weeks after the Open House event. The Sugarplum Sweets cafe had quite an extensive selection of pastries and merchandise. I was so tempted to buy the pink apron, but I'm hardly around in the kitchen, so I decided to take a picture of it instead.












The Sugarplum Sweets cafe was located near a Honeycake stall. All we had to do was - purchase coffee/tea from Sugarplum Sweets, grab a slice of Honey Cake...and we're all ready for an afternoon tea!

I was fully aware that there was a Honeycake shop in Fremantle Markets, but I didn't really get a chance to visit it. This time - I managed to get my hands on some Honey Cake, and it was so delicious! It was really filling though, and two small slices was enough to keep me going throughout the day. How amazing is that!






Next to the Honeycake stall? The Sue Lewis Chocolatier! I was so happy when I found this place - I had been targeting this place since I learnt about the Perth Open House event! And when I went there, I was really impressed by their collection of chocolate! I bought a small bag of chocolates home as a souvenir, and they're all gone now. They were really delicious...and addictive :)








I'm definitely going back to the State Buildings for more chocolate, Honey Cake...and pink cafe!

In the next post, I'll be sharing more Perth destinations - the Perth Open House was an excellent opportunity for me to accumulate new photos of the CBD's landmarks :) Stay tuned!