A taste of the good old days is yours for the taking at new boutique hotel The Royce, which opened February 20 in a former Rolls-Royce showroom on South Yarra's fringe.

Originally built in 1928, the prestige building on the corner of St Kilda Road has undergone two years of renovations and is now home to 94 guest rooms as well as the just-opened Showroom Bar. It's a space that guests and locals can enjoy – and will probably want to, at least for a look at the grand old bones of the building.

Soaring ceilings and curved staircases are enhanced by a nine-metre bar, tiered chandeliers, sumptuous velvet rugs, and enough chrome, leather and marble to make any Rolls-Royce aficionado proud.

Dainty snacks all the way up to club sandwiches and burgers are served daily in the 100-seat space, which has been built with many nooks for (beautiful) people-watching.

Hotel general manager Nick McLennan says the Showroom's menu draws on the carmaker's British heritage while still being modern. "There are no mushy peas, for example."

Instead you'll find almond and garlic gazpacho, Murray cod with grapefruit beurre blanc and chicken liver pate piped onto what looks like glass but is in fact toast without the bready bits. A crunchy mix of potato starch, water and kudzu starch achieves the magic trick. Cocktails embrace the bar's urban setting with riffs on drinks such as Cosmopolitans.

Guests at the property owned by Mazen Tabet (The Village Belle, The Lyall) also have access to a library, ballroom and conservatory restaurant, with free-standing baths and balconies in select rooms.

Showroom Bar is open daily noon-11pm

379 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 03 8614 1414, roycehotel.com.au