ACT hotels shine at industry night of nights
The best of the best of the ACT’s hotel sector shone bright tonight at the annual AHA ACT Awards for Excellence.
More than 300 industry and community leaders gathered at the National Museum of Australia for a gala cocktail function to honour the best names in Canberra hospitality.
There were rousing cheers for the big winners; The Dock Kingston won Hotel of the Year (General Division), while the Burbury Hotel took out Hotel of the Year (Accommodation Division).
Jamala Wildlife Lodge won Deluxe Hotel of the Year and the team from the Little National Hotel Canberra walked away with the Superior Hotel of the Year title.
The hotly-contested People’s Choice Award went to Caribou Kingston, with thousands of members of the public voting on the winner.
There was a lot of pressure on judges in the always close food categories with Best Burger going to BentSpoke Brewing Co, Mercure Canberra won Best Parmi and Best Cheap Eat Meal (Under $20) and Café Sosta Best Steak Sandwich.
The Old Canberra Inn walked away with bragging rights to Best Steak.
Best Casual Dining Experience went to Molto Italian while the popular Louis, Hotel Realm won Best Restaurant.
Best Draught Beer Quality was jointly won by Bentspoke Brewing Co. and Capital Brewing Co. (both with perfect scores – an industry first).
Executive of the Year (General) went to Soumi Tannous of Bar Beirut, while Executive of the Year (Accommodation) went to Stephen Hollow of QT Canberra.
In a special part of the evening, ACT hospitality icon Michael Capezio (General) and Doma Hotels Kathryn Carling (Accommodation) were both inducted into the Hall of Fame by AHA ACT General Manager Chris Gatfield.
“Over a record breaking 26 years as President Michael established himself as an authoritative voice for our industry, and leaves a long track record of successful advocacy,’ Mr Gatfield said during the ceremony.
“Kathryn is an evangelist for accommodation, tourism and all things Canberra – her commitment to not just the economic but also the environmental sustainability of our industry marks her as a truly forward-thinking leader.”
Mr Gatfield said the high quality of all the winning venues showed the Canberra
hospitality scene was second to none.
“All of the winners here tonight show the vibrancy of the ACT’s hospitality sector,” Mr Gatfield said.
“When it comes to quality of staff and venues Canberra really does punch above its weight and that is on ample display here tonight.
“I congratulate each and every winner on setting the bar even higher for the 2026 Awards for Excellence.”
Australian Hotel Assication ACT, 22nd September 2025
