The iconic Parmelia Hilton Perth has welcomed guests to the heart of the city for more than half a century. Now, the legendary hotel is adding another layer to its story: live magic.
Perth’s Theatre of Magic is transforming the Parmelia Hilton into an intimate stage for world-class illusions, craft cocktails, and theatrical spectacle. The immersive experience has quickly gained international recognition, recently earning TripAdvisor’s 2025 Travellers’ Choice Award and ranking among the platform’s top 10% of experiences worldwide.
The 90-minute show takes place in an intimate setting, placing audiences just feet away from the illusions. The performance blends sleight of hand, storytelling, audience interaction, and high-end hospitality in a setting that already feels cinematic.
Perth’s Theatre of Magic
19 September 2026 16:30 + more dates
The Parmelia Hilton, a compact history of Perth’s hospitality in the heart of the CBD
While it might look like a familiar piece of the modern CBD today, the Parmelia Hilton contains a story that stretches back almost 140 years before the hotel even opened.
When it welcomed its first guests in 1968, the Parmelia ushered Perth into a new era. Designed by architect Peter Arney for British developer Lord Alistair McAlpine, it was celebrated as the city’s first modern five-star hotel and the first genuinely international establishment of its kind constructed in Western Australia.
But “Parmelia” was not invented as a luxury hotel brand. According to the National Library of Australia, the property took its name from the Parmelia—the vessel associated with the British settlement party that reached the Swan River in 1829. The result is an unusual piece of historical continuity: one of the city’s oldest surviving five-star hotels carries the name of a ship entwined with the establishment of Perth itself.
The location on Mill Street adds another fascinating layer to its lore. Immediately beside where the hotel stands today was the Hotel Adelphi, which opened in 1936 with lavish interiors, a Turkish bath, and what the Museum of Perth identifies as Perth’s first hotel swimming pool. The Adelphi was demolished in 1967, right as the Parmelia emerged to take up the mantle of city luxury. However, its memory didn’t disappear entirely—Hilton’s signature Adelphi restaurant took its name from the vanished hotel next door.
More than half a century later, a major refurbishment completed in 2021 deliberately retained the building’s architectural origins while opening it more directly into the surrounding CBD. Today, what appears to be an ordinary Hilton contains a compact history of how Perth reinvented luxury—making it a fittingly magical venue for its newest theatrical residency.
