New Melbourne Airport hotel has runway views and huge gym with reformer pilates

It is not a tropical beach or a bustling foreign city, but the view at this new Aussie airport hotel will have you sitting by the window.

Melbourne Airport has a new hotel.

If I’m honest, that isn’t typically a sentence that would get me too excited. A hotel by a tropical beach or in a bustling foreign city? For sure. But a hotel at my home city’s airport? While extremely practical before a 6am flight, I wasn’t expecting to have stayed up much later than I should have before said flight to avoid FOMO.

Flash forward less than 24 hours after staying at Novotel Melbourne Airport and I’m telling anyone who will listen: “You can even do reformer pilates at the hotel gym!”

Located just past Terminal 4 is the dual-branded Novotel & ibis Styles hotel, where you can check-in to a room with runway views.

Directly in front of my room – facing south – I had views of aircraft being taken to the Qantas and Jetstar engineering hangar for the night, while off to the right was Terminal 4 and the end of the north/south runway.

Each time I ran over to the window after hearing the muffled sounds of a plane begin to take off, I couldn’t help but think of the small people in my life who would squeal with joy if they were there. I imagine aviation fans of all ages would enjoy gazing out this window.

The dual-branded Novotel & ibis Styles hotel at Melbourne Airport. Picture: Supplied

Make sure to request a room with runway views. Picture: Supplied

Opening in July, it was largest hotel opening in Australia this year, and while I don’t know the record for the biggest hotel gym in the country, I would dare to say Higher State – Melbourne Airport’s first wellness hub – would be up there.

Higher State Gym is open to hotel guests 24/7. Picture: Supplied

The two-level health club has an indoor heated swimming pool, fitness centre, infra-red sauna and compression boots for recovery.

The gym is open 24/7 for hotel guests (and for non guests who buy memberships). There is a group fitness schedule, but also dedicated spaces to participate in virtual classes like yoga and reformer pilates, or functional training.

Choose a reformer pilates class …

And get moving at any time of the day or night. Pictures: news.com.au

As I left the pilates room, one gym-goer was calling out to another excitedly: “have you seen this?”. He was talking about the virtual functional training room where instructors can guide you through a weight work out on the TV.

Higher State also offers massages and facials in the spa, but that comes with an additional cost.

There is a spa for massages and facials, a heated swimming pool and sauna on the first floor. Picture: Supplied

There are 464 guests room in the building: 248 Novotel and 216 Ibis Styles.

On the ground floor, along with the gym, guests will find the Small Holdings cafe and Italian restaurant Boccata. The Australian-inspired restaurant Amber State Taphouse & Kitchen (think barbecue and beer) opened in October.

“From what we have created here, you really don’t have to be flying somewhere to enjoy our incredible facilities and hospitality,” the hotel’s general manager David Alexander said when launching the hotel in July.

Boccata Restaurant and Bar. Picture: news.com.au

The restaurant is by the hotel’s internal garden. Picture: news.com.au

As well as delicious food, I can confirm Boccata is a gorgeous space – very instagrammable.

Candles flicker on each table, while the orange and green colouring is complemented by outdoor greenery planted in the middle of hotel’s ground floor.

At 5.30am, it transforms in to a buffet breakfast, but with such an early flight I did have to miss out on that one.

Perhaps the real highlight of the stay was being able to roll out of bed and simply walk over to the terminal to catch my flight.

This writer was a guest of Novotel Melbourne Airport