Melbourne’s outstanding new airport hotel is a little bit Jetsons

The hotel

Novotel ibis Styles Melbourne Airport

The building’s contemporary exteriors have a Jetsons feel, designed by esteemed firm, FK (Fender Katsalidis).

Check in

The Novotel ibis Styles Melbourne Airport is right next to Terminal 4 Transport Hub at Victoria’s 24-hour airport, affording a short walk to take-off and landings. Melbourne Airport was already serviced by several good hotels in its vicinity: the walkable Parkroyal across from T3 for one. But the Novotel ibis Styles is the shiny new option.

The look

Leafy-green lobby interiors.

The pleasures of this hotel start before you cross the threshold. A little bit Jetsons, a lot contemporary architectural excellence, the building, by the esteemed firm, FK (Fender Katsalidis) is a stunningly successful use of its site. An L-shaped seven-storey building – ibis Styles on one side, Novotel on the other – is oriented to runway (and sunset) views. It is fronted by a striking copper-clad “aerofoil”, a wing-shaped showpiece housing a co-working space and the extensive Higher State fitness facility, including a spa, gym and 25-metre pool. Underneath these are the property’s bar, restaurant and cafe, shared by both hotels.

Inside, interiors by Woods Bagot are designed to reflect the iconic aspects of Melbourne and Victoria more widely, and are restful but interesting enough to make you feel transported to luxury land – not a bad effort for a three- and four-star property.

The room

Small but functional … Novotel Deluxe King.

I’m staying in one of the 248 rooms on the Novotel side. (There are 216 on the ibis Styles side.) The Deluxe King room is small but functional. Two upholstered wingback chairs accompanying a small table are ergonomically right for work and eating but also comfy enough for relaxing. Dark wood and moss green soft furnishings, marble surfaces and plush carpet – all said to be inspired by the Great Ocean Road (it’s a more fun Melbourne laneway vibe at ibis Styles) – give an upscale impression. So too, the rain shower, 55-inch (140-centimetre) TV and – rejoice, ye spectacles wearers desiring to put on makeup or shave – a good magnifying mirror. The king bed, with a memory foam mattress, is sublime.

Food + drink

Marine tones meet industrial flourishes at Boccata Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar.

The hotel has three offerings. These are designed by Techne Architecture & Interior Design, who have made the spaces feel like they belong on a sociable, stylish Melbourne high street. I leave too early to try the cafe, Small Holdings, which has a 6am breakfast start, but it looks light, bright and inviting. There is also the Amber State Taphouse & Kitchen which opened September 30. And there is Boccata Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar. The bar is pumping when I pass through to the stylish dining room behind it, which has exposed utilities in the ceiling, any sound issues offset by some artful umbrella shades on the pendant lighting. The menu has classic Italian bistro dishes on it – pizza, pasta, antipasti – and what I sample is very good. Victorian wines feature on an interesting list, and they have Heaps Normal, the excellent Victorian alcohol-free beer.

Out + about

A beautiful indoor pool beckons.

You’re unlikely to be venturing anywhere other than departures while staying here, but the spa at Higher State is worth a visit. I have an excellent massage, looking longingly at the swimming pool as I leave, having left my swimsuit at home. (The gym isn’t yet open when I stay.)

The verdict

The bar is pumping.

Singapore’s Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, which has won Skytrax’s World’s Best Airport Hotel for nine years running, better hang onto its tiara – Novotel ibis Styles Melbourne Airport is coming for it. This is an outstanding airport hotel.

Essentials

From $250 a night for Novotel; $180 for ibis Styles. Novotel ibis Styles Melbourne Airport, 1 Grants Rd, Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine. Ph: [phone]. See all.com

There are 10 mobility accessible rooms in each hotel and further rooms in both configured for guests with speech and visual disabilities.

Our score out of five

★★★★

Highlight

The bedside tables in my room are genius. The tabletop has a lip running around it, reducing the likelihood of things falling off, disappearing under the bed and being left behind. It’s a small, but considered detail.

Lowlight

As you enter the hotel, there is a cobblestone threshold between the food and drink and reception areas. It’s an architectural flourish designed to give you a sense of arrival. All it gave me was a pain in the … shoulder. I get that it’s a (rather literal) reference to Melbourne’s famed bluestone laneways. But no one likes pulling a trundle bag across cobblestones, especially unnecessarily.

The writer travelled as a guest of Novotel ibis Styles Melbourne Airport.