Which Australian capital city has the cheapest hotels?

Hotel prices in Australia can vary dramatically by city, but Sydney tends to have the most expensive hotels. For the cheapest, look to Darwin and Hobart.

Australia can be an expensive place to travel, but some cities are more expensive than others. So if you’re wanting a relatively cheap Australian city break, which city should you pick?

Obviously, there are several cost factors that contribute to the price of staying in an Australian city, but accommodation is the primary driver. The cheaper the hotels, the cheaper the city usually is.

Australian hotel prices

But which Australian capital city has the cheapest hotels? Well, Australia Travel Questions decided to find out with a rough rule-of-thumb test.

The methodology was pretty simple: Pick a random date (18 October 2023) a few months ahead in shoulder season, and pick a hotel chain represented in all cities. The cheapest city centre property within the chain has been used wherever possible, and all the prices are for two people, room only, generated by a popular hotel booking engine.

These were the prices found during the experiment.

Adelaide hotel prices

Adelaide Rockford (Novotel): $299
Rydges South Park Adelaide: $206
Quest on Franklin: $309
Average Adelaide hotel price: $271.33

Brisbane hotel prices

Novotel Brisbane South Bank: $389.
Rydges Fortitude Valley: $349
Quest River Park Central: $289.
Average Brisbane hotel price: $342.33

Canberra hotel prices

Novotel Canberra: $269.
Rydges Canberra: $259.
Quest Canberra City Walk: $314.
Average Canberra hotel price: $280.67.

Darwin hotel prices

Novotel Darwin CBD: $219.
Rydges Darwin Central: $204.
Quest Palmerston Darwin: $224 (Note: Poor example, as this is a long way from the CBD).
Average Darwin hotel price: $215.67.

Perth hotel prices

Novotel Perth Murray Street: $242.
Rydges Perth Kings Square – $259.
Quest West End – $305.
Average Perth hotel price: $268.67.

Hobart hotel prices

Mantra Collins Hobart – $274 (Note: There is no Novotel in Hobart – the Mantra was chosen as the closest equivalent).
Rydges Hobart – $178.
Quest Waterfront – $251.
Average Hobart hotel price: $234.33.

Melbourne hotel prices

Novotel Melbourne Central – $264.
Rydges Melbourne – $335.
Quest on William – $209.
Average Melbourne hotel price: $269.33.

Sydney hotel prices

Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour: $512.
Rydges World Square: $409
Quest North Sydney: $296. (Note: Not very central).
Average hotel price: $405.67

Obviously, several disclaimers need to be in effect here. Not all hotels within a brand are as good as each other. Some of these examples are closest approximations rather than like for like. Events can cause prices to swell. But there’s a pattern here that broadly fits existing preconceptions. Sydney is by far the most expensive capital city for hotel prices, Brisbane is surprisingly expensive, the others are much of a muchness and Darwin and Hobart are a little bit cheaper.

But to answer the question of which Australian capital city has the cheapest hotel prices – it’s Darwin.