When what's now known as the Rendezvous Observation City Hotel was first built in the 1980s, the people of Perth were up in arms. Until then, the beautiful coastline of Perth had been kept relatively free of development and "Ob City" as it was known to locals was the first high-rise hotel to be approved.

These days, Perth people have got used to the hotel and still visit Scarborough Beach, where it's located, in droves. As an alternative place to stay, other than staying in the Perth city center, the Rendezvous at Scarborough is a good bet - especially if you're a beach lover, because you can often get a room with a great view over the beach and you can be in the water in just two minutes.

Rumors say that it's going to be turned into some kind of apartment hotel in the future, but for now, it's still running as a regular hotel, and it often has quite good deals on accommodation rates. One warning - if you're planning to rely on public transport while you're in Perth, pick somewhere more central. If you have a rental car, then the Scarborough location is fine.

If you go: You'll find the Rendezvous Observation City on The Esplanade at Scarborough, about 10km south of Perth's centre. Average room rates are close to A$200 a night but you can usually book multi-night specials considerably cheaper than that.