Welcome to Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels and share what makes them worthy of your wishlist.
Pulling up to The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, someone is waiting for me. “Rachael?" he asks as the driver opens the car door. I’m taken aback by the promptness and personal recognition – a level of service I hope I never get used to. The tone is set for the rest of my stay, which people have told me to expect will be exceptional.
It’s exciting that a wave of design-forward hotels has opened in Melbourne in recent years, from the cool 1 Hotel to the stylish Hannah St Hotel, raising the bar for established properties. It’s no longer enough to simply exist as a luxury hotel – you really need to impress. The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne opened its doors in March 2023 in the heart of the city’s central business district, near the Yarra River and Southbank arts precinct, and immediately asserted itself as the tallest hotel in Australia.
The glamorous entry level features a striking gold staircase.
Melbourne-based architecture firm Cottee Park and Melbourne interior design firm BAR Studio were called upon to create this sleek hotel, featuring a quilted facade of glass and metal and a contemporary interior with a distinctly Melbourne feel that nods to the city’s architectural heritage and cosmopolitan spirit. While the entrance is at ground level, the main Sky Lobby and reception are on Level 80, a layout that’s common in Tokyo hotels and one that ensures every guest begins their stay on a high note. The journey from the ground floor showcases a golden spiral staircase, a Swarovski chandelier and a curated mix of Indigenous and contemporary artworks.
The main Sky Lobby and reception are on Level 80.
My ears pop as we ascend to reception for a seamless check-in. I head to the high-end, apartment-style Club Lounge for a glass of bubbles and nibbles. Where many hotel lounges feel stuffy and underwhelming, The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne’s outpost shines. For starters, the view is incredible. On the 79th floor, it offers 180 -degree vistas of Melbourne’s east coast. Design-wise, it’s sleek, modern and flooded with natural light. As per usual, (see: my review of The Tasman), I order my obligatory cheese plate. It’s so generously portioned, I feel slightly guilty I don’t have a partner to share it with me. I overhear a conversation between staff and the couple sitting next to me, who are travelling from overseas. Their favourite thing about their stay has been the quality of the food.
The Club Lounge has the feel of a high-end apartment.
The Club Lounge offers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, evening hors d’oeuvres with drinks, and desserts.
I make my way to my Victoria Harbour King Room, which exudes understated luxury elevated by gold accents. I’m delighted to find a bottle of Moreau-Naudet Chablis and another cheese plate (my needs were definitely anticipated) waiting for me on the table. After all, part of the brand’s service philosophy is to go above and beyond to impress guests (see: the “$2,000 Rule").
The bathroom is spacious, stocked with Diptique products and featuring a bath and large double vanity. In true Ritz-Carlton fashion, there’s a walk-in wardrobe which adds to the feeling of luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows that make way for the east-facing view make the room nice and bright.
Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.
AI Prompt
East-facing rooms boast spectacular views out to the ocean.
Bathroom's are designed to take advantage of the view.
Melbourne is renowned for its hospitality scene, so staying in a hotel to dine feels almost sacrilegious. But someone’s got to do the hard work, and I willingly oblige, heading to dinner at the onsite modern Australian restaurant, Atria. Dining alone (especially without a book) can sometimes feel awkward, but staff are intuitive and ask if I’d like to sit at the chef’s table so I can watch the choreography of the kitchen while I dine. Again, the views are incredible (we’re looking out to the Dandenong Ranges now), which I enjoy while working through an indulgent seafood medley.
The spectacular The Ritz-Carlton Suite.
It begins with a scallop and caviar tartlet paired with Suenen Champagne (the sommelier’s choice, and a good one at that), followed by tuna with pickled citrus, river mint, tuna bone cream and shiitake oil. But it’s the paperbark baked half rock lobster with mandarin, heirloom tomato vinaigrette and finger lime that makes me take out my phone to show my family. At $170 a pop, it’s not the cheapest item on the menu, but it’s a dish I’m unlikely to forget anytime soon. The sommelier guides me through a tasting of Chablis and Sancerre, cementing this as one of my favourite hotel meals I’ve ever had.
I collapse into my room’s plush bed and enjoy a luxurious, uninterrupted sleep before being woken up by the sun rising over the water.
Paperbark baked half rock lobster with mandarin, heirloom tomato vinaigrette and finger lime.
The next morning, I head to the wellness area for a quick dip in the indoor, heated infinity pool. The modern design and skyline views make me feel like I’m in Tokyo. There is also a sauna, steam rooms and vitality pools to round out the wellness offerings, or for a more indulgent experience, you can book a treatment at the spa.
I’m warmly welcomed back to the Club Lounge for breakfast. There’s a mix of small buffet bites and an à la carte menu spanning a pulled pork bun, caramelised honey toast and salmon benedict.
I’m feeling sky high after this stay and reluctant to head down in the lift and back to reality.
The heated infinity pool is the ultimate place to unwind.
Weekly travel news, experiences insider tips, offers, and more.
Details
Best for: Business travellers, hotel aficionados, couples and those looking for a stylish staycay.
Highlights: Service, views and dining.
Address: 650 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Accessibility: Accessible rooms with roll-in showers, lowered hooks, and space for wheelchairs are available. All venues offer accessibility.
Price: From $650 per night
Club Lounge access: Only open to guests who book a room or suite that specifically includes Club Lounge access
Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?
Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Rachael Thompson is a freelance travel journalist. With a background in design and travel media, Rachael is dedicated to curating content that is as much informational as it is beautiful. She began her career at Belle magazine, before taking up editorial roles at Homes to Love, Bed Threads and Australian Traveller/International Traveller. When she's not writing, editing or optimising content, Rachael enjoys exploring the city's newest restaurants, bars and hotels. Next on her Aussie travel wish list is Lord Howe Island.
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.
