Margaret River Hotel

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Margaret River, WA
Margaret River Hotel

Built in 1936 by Mr Bernard McKeown the Margaret River Hotel was the first public house in town. A true local pub right in the heart of town.
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The Margaret River Hotel is a local landmark… a meeting point for friends, a comfortable place to rest your head for the night and a popular drinking hole. Step outside our front door and you will find Margaret River’s vibrant selection of cafes, restaurants, bars, shops and galleries. A short stroll may take you to the weekend farmer’s markets or down to the peaceful walking trails along the rive

r. Jump in your car and within 10 minutes you will find a vast selection of world famous vineyards, stunning caves and untouched beaches to explore

20/04/2026

The Margaret River Hotel will be framed by 75 metres of landscaped garden beds, alongside public bike racks and a new front terrace for the corner bar.

The three driveways that cut through the footpath are being reduced to one, and there will be new roadside drop off bays on Bussell Highway, plus longer stay parking bays on Willmott Avenue.

To complete this work, the footpath around the Hotel's perimeter will be inaccessible from today until the end of May. Our neighbours The Little Press, Margaret River Sweet Shop and Mai Tardi Gelateria are open and ready to welcome you.

We’ve stacked multiple trades people to get things done as quickly as possible - we appreciate your patience and understanding.

See you at the Margaret River Hotel later this year.

11/04/2026

A special milestone today, as we honour the 90th anniversary of the Margaret River Hotel, which opened 11 April, 1936 by Mr Bernard McKeown. Following a transformative restoration, Margaret River's treasured heart of town will reopen in late-2026. It's been a monumental job, and the finish line, thankfully, is now clearly in sight.

Enjoy these photos, highlighting the history, the project, and a preview of what's coming at Margaret River's very own jewel of heritage architecture and design. Visit our website to read more - we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

https://margaretriverhotel.com.au

22/10/2025

Have you been past the Margaret River Hotel recently? Perhaps you've noticed the scaffolding has been removed, trees have arrived along Bussell Highway (which are now in spring bloom), and the jarrah wrapping of the extension is complete. This photo gallery shows the architects’ renders, alongside the Hotel itself - a vision coming to life with painstaking effort and precision from our local builders and tradespeople.

Follow the link below to a Q&A the project architects, spaceagency, the masterminds behind some of Western Australia’s most prized heritage and hospitality projects. They shared insights about the vision and approach to elevate the Margaret River Hotel as a national treasure, including a first glimpse at what’s to come for the interiors.

Images 1-4:
Shows the Margaret River Hotel exterior, looking from the northern corner of Bussell Highway, back towards Willmott Avenue. The building extension is completed and wrapped fully, in 18 tonnes of recycled jarrah beams that were collected throughout Western Australia. (Also, there’s the view from the guest carpark that sits neatly beneath.)

Images 5-7:
The first trees – seven Snow Pears – have been planted on Bussell Highway. Four Crepe Myrtle will line the Hotel entry, while lime and orange trees will adorn the corner outside the bar, honouring Bernard McKeown's original garden from the 1930s.

Image 8:
At some point in history, the underside of the southern balcony was fitted with core brickwork that mismatched the original red brick. This was discovered during the render removal. Given its prominence in the building design, and our intent to honour the original architecture, it is being rebuilt with heritage bricks, and great engineering effort. Happily, one of the final structural repairs required.

https://margaretriverhotel.com.au/qa-with-margaret-river-hotel-project-architects-spaceagency/

01/08/2025

Through rain, hail and shine this week, the team has been installing the first panels of recycled Jarrah that will wrap the entire modern wing of the Margaret River Hotel.

The striking 3.8m lengths include several 1930s roof beams that were salvaged from the heritage building, with additional Jarrah collected from all around Western Australia by Rick Longden of Ludlow Timber in Fremantle.

The modern wing, which sits above the guest carpark and comprises of 16 rooms, is positioned lower than the heritage building to ensure the original Hotel remains the centrepiece. The use of single lengths of timber emphasises clean lines and craftsmanship, with Jarrah selected for its strong regional connection to the Margaret River environment.

28/05/2025

A seamless transition from heritage to modern architecture in the Hotel project is now complete, with the original building (11 rooms) and extension (16 rooms) now joined.

Like a graft on a vine, the connection point unites 1930s, 1980s and 2020s structures, honouring origins, while growing into a future where more people can enjoy our town's cherished Hotel. At this same location we've installed a lift which provides full accessibility to the top floor for the first time in history.

Plus, we're excited to share a preview of the new dining room and courtyard we're building at the back of the bar.

Here are some photos of the action.

16/04/2025

In case you missed Friday's paper, we're thrilled to share the milestone of joining the original Margaret River Hotel building with the new extension, a major moment in our restoration.

“It’s a challenging building on a challenging site, so it’s pretty slow going at times, but we are determined to do it properly, and these construction milestones mean a lot to us,” said Paul Holmes à Court of Heytesbury, the family-owned Western Australian business that is restoring this Margaret River town asset.

When the Margaret River Hotel reopens, it will include 27 rooms, 30 car bays for guests, landscaped gardens on Bussell Highway and, of course, the return of the bar on the corner, which will feature a new dining room and a rear courtyard. Both floors are now accessible for the first time in the building's history with the installation of a new lift.

“Our aim is to reopen in the first half of 2026, hopefully in time for the 90th anniversary of the initial opening of the Hotel on 11 April, 1936."

Discover full update here: https://margaretriverhotel.com.au/major-milestone-achieved-in-the-margaret-river-hotel-revitalisation/

Project team pictured, L-R: Rachael Whitrow (Heytesbury), Michael Patroni (spaceagency), Dimmity Walker (spaceagency), Nathan Tucker (Valtari), Paul Holmes à Court (Heytesbury), Luke Pruyn (Valtari), Ben Bayliss (Valtari), Michael Langridge (Heytesbury)

25/03/2025

The restoration of the Margaret River Hotel is a huge team effort. At the centre of it is site supervisor, Nathan Tucker. Originally from Wilyabrup, Nathan has spent 12 years in construction, working on architecturally-designed residential, and heritage commercial projects before returning home for the Margaret River Hotel opportunity.

Day to day, Nathan manages the intricate coordination of trades, timelines, and the many moving parts of this historic restoration. When he’s not onsite, you might find him catching a wave or running after his daughter at the skate park.

We sat down with Nathan to get his take on the project.

What do you enjoy most about working on the Margaret River Hotel?

I’d say the heritage work - I love old buildings. This was built during a time of change within the building industry, so there were many different materials and techniques being used for the first time. Concrete in mortar, for example. There was also a switch from imported Oregon pines to more local timbers, like Jarrah, in big dimensions that you just don’t see in modern construction.

Also, the people. Being such a unique project, everyone working on the Hotel has been so driven to do their best – especially the client team and local trades. They understand the importance of this building to the town and why we need to do it right. It really lifts the mood onsite and makes the whole process more collaborative. This has helped us push through some big challenges.

Oh, and just being back in Margs!!! I really enjoy being here and being close to family.

What’s been the most unexpected challenge, and how have you tackled it?

Ah, where to begin?! This building has thrown so many curveballs at us. The water pooling issues we faced after winter were tough. The soil here has so much clay in it that you could fire roof tiles from it! On top of that, there's a high water-table, so every time we dug a hole, water came up. The geotechnical work was thorough, but it didn’t predict this. Every time you must go back to the drawing board - redesign, waterproof, and so on. You can’t move forward until it’s resolved, and it was really frustrating at times because it slowed down the work.

And finally, what’s the first thing you’ll be drinking at the bar when we open?

You’ll find me with a good beer from the tap, under the trees in the new courtyard. Although, if the weather calls for it, a nice glass of red beside the outdoor fire would be great too…really looking forward to that.

We’re grateful to have Nathan leading the charge on-site, ensuring the Margaret River Hotel is restored with the skill, detail and dedication it deserves. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes stories from the team making it all happen.

20/02/2025

We’ve completed several milestones in our revitalisation of the Margaret River Hotel over the past few months, though not without some serious challenges.

Almost 90 years of undocumented building modifications have made the restoration a complex puzzle and there have been many surprises. Some of these have been wonderful, such as liberating a hidden fireplace, the centrepiece staircase and bricked up windows.

Other discoveries have caused havoc to our progress. We found the ground floor was not level, located walls made from unexpected materials that do not meet modern standards, and were set back by excessive waterflow around the building from prolonged winter rainfall.

Despite this, major progress has been made, and we’re thrilled to share some highlights. Full story via link below.

https://margaretriverhotel.com.au/project-update-margaret-river-hotel/

19/11/2024

Removal of the 1980s render from the Margaret River Hotel’s exterior has been a resounding success, revealing the beautiful original red brickwork beneath. The transformation is truly spectacular!

The meticulous process involved chipping away the render carefully, sanding, scrubbing and repairing damaged bricks. The bricks are being resealed to restore their timeless charm and ensure durability for years to come.

We couldn’t be happier with the result. A big thank you to Neil, Sue and their hardworking team for their unwavering dedication to this labour of love.

Swipe through to see the incredible before, during, and after shots that showcase this remarkable restoration journey, including a photo of the original brick delivery in January 1936, kindly shared by one of Bernard McKeown's grand children, Dawne.

19/09/2024

Construction of the Hotel’s new wing is progressing at pace. It provides an additional 16 much-needed rooms to the Region, taking the total to 27. The extension is consistent with the existing Hotel height and not seen from Bussell Highway.

Designed to be distinctly ‘of our times’ by award-winning architects, spaceagency, the materials feature a local palette including rammed earth walls and recycled Jarrah, repurposed from the Hotel’s original roof beams that were replaced earlier in the project. The framing for the extension is also up, utilising timber from our friends at Mitre 10 Margaret River. Scroll through the photos for a look down the future hallway.

Solar panels will be located on the roof of this new wing, unseen from the street, and it has been investigated that 100% of the building’s energy could come from Green Power. The extension also enables a lift to be installed in the centre of the Hotel for efficient, inclusive access throughout the whole building for the first time since it opened in 1937, while the heritage of the original doorways, ground floor spaces and staircases is maintained.

Address

125 Bussell Highway
Margaret River, WA
6285

Telephone

+61897572655

Website

http://www.margaretriverhotel.com.au/

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