Hilton checks into Canberra with 184-room hotel
Hilton will enter Canberra for the first time, securing a franchise agreement for a 184-room hotel being developed by the Liangis family.
Hilton Canberra Manuka is expected to open in early 2027 at 15–17 Franklin Street, opposite Manuka Oval.
The venue will operate under a franchise agreement with Australian property group ICC Development Group, led by chief executive Harrold Dakin.
The signing brings Hilton’s flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand to the national capital.
Hilton, Liangis family strike deal
The hotel will include 184 rooms with eight large suites and standard accommodation ranging from 32 to 45 square metres.
Facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant and bar, executive lounge, swimming pool, sauna and fitness and wellness areas.
A ballroom and a separate multifunction space, divisible into four rooms, will cater to conferences, weddings and private functions.
The project will also include ground-level retail, additional dining venues and a five-screen cinema.
“The signing of Hilton Canberra Manuka represents an important milestone in Hilton’s growth across Australasia and brings our flagship brand to Australia’s national capital,” Hilton Australasia director of development Tushar Raniga said (continues below).
Former Capitol Theatre site
The hotel forms part of a long-running redevelopment of the Manuka precinct by the Liangis family.
The Franklin Street site includes the former Capitol Theatre, which closed in 2020 before being demolished to make way for the next stage of the project.
The redevelopment was approved in 2021.
Planning amendments and disputes over lease variation charges delayed the second stage, with the cinema component subsequently reduced.
The new hotel will be part of Hilton Honors, the group’s loyalty program.
Manuka is about 1.5 kilometres from Canberra Railway Station and seven kilometres from Canberra Airport.
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