With a bold personality and richly layered design language by Flack Studio, plus a streetside coffee shop to boot, Hannah St Hotel is Melbourne’s hottest new hotel – and a microcosm of the city itself.
Urban boutique hotels today are working overtime as not only places to crash after a long day sightseeing, but as microcosms of the cities they inhabit, distilling local character across every touchpoint. Hannah St Hotel does exactly that.
The headline: its interiors are designed by Flack Studio, the multidisciplinary practice behind stylish spaces across Australia and beyond (think Bistro Livi in Murwillumbah and Ace Hotel Sydney), whose aesthetic is anchored by an intentional use of colour, material and mismatching that strikes a sweet spot between contemporary, creative and elegant.
Hannah St Hotel is something of a homecoming for the Melbourne-based firm helmed by David Flack, and it’s every bit the love letter to his home town you’d hope for.
The 188-room hotel is part of Collection by TFE Hotels, whose portfolio is made up of independently owned properties that hero design and strong connections to their local communities, including The Eve Hotel in Sydney and The Calile Hotel in Brisbane.
Where is Hannah St Hotel?
Hannah St Hotel is situated in the heart of Southbank.
Hannah St Hotel sits in Melbourne’s Southbank and forms part of the area’s ongoing cultural revitalisation. It’s positioned within a 15-minute neighbourhood at the crossroads of the CBD, the Yarra River, South Melbourne and the Arts Precinct.
The 10-level hotel occupies the new mixed-use Queensbridge Building, which cuts a distinctive wedge-shaped – or bullnose – footprint likened to New York City’s 1920s Flatiron Building.
Tucked under the Kingsway overpass, it initially feels a little like an urban jungle – but within minutes the concrete gives way to the Southbank Promenade. Soon I’m strolling along the Yarra, passing a hub of eateries, riverside bars, sketch artists and street performers on the sunny Saturday I’m here.
Within 15 minutes I reach Princes Bridge. A walk over the water takes me into Fed Square and the CBD, while heading south along St Kilda Road brings me to NGV International within a few minutes.
What is the style and character of Hannah St Hotel?
Step into Melbourne’s hottest design-led stay.
The accommodation blends creativity and personality.
Hannah St Hotel is big on personality, as flagged on arrival. Its main entrance, discreetly tucked beneath the overpass, is given a playful makeover in Barbie pink and polka dots. Guests are greeted by a three-metre sculpture, Mirror Sheila (2024) by Justene Williams – part of the hotel’s art program – as they step into the lobby.
Flack Studio draws on a diverse set of influences – from French Modernism and mid-century Italy to American Deco and the Industrial Revolution – to create a one-off design that embodies Melbourne’s richly layered spirit. It’s grit and glamour and vintage-style signage flickering neon. Tactile textiles, gestural shapes and bold colours offset against industrial finishes. Just as things tip towards nostalgia, a bolt of contemporary snaps you back to the present.
The vibe is welcoming and accessible. Playful and cool without trying too hard.
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What are the facilities like at Hannah St Hotel?
Unwind at the Parisian-style Terrace Lounge.
Designed to be a neighbourhood in its own right, Hannah St Hotel has everything you need without straying far. There’s a streetside hole-in-the-wall, Hannah St Coffee, for your caffeine fix, and Coupette Corner Bistro & Bar, which does triple duty for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Ample public spaces encourage lounging, imbibing and working (or all three), including the rail-inspired Carriage Lounge, chic lobby hang Bar Hannah, the top-level Terrace Lounge – influenced by the garden cafes of Paris and boasting a rooftop bar – and a dedicated co-working space.
Dive into the 20-metre lap pool.
There’s also a fully equipped gym, a 20-metre lap pool with vertigo-inducing city views through floor-to-ceiling windows, plus a steam room and sauna.
What are the rooms like at Hannah St Hotel?
The French and Italian-style interiors were designed by Flack Studio.
The Terrace Balcony Suite is equipped with a freestanding bath.
Hannah St Hotel’s 188 boutique rooms and suites are each carefully curated.
Ranging in size from 29 to 58 square metres – from bijou Local rooms and Balcony Terrace rooms through to the ultimate Hannah Suite – they feature custom furniture, Malin + Goetz amenities, minibars, pod coffee machines, smart TVs with Chromecast, Bluetooth Marshall speakers, bespoke robes and slippers, and skyline views.
My Lookout Corner Suite makes the most of those views, its unique angular shape bestowed by the building’s irregularity offering a sweeping panorama.
Generously proportioned, it has a king bed and a separate living area crowned by custom-made banquette seating that wraps around the room’s unusual footprint. Quality finishes are stitched into every surface, from blush-coloured carpets that squish underfoot to the concrete ceiling with exposed piping offset against the statement reading chair in Yves Klein blue.
A minibar is stocked with artisanal snacks and local wines, beer and soft drinks.
Space is used efficiently throughout the distinctive layout, including a wardrobe and stowage area tucked into the gallery-style hallway that leads to a generous bathroom – rendered in grey and blue with terrazzo flooring, complete with separate shower and toilet.
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What are the dining options at Hannah St Hotel?
The rail-inspired Carriage Lounge is the perfect spot for drinks.
Melbourne hospitality stalwarts The Mulberry Group, led by Nathan Toleman, oversee Hannah St Hotel’s food and beverage offering across five distinct venues designed to take guests and locals alike from morning coffee through to late-night cocktails.
There’s Bar Hannah and the adjoining Carriage Lounge for drinks and snacks, ground-level Hannah St Coffee, and the rooftop Terrace Lounge for lingering over cocktails – soon to be joined by chef residency program Propeller.
Coupette Corner Bistro & Bar is the star of the show: a ground-level eatery that moves from breakfast to lunch and dinner as the day progresses. The menu is overseen by executive chef Andrew Beddoes and offers a playful take on the European bistro, with a distinctly Melbourne skew.
Breakfast is bright and buzzy – order anything from pastries and almond oat cups to avocado toast with goat’s cheese topped with radish and herbs, a blue swimmer crab omelette or French toast laced with blueberries, maple syrup and burnt orange curd.
Lunch brings a tight menu of bistro staples, while dinner dials the mood to elegant and pushes the food offering further: think steak frites, lamb rump and market fish with beurre blanc. The wine list spans local to Euro.
Is Hannah St Hotel accessible for guests with disabilities?
Hannah St Hotel offers several room types designed to meet specific accessibility needs. All public areas, including the pool, are wheelchair accessible.
Is Hannah St Hotel family-friendly?
Hannah St Hotel nods to the city’s energy and urban pulse.
Guests under 18 are welcome when accompanied by an adult. Rooms accommodate up to two guests, with interconnecting rooms, baby cots and rollaway beds available on request.
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Imogen Eveson is Australian Traveller’s Print Editor. She was named Editor of the Year at the 2024 Mumbrella Publish Awards and in 2023, was awarded the Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) Australia’s Media Award. Before joining Australian Traveller Media as sub-editor in 2017, Imogen wrote for publications including Broadsheet, Russh and SilverKris. She launched her career in London, where she graduated with a BA Hons degree in fashion communication from world-renowned arts and design college Central Saint Martins. She is the author/designer of The Wapping Project on Paper, published by Black Dog Publishing in 2014. Growing up in Glastonbury, home to the largest music and performing arts festival in the world, instilled in Imogen a passion for cultural cross-pollination that finds perfect expression today in shaping Australia’s leading travel titles. Imogen regularly appears as a guest on radio travel segments, including ABC National Nightlife, and is invited to attend global travel expos such as IMM, ILTM, Further East and We Are Africa.
Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.
Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans
“Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.
Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten, the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.
Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)
Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.
Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.
Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)
For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.
You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery, a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.
How Ballarat is preserving the past
The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.
While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.
The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.
Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.
Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.
A city steeped in food and flavours
Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)
One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho, José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.
The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.
Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)
The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits. At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.
The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)
Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.
The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury
The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)
New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.
Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.
Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.
A traveller’s checklist
Getting there
It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.
Staying there
Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial, which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.
Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.
Eating there
The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)
Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.
Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.
Dining at Grainery Lane.
Playing there
An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)
Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle, ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.
