The Collins Bar, a new cocktail bar at Hilton Adelaide, is located in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD, overlooking Victoria Square and the city.

Grant Collins is the creative mind behind The Collins Bar, and believes it is exactly what Adelaide needs.

“We wanted to bring something different, eclectic and diverse to the Adelaide night scene, something that the Adelaide public wants but has yet to experience. We are going back to old-school bartending and staying true to both the classic and the collins cocktail era using bespoke vintage glassware and making our own sodas, tonics and mixers,” said Grant Collins.

Peer Norsell, general manager Hilton Adelaide commented, “The Collins Bar will open at a milestone for the hotel, having just celebrated 30 years of hospitality in Adelaide. The bar is stage one in the ground floor masterplan. It will change the face of Hilton Adelaide and hopefully offer a unique bar experience – perhaps a first of its type in Adelaide.”

Woods Bagot has blurred the line between expectation and tradition with The Collins. Opening up the corner of the building was a key site challenge. Lift-up glazed doors were installed to open up the bar to the street and welcome passing patrons. The space is divided into two distinct areas: a bright active daytime venue or front bar that provides a sense of theatre, and a secluded cocktail lounge room that can be locked down for private functions.

Inspired by the classic form of a tailored suit, the interiors present a fresh, modern and urban chic approach to a hotel bar. A blend of precious materials such as brass and marble contrast with wire brushed, stained timber and saddle leather that will age and wear beautifully over time. A spectacular pattern of metallic blades on the ceiling provide a focal point as a combined bespoke art piece and lighting element.

”Our approach to re-energising the existing bar was to recapture the imagination of locals. The Collins Bar takes Adelaide’s hospitality offering to a global level without losing the local context,” explains Woods Bagot Principal Rosina Di Maria.

The Collins was created as a strong independent brand that will stand side by side with the internationally renowned Hilton.

As a direct response to the developing raw, urban bar scene in Adelaide the design was aimed at a high quality cocktail bar experience that referenced the establishments of old with a modern sophisticated twist.

The Collins is the first stage of works completed according to Woods Bagot’s Hilton Adelaide Ground Floor Masterplan project for owner Sitehost.

“The Collins has now begun to hit its stride in terms of financial performance, recently reaching and passing the budgeted levels that Hilton had ambitiously set for themselves; again a credit to the fantastic design and to its lasting impression in the Adelaide marketplace,” says Stephen Kelly, Sitehost Owners Representative.
The original 1980s building will undergo a series of refurbishments to update Hilton Adelaide within the worldwide portfolio.