The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne review: Behold Melbourne’s renaissance
The Ritz-Carlton’s opening has sent a shiver of excitement through certain circles in Melbourne. It’s almost like the city has laid out its ‘Open For Business’ mat – the southern capital is back, baby.
“Have you been to the top yet?” asks Harry, the young bellhop who is taking us to reception on the 80th floor of the sparkling new Ritz-Carlton Melbourne. We have not. “Well, you’re in for a treat. It never gets old.” The lift whizzes upwards swiftly and silently like Willy Wonka’s glass elevator to the sky, popping our ears as it flies. There’s time for small talk with Harry. “I’m English, in case you couldn’t tell from my accent,” he says.
“Have you been here long?”
“Three weeks!”
The lift doors sweep open and suddenly then there it is, the money shot: the Ritz-Carlton’s glittering reception desk located in the clouds, the blue expanse of Port Phillip Bay yawning beyond. We are momentarily silenced, so Harry fills in the gaps. “Yeah, it’s pretty special, isn’t it?” he notes, before the doors snap shut and he disappears down a rabbit hole back to street level.
The Ritz-Carlton’s opening has sent a shiver of excitement through certain circles in Melbourne. It’s almost like the city has laid out its “Open For Business” mat and issued a siren call that the southern capital is back, baby. Pandemic woes? Who wants to talk about that any more? Not most Melburnians, who are putting the shutdown suffering behind them and looking forward, with grim determination, to a brighter future.
In March, three premium hotels launched: the Ritz-Carlton, with its sky-high views and gilt taps, the pick of them; also, St Kilda’s lovely new The Royce, and, on Bourke Street, Le Meridien, where the old Palace Theatre once hosted the likes of Chrissy Amphlett (after whom Amphlett Lane, adjacent to the hotel, is named).
Then there are the events. Melbourne brands itself as the events capital of Australia and the claim isn’t an exaggeration. The weekend I’m here, it’s the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and I find myself at a huge party at Yarra Botanica eating lobster burgers and drinking rosé with the twinkling view of the Melbourne CBD behind us. The next day I’m at the World’s Longest Lunch, an alfresco party featuring 1800 attendees dining on Alla Wolf-Tasker’s stunning food on long tables snaking through Treasury Gardens. The following weekend, the Melbourne Grand Prix would roll into town with an almost obscene level of hype. And people are already talking about next year’s tennis and Taylor Swift’s rumoured MCG shows.
For those culturally inclined, other shows are rolling. &Juliet, a musical reworking of Romeo & Juliet set to 1990s pop music – unexpectedly hilarious and life-affirming – is playing to full houses at the Regent Theatre; find, too, Mary Poppins the Musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Princess Theatre, and incoming shows Driftwood the Musical (opening on May 3 at the Chapel Off Chapel) and Elvis: A Musical Revolution (at the Atheneaum Theatre from September 29).
Plus, footy is back, with 85,000 people regularly piling into the MCG. On weekends the CBD swarms with life, with every tram crammed with fans in team scarves; meanwhile, restaurants and bars are overflowing. The city is saturated with young uni students, mostly internationals, bringing life and energy to the streets.
The Ritz-Carlton’s launch is perhaps the clearest signal that Melbourne is returning to life. Occupying 15 floors at the top of one of two new otherwise residential towers, it’s an exercise in decadence, starting at the check-in counter flanked
by its glitzy bar.
To the left of the check-in is Atria, helmed by chef Michael Greenlaw (ex-Vue de Monde), with assistance from the hotel’s culinary adviser Mark Best (ex-Marque, Sydney). The menu of dishes such as Victorian rock lobster with bisque, fennel and lobster oil ($90) and Blackmore wagyu hanger steak with smoked aniseed myrtle Bernaise sauce ($68) is certainly lavish.
The food is one thing but the trip is worth it for the view. And yes it’s Melbourne, but do pack a swimsuit. If the aspect from the Level 80 reception desk is a knockout, an afternoon luxuriating on the Level 65 pool deck is another highlight. The deck chairs look out to sea, or perhaps, the future. It’s Melbourne as you’ve never experienced it.
As we say goodbye to the hotel, Harry the bellhop tells us he is finding Melbourne cold, but not as cold as Norwich, where he’s from.
“I like it here,” he tells us with his new migrant’s optimism. “I think I will stay.” Lucky Harry.
The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne
Stay: The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne is at 650 Lonsdale St, near Southern Cross Station; rates from $650 a night. Book a king room if you can – the rooms are generous and beautifully appointed, the view a bonus.
Le Meridien is a boutique hotel with nice touches in an uptown location. The hotel has a killer outdoor pool deck (for when the Melbourne weather plays nice) and appropriate touches referencing the building’s heritage as a music venue. Some rooms have views of Parliament, while others look onto the building’s original 19th-century façade. Try the L’Amour Melbourne package (available May 1 to September 30) starting from $384 for two people per night for a king deluxe room.
Eat: Breakfast is my pick of the meals at the Ritz-Carlton’s Atria. You can get the view without the price tag. Go for smoked salmon bagels or French toast, the usual elevated brunch fare. Melbourne is absolutely bustling with new and excellent restaurants. My pick? Try Gimlet at Cavendish House (book ahead); Smith St Bistrot in Collingwood, a lavish, beautifully realised Parisian-style bistro; and Freyja on Collins St, a cool Scandinavian restaurant in the gorgeously ornate Olderfleet building.