Little National Hotel Canberra

DOMA Group opened Little National in Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle in September 2015, launching Australia's first compact-luxury hotel concept: 120 rooms held to 16 square metres, five-star fit-out, doorstep proximity to federal government offices. The format later expanded to Sydney and Newcastle.

The place

The hotel sits at 21 National Circuit, Barton, inside DOMA Group's Realm Precinct: a self-contained enclave of offices, dining and hotels directly opposite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a 15-20 minute walk from Parliament House and Lake Burley Griffin. The address puts government, diplomatic and conference traffic at the door, which is precisely the guest the hotel was built to capture.

The concept

Little National opened on 1 September 2015, six weeks ahead of schedule, as DOMA Group's first entry in what it billed as Australia's first compact-luxury hotel concept, rooms held to a deliberately tight 16 square metres in exchange for five-star fit-out and a super-prime location. The idea took inspiration from the space-efficient, design-led city hotels of Amsterdam, London and New York, trading square footage for rate accessibility without cutting amenity. The pilot property proved out the format for DOMA, which went on to roll out Little National in Sydney and later Newcastle (NSW), all sharing the same super-king beds, wall-to-wall glazing and library-style communal lounge in place of a conventional lobby.

Dining & wellness

Little National has no restaurant of its own; guests draw on the wider Realm Precinct that DOMA operates around it, including several restaurants and bars, plus a shared gym, spa and lap pool.