Boutique Melbourne Hotels

Readers send their small reviews on favourite aspects of travel: accommodation, destinations, activities etc

My Favourite . . .
Boutique Melbourne Hotels

Somer Watson, regular reader, travel addict and brand manager for trendy fashion house Natasha, sent us her pick of the bunch.

The Hatton
From $185 per night, 65 Park St, South Yarra.
(03) 9868 4800 or  www.hatton.com.au

I’ve known people that would rather fly back home to Sydney than stay anywhere else in Melbourne. Honestly. It has that perfect balance of something tastefully styled, yet it’s very easy to feel at home there. It’s an incredibly beautiful hotel; everything they choose for the place exudes great taste, from the bed sheets to the antique furnishings (different for each room), right through to the yummy bar snacks and – my favourite – a glass of Peter Hatton’s French Island Pinot Gris. It’s right near the Botanic Gardens and a tram stop is at the front steps. My favourite by far.

The Prince
From $200 per night, 2 Acland St, St Kilda.
(03) 9536 1111 or http://www.theprince.com.au/

I’ve only stayed a few times, but it always has a cool, youthful energy mixed with Melbourne class. Right on the corner of Acland and Fitzroy St, this is a great pub – you can see some of Melbourne’s best bands here. It also has Mink, a vodka bar with a cool Eastern Bloc vibe. Circa, the inhouse restaurant (with 24hr room service), has the best vanilla poached pear dessert – I dream about it! Everyone wants to meet you there – it takes care of everything you could want from Melbourne: views of Port Phillip Bay; great music venue; eat-as-much-as your-credit-card-will-allow restaurant; and several watering holes. You almost have to make excuses to leave the place.