About
Update 17 February 2023
On Monday 20 January 2020, Canberra experienced a destructive hailstorm which resulted in extensive building damage at the ANU Acton campus, with most buildings impacted, including University House. The subsequent, and otherwise welcome, rain of 9-10 February caused substantial further water ingress.
The storm and rain damaged the roof, electrical circuits, and disabled the fire system of University House. Many public rooms, hotel and student rooms, and some service areas also suffered hail or water damage. The scale of repairs, coordination with the refurbishments that were to begin in 2020, and the need for heritage and building code compliance, together mean an extended period of repair and refurbishment.
The University is fully committed to reopening University House, and extensive repairs are now underway. Indicative reopening dates are mid-2024 for Events, Fellows Café and Bar, and Boffins Restaurant; and early-2025 for accommodation. When it reopens, the renewed University House will again be a showpiece of mid-20th century design, and restored as a campus and Canberra icon.
For more information, please visit our FAQ’s – University House extended closure page
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Welcome to University House, the ceremonial heart of Australia’s National University, and a boutique hotel with a university vibe. Set in the ANU’s tranquil grounds next to the city’s stylish New Acton precinct, University House is truly one of Canberra’s unique locations and experiences.
From its beginnings solely as a residential college for professors and graduate students, University House has grown to host a vibrant hotel, with fine and casual dining, functions and events spaces, and an excellent bar and cellar. It is the place where the University meets and celebrates, and where guests and visitors experience the benefits of a boutique hotel with immediate access to the rich cultural and intellectual life of Australia’s National University.
With a history rich in academic prestige and ceremony, University House guests and visitors are treated to a unique, club-like experience that was once the exclusive privilege of distinguished academics and celebrated dignitaries. Our heritage-listed architecture and décor, period accommodation, stylish venues, and academic presence echo University House’s Oxbridge origins; our dining and meeting spaces, and the buzz of world-leading research and learning, speak to life of the contemporary university and city.
University House – definitely the place to Stay, Meet, Greet and Celebrate.
