25 Melbourne Hotels That Began as Something Else
The 1883 temperance coffee palace on Spring Street, a billiards champion’s old hall, the former State Savings Bank on Collins Street, and an 1888 convent in Fitzroy.
Melbourne turned its coffee palaces, banks, warehouses, department stores and corner pubs into hotels, and grew a line of art hotels of its own along the way. This list has the 1883 Windsor, built as a grand temperance coffee palace, the old State Savings Bank that is now Treasury on Collins, the tea warehouse and billiards hall behind Hotel Lindrum, and the 1888 Fitzroy convent that became the Nunnery.
The list is grouped by character, not ranked. Where a hotel’s own site could be confirmed, its name links there; the rest are listed without one.
Grand dames of the gold-rush city
The Hotel Windsor · CBD
The Windsor opened in 1883 on Spring Street and ran for a time as the temperance Grand Coffee Palace before returning to a licensed hotel. It is often called Melbourne’s oldest grand hotel still in business. Delegates working on the draft Australian Constitution are said to have met and dined here in 1898.
InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto · CBD
The InterContinental occupies the 1891 Rialto, a Venetian Gothic landmark on Collins Street designed by William Pitt and built as Victorian-era offices and warehouses. A glass roof over the old laneway between its two wings now forms the hotel’s atrium.
Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne · CBD
The Rendezvous fills the 1913 former Commercial Travellers’ Association building on Flinders Street, an Edwardian baroque landmark that later traded for years as the Grand Hotel. It faces Flinders Street Station across the rail viaduct.
The Victoria Hotel · CBD
The Victoria has traded on Little Collins Street since the late 19th century, long one of Melbourne’s largest and cheapest city hotels.
Treasury on Collins · CBD
Treasury on Collins sits in the former State Savings Bank of Victoria on Collins Street, with the original banking chamber, vaults and marble still on show. It runs as an apartment-style heritage hotel at the eastern end of the street.
Warehouses, stores and institutions reborn
Hotel Lindrum, MGallery · CBD
Hotel Lindrum is in a former Griffiths Brothers tea warehouse that later held the billiards centre of Walter Lindrum, the world champion. It keeps a full-size billiard table in a nod to his name, and now runs as Hotel Lindrum, MGallery.
Next Hotel Melbourne, Curio Collection by Hilton · CBD
The Next Hotel stands on Collins Street on the site of the former Georges department store, a grand old Melbourne retailer. It was Hilton’s first Curio Collection hotel in the city.
Adelphi Hotel · CBD
The Adelphi opened in 1992 above Flinders Lane, often called Australia’s first designer hotel, by the architects Denton Corker Marshall. Its rooftop pool juts out over the lane with a glass base.
Jasper Hotel · CBD
The Jasper was converted from the YWCA’s former ‘Hotel Y’ on Elizabeth Street, across from the Queen Victoria Market.
Grand Hotel Melbourne · CBD
The Grand Hotel is in the former Victorian Railways headquarters on Spencer Street, a grand 19th-century public building later turned into accommodation. It now runs under the Quest serviced-apartment banner.
Art hotels and design originals
The Olsen · South Yarra
The Olsen is given over to the Australian painter John Olsen, with his work and prints throughout. It is part of the Art Series, a Melbourne-grown group that themes each hotel on an Australian artist.
The Cullen · Prahran
The Cullen is themed on Adam Cullen, the Archibald Prize-winning painter, and stands on Greville Street in Prahran.
The Blackman · St Kilda Road
The Blackman is dedicated to the painter Charles Blackman, known for his Alice in Wonderland and Schoolgirl series, with his work through the rooms. It sits on St Kilda Road near the Royal Botanic Gardens.
QT Melbourne · CBD
QT Melbourne opened in 2016 on Russell Street, a design-led hotel known for its industrial-glam interiors.
Tolarno Hotel · St Kilda
The Tolarno was once home to the Tolarno bistro and gallery run by Georges and Mirka Mora, and Mirka’s hand-painted murals survive in the building. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Gardens, river and landmark towers
United Places Botanic Gardens · South Yarra
United Places is a suite-only boutique hotel on Domain Road, across from the Royal Botanic Gardens, above the Matilda restaurant in South Yarra.
The Como Melbourne, MGallery · South Yarra
The Como opened in 1989 as what it bills as Australia’s first all-suite hotel, long a favourite of touring musicians and film stars in South Yarra. It now runs as the Como Melbourne, MGallery.
The Lyall · South Yarra
The Lyall is a family-run, all-suite boutique hotel on a quiet South Yarra street, named for the family behind it.
Sofitel Melbourne on Collins · CBD
The Sofitel takes the upper floors of Collins Place, a complex designed by I.M. Pei and Partners, rising over the eastern end of Collins Street.
Park Hyatt Melbourne · East Melbourne
The Park Hyatt looks across to St Patrick’s Cathedral and the city’s garden precinct in East Melbourne, known for its grand lobby and long indoor pool.
Bayside bohemia and corner pubs
The Prince · St Kilda
The Prince is set in St Kilda’s 1930s Prince of Wales Hotel, a streamlined Moderne landmark, and has long been a live-music and nightlife institution.
Middle Park Hotel · Middle Park
The Middle Park Hotel is an 1889 corner pub with boutique rooms above the bar, a short walk from Port Phillip Bay.
Coppersmith Hotel · South Melbourne
The Coppersmith was made from a converted corner pub on Clarendon Street in South Melbourne, near the South Melbourne Market.
The Nunnery · Fitzroy
The Nunnery occupies 1888 heritage terraces on Nicholson Street once used by a Catholic religious order, decorated with ornate murals and looking over the Carlton Gardens.
The Larwill Studio · Parkville
The Larwill Studio is an Art Series hotel themed on the painter David Larwill, beside the Royal Children’s Hospital in Parkville.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by character, and the order within each group carries no meaning.
What made a hotel interesting enough for this list?
A story. Every entry was a coffee palace, a bank, a warehouse, a pub, or a building dressed around an artist. Comfort alone did not qualify.
Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Where a hotel runs its own site, its name links there, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Melbourne head out to the Yarra Valley wineries, the Great Ocean Road and the Mornington Peninsula, or to Phillip Island for the penguins. The CBD hotels sit closest to the trains and coach departures.
Do the small hotels book out faster than the grand ones?
Usually. The small places, United Places, the Lyall, the Nunnery, hold few rooms and fill first. Book those well ahead.