Mantra Tonsley Adelaide strengthens business growth opportunities

ADELAIDE: Innovation does not happen in isolation; it requires a network of supporting businesses and services.

Located within the Tonsley Innovation District alongside industry, research and education, Mantra Tonsley Adelaide provides accommodation, hospitality and meeting spaces that support organisations including TAFE SA and Flinders University.

Designed with industry front of mind, according to Mantra Tonsley Adelaide General Manager Simon O’Callaghan, the 4.5-star hotel features 88 rooms. This includes 27 fully self-contained apartments with kitchenettes, laundry facilities and appliances, making them ideal for visiting team members, relocating interstate staff, expats and extended-stay guests.

“We’re a corporate property first and foremost; there are 3500 people that work at Tonsley and that’s what we exist for. We support the businesses in the precinct with accommodation for visiting staff, clients and new recruits relocating to Adelaide,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“We accommodate apprentices attending TAFE from regional areas where they will stay with us several times throughout the year, for three to four days at a time to complete their required training.

“We have a strong partnership with Flinders University, regularly hosting international delegations visiting the precinct and the Bedford Park campus, giving them a convenient base while they tour the facilities.

“We treat the businesses here like neighbours, offering exceptional discounts regardless of their size or booking volume simply because they’re part of the precinct. By doing this we have been able to activate accommodation options for big and small companies to bring more people into the precinct to engage with them.”

Just a three-minute drive from the Flinders Medical Centre, Mantra Tonsley Adelaide has become an important extension of the healthcare system, providing accommodation for patients, families and healthcare workers. The hotel has seen strong growth from both medical accommodation and major infrastructure projects such as the River Torrens to Darlington Project, contributing to an average occupancy rate of 85 per cent over the past six months.

“We accommodate a huge number of people travelling for medical treatment from Mount Gambier, Millicent, Broken Hill, Port Lincoln and the Northern Territory, who are here for emergency reasons, supporting sick family members or coming back regularly for ongoing treatment,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“One of our biggest success stories has been working with amputee patients. Instead of them spending seven or eight weeks in hospital, they are able to stay in one of our five fully equipped disability access suites, freeing up hospital beds, reducing costs on the health system and delivering better outcomes for patients.

“The Torrens to Darlington Project has also been a major driver of growth. We host everyone from fly-in fly-out crews who are driving the tunnel boring machines to project staff staying for six months, as well as people relocating to Adelaide who need temporary accommodation.”

Beyond its accommodation offering, the Mantra Tonsley Adelaide has expanded its meetings, events and hospitality capabilities, regularly hosting board meetings, corporate functions and training sessions across its two meeting rooms.

Additionally, the Tonsley Bar Bistro serves as an exclusive event space for industry networking events such as Tonsley Connections, community gatherings and end-of-year celebrations. Licensed to accommodate 200 guests across the café and bistro, a key focus for Mr O’Callaghan has been establishing the venue as a social hub within the broader Tonsley ecosystem, where businesses, residents and visitors can connect.

“The forest spaces beneath the MAB were designed around the idea of knowledge spillover, creating places where people naturally come together and share ideas. We see the Tonsley Bar Bistro as another space where those conversations can happen,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“A key focus has been creating a place where people can connect outside of the workplace, whether that’s over lunch, after-work drinks, networking events or community gatherings, aligning with the broader vision of Tonsley as a collaborative innovation district.

“We have put things in place to encourage these such as an Express Menu and Happy Hours, we are constantly evolving the venue with new menus, cocktails, wine lists and events, along with welcoming everyone from hotel guests and local employees to families and the wider community.

“We’d love to see even more people from the precinct making this their lunch spot, a place to step away from the office, catch up with colleagues, build relationships and collaborate in a relaxed setting.”

Opened in 2023, Mr O’Callaghan has been involved since the hotel was first conceptualised in 2018, witnessing the transformation of both Mantra Tonsley Adelaide and the wider Tonsley precinct. From helping shape the hotel’s design and development to watching the precinct evolve into a successful business hub, Mr O’Callaghan said there is still lots of growth to come.

“Opening a new hotel in a greenfield location was always going to be challenging. We had to build awareness not just of the hotel, but that cars were no longer being built at Tonsley,” he said.

“The adoption of the Accor and Mantra brand has been a definite strength of the business, bringing members and guests here who otherwise would not have discovered the precinct.

“A goal has been to continue to grow the hotel and its offerings along with the precinct, it’s exciting that there’s still plenty to come. In many ways, it still feels like we’re only two-thirds of the way there, with more businesses breaking earth and moving in this year.

“As more businesses move into Tonsley, having quality accommodation here makes it easier for the organisations at the precinct to bring people in, collaborate and keep the broader district growing.”