Wallpaper* checks in at Melbourne Place: ‘an alchemy of colour, texture and personality’

Located on bustling Russell Street, Melbourne Place is the city’s newest independent hotel that oozes colour, charisma and cultural identity. It’s intriguing and expressive; checking in here sets the mood for urban exploration in a city renowned for its art, fashion, coffee and culinary scene.

Melbourne Place feels perfectly at ease amongst towering plane trees, buzzing laneways, coffee roasters and soaring cathedral spires, where heritage-listed neighbours – like Hero, the original telephone exchange – anchor the handsome newcomer in the city’s vernacular.

Wallpaper* checks in at: Melbourne Place

What’s on your doorstep?

Located on the ‘Paris end’ of Russell Street, the hotel is desirably central and only a short amble from familiar favourites: The Block Arcade, Treasury Gardens, Her Majesty’s Theater, the State Library and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). The hotel's sweeping street frontage will soon fill with intriguing boutiques in true Melbourne fashion. For a quintessential Melbourne experience, grab a croissant from Lune Croissanterie and a latte from People’s Coffee before boarding the City Circle Tram.

Who is behind the design?

The 16-storey urban sanctuary is the first foray into the hotel landscape for lauded Melbourne-based architect Kennedy Nolan, who enlisted a host of local makers and artists to shape the identity of the city’s newest icon. The result is a visual feast that amplifies volume, light, colour and textures, both inside and out.

‘The brief was to make it distinct from global brands, a truly independent hotel to give the visitor an authentic sense of something made in, by and for the city and those who want a piece of it,’ says Patrick Kennedy, the founding partner and principal architect of Kennedy Nolan.

Despite its newly formed modernist bones and playful, contemporary interior, Melbourne Place is drenched in cultural character, a feat only realisable by commissioning local makers and designers. And here, first impressions count. Guests are lured from the street into the lobby by an enormous screen. Curated by MARS Gallery, the hotel showcases the diversity of Australian modern art with intriguing digital works from artists Atong Atem, Brodie Kokkinos, Tristan Jalleh, Cameron Robbins and Kent Morris.

Outside, the hotel’s highly modelled façade features red accents and locally fired bricks from a historic brickworks factory. Inside, the same muted brickwork, West Australian jarrah and Corten steel flow throughout while playfully dousing each floor in spectrums of colour. ‘The thing I enjoy most is the thresholds, the unexpected shifts in colour as you move through the spaces, which is sometimes surprising but still feels cohesive,’ shares Kennedy. On level ten in the Urban Soak room, sky-blue finger tiles are deliciously fresh in contrast to the camel-coloured walls, shocking-orange wall sconces, sheer terracotta curtains and layers of burnt orange, pinks and rust.

The room to book

Melbourne Place has 191 rooms that range from functional ‘Everyday’ rooms to spacious suites and the penthouse, presiding over the city. Each floor evolves in an alchemy of colour, texture and personality with striking portraits by Melbourne-based artist Atong Atem.

There’s no doubt that the penthouse is the most coveted check-in at Melbourne Place. It’s notably lighter and brighter – thanks to double-height windows and creamy terrazzo tiles – than the floors below, bathed in sweeping city views from sunrise to set. It’s meticulously finessed and laden in marble, with a ten-seater dining table and in-suite bar, a custom low-lying Jardan lounger and a baby grand piano.

Located on level ten, at the end of the bottle-green corridor, you’ll find Urban Soak. Inside, styling notes are moody and atmospheric: bespoke Frette linen melts over a king-sized bed, musk-pink terrazzo tiles by Fibonacci are layered with playful rugs by Cadry’s; a bespoke ‘Joy Bear’ chair by Jardan invites lounging; and rich jarrah timber cabinetry frames ceramic Robert Gordon basins.

But it’s the huge soak tub that makes this room a standout. Designed by Thomas Coward for Mains Water Co, the tub is poised to take in the urban sprawl and is flanked by voluptuous Zachary Frankel bath stools where you’ll find Aesop amenities perched beside branded linen robes.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Mid Air, suspended on level 12, is a convivial meeting place for Melbournians and out-of-towners. Once again, design dominates with the likes of canvas-clad ‘TBC2’ dining chairs by Dowel Jones, tiled tabletops and pockets of curved sofas in warm reds. Here on the sunny terrace, hatted chef Nick Deligiannis serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner with Eastern-Mediterranean flavours, culminating in a three-course tasting menu, all under the gaze of two oversized circular ‘eyes’ framing the cityscape. A word for the wise: while the energy of the Mid Air may feel laid-back, book ahead – walk-ins, even for mid-week drinks, can mean a lengthy wait, by which time you would have mozied off to a nearby bar, albeit in a less impressive setting.

Restaurateurs Ross and Sunny Lusted are at the helm of Marmelo, the hotel’s ground-floor dining room and bar. The menu, which highlights wood-fired fare with the globe-crossing flavours of Portugal and coastal Spain, feels earthy and creative. Salgados served at street level include Corner Inlet garfish and salted Murray cod and whipped potato croquettes with hot mustard, followed by grilled octopus and Goan curry. Wash it down with a Peach & Leite sour. Don’t leave without ordering a traditional Pasteis de Nata with cinnamon and the woodfired olive oil cheesecake with a sprinkling of sea salt. It serves two but you’ll be forgiven for indulging solo.

For a late-night rendezvous, descend to Mr Mills (courtesy of Ross and Sunny Lusted), the hotel’s moody basement bar, for Spanish-inspired snacks and artisanal cocktails best devoured in dimly lit booths under neon lights.

The service

The team are upbeat and enthusiastic, and the check-in is seamless. The staff know Melbourne, and with a finger on the pulse, they are quick to offer recommendations, from hole-in-the-wall coffee dens to hidden bars and quirky shops. And for everything else, the integrated in-room tablet makes communicating a breeze. On the ground floor, Marmelo’s friendly hosts are eager to make you comfortable. And while they don’t profess to be child-friendly (there are no high chairs in sight), they couldn’t be more willing to accommodate little ones even in the heat of dinner service.

The verdict

Melbourne Place feels refreshing and enticing. It hums with creativity and urban energy and its character is unmistakenly Melbourne. With a synergy of social spaces, curiosity, art and deeply comfortable, tactile rooms, you’ll want to languish here and Instagram everything. And while it may have forgone a wellness offering and a pool, the hotel brings its culinary offerings into focus with really, really good food, coffee (thanks to Veneziano coffee) and drinks, the true heroes of life in Melbourne.

Melbourne Place is located at 130 Russell St, Melbourne 3000, Australia; melbourneplace.com.au. Rates: from $362 AUD