Ovolo Nishi

Ovolo Nishi is a boutique hotel built into the award-winning Nishi building in NewActon, Canberra’s creative urban precinct. Its interiors do a lot of the work that a photo booth backdrop usually has to: reclaimed timber, original artworks, mid-century furniture and terrazzo floors, all of it lit warmly rather than flatly.

Events centre on Monster Kitchen & Bar, the hotel’s restaurant and bar, which can be taken over exclusively for up to 250 guests. Around it sit the Terrazzo Room for up to 200 with its open fire, the Mosaic Room and Mosaic Lounge at 80 each, the Secret Garden courtyard for 50, and the Library for a table of ten. Monster Salon is the private option — exclusive hire only, with its own artworks and a fire pit for winter events.

The mix suits cocktail receptions, corporate functions and brand activations more than formal ballroom weddings, and the range of room sizes means an event can start in one space and move to another. The precinct around it — galleries, a cinema and more dining — gives guests somewhere to go before and after, and the hotel’s own event team handles catering and AV.