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Kings Perth Hotel
Prior to the construction of Kings Hotel Perth in the late 1960s, the Park Towers were located on the site of the hotel as well as the front half of the existing carpark.
The Kings Hotel office building was previously the site of Hobb’s Building, which was constructed in 1899 and extended in 1906 to become the King Edward. In years to follow, it would be renamed the Paddington Hotel. It was described as being “disfigured in later years by marble cladding, removal of the corner tower and surrounding verandas”. It was demolished in August 1981.
6 May 1991
Armstrong Jones Property Fund sells the Kings Hotel in Perth's CBD for $18 million. The original asking price of $23 million is dropped, due to the settlement valuation. Comprising of the 119-room hotel over 11 floors, the deal also includes a public car park lease and an eight-storey office block in the adjoining building, which is largely leased out to the West Australian government. The hotel is currently leased out to Ambassador Management (who were registered as a company in 1981 until 1992).
01 - September 2020
11 November 1994
Some people may remember the murder of Chris Norvilas, son of Kings Hotel owner Mirjam Norvilas. The 38-year-old, who was the General Manager, had returned to his penthouse sometime after 8pm on Tuesday 8th November, when he'd invited a visitor into his apartment. After reportedly sharing a wine and beer with Mr Norvilas, the guest plunged a knife into his sternum before cutting his throat twice. The next afternoon, his brother Chris and a hotel employee found his body, after becoming concerned he hadn't been seen all day (The West Australian, p3).
Hours before his murder, Chris had met up with Barney from Perth rock band Rawkus, to discuss problems they were having in obtaining visas to the US, with criminal conviction sheets of band members purportedly measuring some 10 feet long! Chris had recently become a financial backer, manager and friend of the band (Spirit of Metal).
Twenty nine year old Kurt Russel Steel was sentenced to life in 1995 for his murder, eligible for parole after 17 years. His Playboy playmate girlfriend Prudence Carter, was found guilty of being an accessory and sentenced to five years.
02 - November 2020
21 February 2007
The hotel is back on the market and expected to fetch $70 million. The site now needs a major refurbishment and Mirjam Norvilas decides to sell up. The hotel market is showing signs of recovering, after tourism was hit hard in wake of major terrorist attacks, as well as widespread fears of fatal diseases including SARS and bird flu.
High demand for accommodation has resulted in a shortage of rooms but no major hotels are being developed, due to soaring construction costs. Major tenants in the office block now include World English, Ready To Go Travel, Western Library Group Services, with Multiplex also renting a small office in the complex.
The 3.5-star hotel is located on a 3,003m² block and contains 117 rooms over 11 levels, as well as two penthouse apartments and a rooftop pool. It also houses offices over eight storeys and a public carpark containing 373 bays, which is currently leased out to Wilson’s Parking.
Car bays being an issue in the city and touted as scare at times, has seen rates for parking in A-grade buildings jumping to almost as much as office rents, with an average of $525 per bay a month (The West Australian, p58).
23 May 2007
The sale of the Kings Hotel is sidelined, with the Norvilas family opting to commit to a major refurbishment themselves. Although there had been a strong response from potential buyers, no offers met the expectations of the owners. The 3.5-star hotel will be upgraded to a four-star rating.
The resources boom, which followed numerous terrorist threats and the outbreak of SARS, has attracted new tourists and business visitors. This has seen hotel occupancy rates increase to the point the high demand for accommodation has led to a shortage of rooms, although as a result of soaring construction costs, no new major hotels are currently being developed (The West Australian, p58).
18 October 2008
Leading Australian architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly, who is the adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Sydney and an outspoken former assistant editor of London’s The Architectural Review, visited Perth to present a talk at the Architecture and Heritage Forum. During her time, she toured the city to critique some of Perth’s buildings, voting Kings Perth Hotel the worst building. She states, “It doesn’t celebrate either the construction or the fact there are human beings in there. It just totally denies all that and just says I’m made of reconstituted dog poo”. She goes on to say, “…it makes for a completely crap building” (The West Australian, p9).
03 - December 2021
