Hotels have been adding all kinds of ingredients to their recipe for success – now Guillaume Brahimi is one of them, says Tori Clapham
There’s no denying we’re a nation of foodies – a fact any savvy hotelier knows only too well. No surprises then that Melbourne’s Crown Towers, one of the savviest of all, has upped the culinary ante with a very welcome food initiative: a new in-room menu designed by not one, but two celebrity chefs – Guillaume Brahimi and Neil Perry.
“I don’t think that other hotels in Australia are up to scratch, they just stick to the classics: one pizza, one club sandwich, you know," Brahimi explains to AT. “We are trying to bring some love into the hotel room. Room service should be at the same quality as the rest of the experience."
Crown isn’t the only hotel polishing their silver service – Sydney’s Shangri-La has also cooked up a new initiative in the hopes of getting our attention, with a concept they’ve coined the ‘Chefs’ Surprise’. Book in for the 10-course degustation – if you can, it reputedly sells out fast – and you’ll receive 10 dishes, each created by a different chef. Risky? Perhaps.
But decadence sells. Just like Adriano Zumbo’s ‘dessert train’, now found in Sydney’s luxury casino and hotel complex, The Star – designed in case you can’t stop at one world-class dessert… hey, we’d like to try a little of them all, too.
Gold Coast’s Palazzo Versace is now also offering cooking master classes, where you can learn inside trade secrets to sufficiently leave dinner guests in awe of your cooking skills.
What will they think of next? Complimentary spa treatments, perhaps – hand delivered by Brahimi himself? Hey, it’s just a suggestion…
The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.
It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.
Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)
The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.
The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.
A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)
An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.
A new chapter for the city’s fleet
The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)
Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.
The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)
Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.
During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.
Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)
As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.
Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.
Hotels' silver service turning platinum - Australian Traveller
