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The new King Charles III Hotel in the regional north-west Victorian town of Rainbow claims to be the first Australian venue to honour the new king of the Commonwealth.
Key points:
- The building was built as the Kenmare wine saloon in 1894
- It was moved to Rainbow in 1906 where it officially became the Rainbow Royal Hotel
- Owner Graham Francis says he hopes King Charles III will visit the hotel on his tour of Australia
Hundreds of "royal" hotels exist across the country, but owner Graham Francis claims the pub is the first to use the new king's name.
"This is the first one in Australia. No-one else can use the name King Charles the third hotel," he said.
"We've tried to help put Rainbow on the map.
"There's 242 royal hotels in Australia … no-one else can call their hotel King Charles III hotel because we've got the name registered in Australia."
Hospitality fit for a king
Mr Francis said fresh renovations at the venue marked a new beginning for the building after two challenging years for hospitality and accommodation due to COVID-19.
"We've repainted the whole building, trying to make it look more the stand out in the town," he said.
"We feel that Rainbow has a lot to offer.
"We've gone on upstairs with Airbnb accommodation, which … will bring more people into Rainbow."
Mr Francis said he hoped the 74-year-old king might visit the venue in the future.
"You never know what can happen in this world, and he will be coming out to Australia," he said.
"The opportunity could be that he could come up here."
The King Charles III Hotel is positioned close to a network of tourist attractions, historic buildings and murals.
The building was built as the Kenmare Wine Saloon in 1894 before it was moved to Rainbow in 1906, when it officially became the Rainbow Royal hotel.