With hot new hotels and a huge list of events, Melbourne is on the hunt for the tourist dollar
Victorian authorities have invested in bringing huge sporting and cultural events to their state - from F1 to Yayoi Kusama and now, the NFL. Here’s how to make the very most of a short stay in the southern capital.
The blackout blinds shielding the windows of the room at Melbourne Place have me waking discombobulated. It is so dark in here it could be midnight, or six in the morning, take your pick, and I could be anywhere on the planet, or in space for that matter.
Adjusting to the darkness in my waking state, a noise floats in from the universe outside. Ding ding. And again, ding ding. Ah, I know that sound. It is unmistakable. There’s only one place I could be. This is Melbourne and that is the sound of the Melbourne tram. It all comes flooding back.
Apparently Victorian authorities have identified two key sounds affiliated with the southern capital. The first is the ding ding of the Melbourne tram, the second the whooshing of an espresso machine. I’d argue the latter could be found almost anywhere in Australia these days but I wholeheartedly agree on the former.
And so it turns out it is not midnight but breakfast time, and when I roll open the blind (using the iPad keypad provided) and get out of bed to survey the scene in the street below, what is revealed is a green tram flashing by on nearby Bourke Street. And around that, the sight of commuters heading to work, dressed exclusively in black as is the law here. A further sweep out the window reveals a fair amount of the city skyline, its new buildings and its old, blending in a riot of not altogether comfortable modernity.
This summer morning is typically Melburnian. Cool yet sunny, with wind and rain approaching and a forecast of a hot, dry afternoon. Wear cool clothes and warm clothes then, and take an umbrella and a hat, it seems.
Melbourne has been in the grip of a hotel boom over the past few years, a post-Covid rush that has seen 9000 rooms added to the city’s capacity since 2020. The launches have been relentless: the Ritz-Carlton, W Melbourne, Next Hotel, the Langham, Le Meridien and plenty of others.
Then last December came the opening of Melbourne Place, a 191-room hotel centrally located on Russell Street. According to the hotel it aims to incorporate a “Melbourne sensibility” into the stay experience. What this is exactly is hard to say, but the Kennedy Nolan design is all chic and sleek, the rooms in warm dark tones with an urbane feel courtesy of bespoke jarrah fixtures, sage-coloured linen, Jardan chairs and rainwater showers complete with Aesop products.
A sky-high breakfast room offers a perfect perch to watch the city life go by, and on the ground level, Marmelo restaurant – the Portuguese venue of celebrated chef Ross Lusted – delivers such a big-city dining experience you don’t even have to leave the hotel if you don’t feel the need. For a city-based staycation this is really ideal, especially with the distinctive sound of the city, that constant ding ding, ringing in your ears.
But for me, Melbourne is not all about the city. Not far up the tramline – take the No. 86 tram to Brunswick St, alighting at Rose Street – another new hotel is offering a different kind of Victorian experience. The StandardX opened last August in the heart of Fitzroy, that grungy, terrace-lined inner-city neighbourhood so close to Victorian hearts. This 125-room boutique property, part of American brand The Standard, is a youthful, well-located venture with edge. Designed by architects Woods Bagot with interiors by Hecker Guthrie, The StandardX has a vibrant feel, with music pumping, a communal mini-bar downstairs beside check-in and a killer rooftop bar for sunny days. The onsite restaurant Bang offers possibly Melbourne’s best breakfast dish, a Thai-inspired crab omelette served with roti.
But the best thing about this hotel is its proximity to a neighbourhood that radiates cool and style. Head out of the doors to find yourself immersed in the city’s most atmospheric streets. Find local boutiques for real Melbourne fashions, engrossing paper stores, cafes aplenty and quaint pubs (for me the pick is the Napier Hotel, on Napier Street). While the Melbourne CBD has its charms, Fitzroy is and always will be the real deal for me, the sort of place you might visit and say, “Yes, I coud see myself living here.”
Part of the reason for the hotel boom across the city is the fact the Victorian government is relentlessly driving big events into Melbourne and wider Victoria, a hungry chase for the tourist dollar that really does deliver for visitors.
This year there is more or less a major event on in Victoria every day and every week of the year. Among the cornucopia of activities and activations, pick from the F1 Grand Prix (March 16) to a rolling series of exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria (see the checklist for details) to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 25 (from March 21). Plus book your accommodattion now for the Australian Open in 2026. Hands down the AO is the sporting event of the year, Australia wide.
The best part of attending events in Melbourne is the sense of being part of a city in full flight. Make the most of it by staying in a hotel that makes you feel part of the action. Both Melbourne Place and The StandardX are perfect choices, hotels that just feel like Melbourne, from the sounds up.
Checklist
Stay: Melbourne Place (130 Russell St, Melbourne, melbourneplace.com.au) rates from $300; The StandardX (62 Rose St, Fitzroy, standardx.com), rates from $269.
Eat: Marmelo at Melbourne Place (marmelorestaurant.com.au) is Sydney chef Ross Lusted’s interpretation of a Portuguese restaurant, done very much in an Australian contemporary style. Go for dishes such as wood-roasted cockerel with African spices, chilli and fried potatoes; sardines with Gordal olives, aged vinegar, pickled chilli and pepper; or Southern calamari with goat milk butter and herbs. Marmelo is a polished, thoughtful and fun addition to Melbourne dining, a great bonus for in-house guests. In Fitzroy we had a soulful and delightful dinner at Norma (197 Smith Street, Fitzroy; normafitzroy.au), the 36-seat French bistro of chef-owner Benjamin Tremblet, who has dedicated the venue to his grand-mère. Sit in this repurposed two-level terrace and eat dishes like ricotta and spinach raviolo with egg yolk and parmesan or bavette à l’échalote, a flank steak with confit shallots and fries. It is a lovely off-CBD dining experience.
The biggest restaurant opening in the city for some time has been Maison Batard (23 Bourke St, Melbourne; maisonbatard.com.au), the extravagant and beautifully realised French restaurant of Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas. In this CBD space that will transport you to Paris, rub shoulders with the rich and the powerful as you eat oysters shucked at the cold seafood bar, or an outstanding chateaubriand for two, table-side. Be sure to order the chocolate mousse, which comes to the table on a glistening trolley and is served in a melodramatic fashion while you watch. The service and the vibe here is about as good as anything in Australia at the moment.
Do: Between now and June there is an event of some description on every day in Melbourne, from the Australian Grand Prix (March 16) to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 21-30). At the National Gallery of Victoria, a series of blockbuster events is taking place throughout the year. The current Yayoi Kusama exhibition, which showcases the work of the eccentric Japanese contemporary artist, is wildly popular. Be sure to buy tickets ahead, as during my weekday visit many visitors were being turned away from the door. The art is gaudy, riotous and spectacular. The NGV’s biggest exhibition of the year, French Impressionism, is a collection of 100 Impressionist works collated in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (June 6-October 5). The NGV will also hold the spectacular Kimono exhibition (June 4-October 5). ngv.vic.gov.au