1 Hotel Melbourne review: Eco-luxury stay on the Yarra with sustainable design and riverfront views
A former cargo shed is reinvented as a lush, riverside retreat — inside Australia’s first 1 Hotel.
Beady eyes peering through your hotel room window might seem a touch voyeuristic — rather obtrusive dependent on your inclinations.
But sharing river views with a resident seagull colony squatting on speckled eggs, squawking at passing boats, eyeing off your interiors — feels perfectly on brand with the nature-first ethos of Asia Pacific’s inaugural 1 Hotel.
Behind a futuristic, glass facade, the gleaming, 277-room hotel rises from the footprint of Goods Shed No. 5, a former cargo warehouse on the north bank of Melbourne’s Yarra River, in a quietly evolving precinct a short, but not entirely obvious, schlep from Southern Cross Station. (The actual address says Docklands, but don’t believe it — this spot is far more serene than the soulless, wind-swept hellhole defined by the dreaded “D” word.)
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Bell boys in designer denim welcome guests to an expansive lobby framed by original trusses and bluestone pavers from the 1894 building, and filled with more than 2000 pieces of reclaimed materials.
Biophilic principles reach near-biblical proportions with more than 7000 plants softening the industrial shell, while sunlight streams in and catches a feature wall assembled from salvaged granite offcuts. A vast tapestry by Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragao crocheted from textile waste hangs behind a reception desk fashioned from a fallen tree. Yes, the sustainability schtick borders on the evangelical, but it’s churlish to find fault when it’s this tastefully done.
ROAM’s river reserve suite is airy as a treehouse, with full length windows, timber floors and side tables that appear to have been carved by small, woodland creatures.
Throws, woven rugs and yet more greenery curate a sanctuary-like space. Leaving aside (or not) the Louis Roederer champagne, the minibar is an all-Australian affair, stocked with wine from Nick O’Leary in Tumbarumba, gin courtesy of Melbourne’s Three Foxes Distillery, and a single malt whiskey from Tassie’s Roaring Forties.
Bamford’s botanical products grace a gleaming, slate-walled bathroom, and a glass-encased rain shower is spacious enough for two (for water-saving purposes, only, of course). Cue an excellent gym, a sultry indoor pool and hot tub, plus a dreamy day spa created in partnership with Carole Bamford, a “pioneer in holistic living”, whatever that is. In any case, it’s undeniably alluring.
Chef Mike McInerney (of Sydney’s Carriageworks Farmers Market) helms From Here by Mike restaurant, an attractive, low-lit affair that lists no less than 20 Victorian producers on the menu. Start with chicken liver pate and marlin crudo with Long Paddock fromage frais, then move through hearty mains such as free-range porchetta or wood-roasted cockerel. The Queensland spanner crab that anchors the house spaghettini reappears next morning in a crispy but delicate omelette, the stand-out of the breakfast menu.
Like many modern hotels afflicted with a certain strain of PR pomposity, 1 Hotel doesn’t have a drinks menu, it has a “beverage program”, which here rightly champions Victorian vignerons. Neighbours Cafe functions as a sort of artisanal lobby bodega and is your morning haunt for moreish snacks, health elixirs and coffee to go.
I’m not entirely sure about the hotel’s ambitions as a community gathering spot. Its slightly obscure location and patchwork of nearby developments present challenges, but once inside the warmth is instant. I ask young barista Xiao if she sees many walk-ins. “Well, I walked in and got a job,” she smiles, handing me a perfectly extracted Melbourne-approved macchiato.
Good people and a good vision make for good times in the old goods shed. Just don’t call it Docklands.
1 HOTEL MELBOURNE9 Maritime Place, Docklands, VIC
PRICE
From $368 for a king room
THE INSIDERYou could easily lose an entire afternoon kicking back with some chill tunes at Crane Bar & Lounge, and there are decent happy hour deals on oysters and champagne on weekdays. A pedestrian bridge across the Yarra dumps you on the doorstep of the DFO, if that’s your thing. And if not — know it stands for Direct Factory Outlet which itself stands for cheap(ish) former floor stock form a variety of fashion and homewares labels. For something more left field check out the Thursday night sea shanties at Mission to Seafarers bar next to the property.
