New Luxury Hotel Openings in Melbourne

The latest arrival is the new 20-storey, 396-room Hilton South Wharf, newmelbourne.com.au, which is located in the city's evolving waterfront district. Boldly designed and with striking wood interiors, the hotel opened at the end of April, offering breathtaking views up Melbourne's Yarra River, across the city and to the bay.

The hotel's Nuevo37 restaurant, headed by Michelin-star Catalan chef Ramon Frexia, serves an innovative menu with a strong Spanish influence, while Sotano Wine & Tapas Bar features a spectacular 4.4-metre high charcuterie tower, displaying an array of tantalising cured meats and cheeses.

The wine gantry 'floats' above the room, suspended from the seven-metre high ceiling, with the 5,000-strong wine list personally selected by Dr Ron Georgiou, one of only 268 Masters of Wine worldwide; highlights include a 2007 Chacra Cincuenta Cinco Pinot Noir from Patagonia, which -to ensure its arrival for the hotel’s opening- was hand carried via a designated pilot from South America!

International luxury hotel chain InterContinental, intercontinental.com/melbourne, has opened its first venture in Melbourne: when built in 1891, the original 10-storey Rialto was the tallest building in the city at the time – now it is Melbourne's grandest heritage hotel, a 19th century gothic architecture property which opened as a 253-room luxury hotel following a £30 million transformation.

The only luxury accommodation in Melbourne's financial district, InterContinental The Rialto is all marble and bluestone, while an imposing mosaic made up of 342,000 Italian tiles runs the length of the court. The hotel features two turret suites, which spread over 775 square feet across three split levels and incorporate the original gothic turrets.

The restaurant's UK-born executive chef, Nick Reade has trained under Albert and Michel Roux, owners of London's renowned Le Gavroche – whereas the hotel’s stylish Market Lane Bar boasts more than 100 martinis on the menu!

The largest five-star hotel in the city, with 547 guestrooms, the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, melbourne.grand.hyatt.com, also came out of a massive £22 million refurbishment earlier this year.

The hotel's new façade is now entry point to a luxury retail arcade, which includes exclusive stores from Bulgari and Emporio Armani. The new dramatic design is complete with a stunning outdoor courtyard, the exclusive bar RU-CO, which offers a striking wall of 2,000 bottles of premium wine, and Collins Kitchen restaurant, focusing on local and organic produce.

The refurbishment of the property also saw the opening of the adjacent palatial Spice Market - spicemarket.net.au, a Middle and Far Eastern bar cannily designed with plenty of secluded alcoves and private rooms, and the relaunch of award-winning MoMo restaurant - momorestaurant.com.au, whose lavish atmosphere is created upon entrance by a spectacular chandelier of 25,000 Swarovski crystals.

Grand Hyatt Melbourne is further planning an extensive room refurbishment programme, scheduled to commence in August 2009.

Melbourne has been leading Australia's hotel building in the past few years, with a healthy business growth and high occupancy rates. This is set to continue, notably with the upcoming Crown Entertainment’s new, as yet unnamed, hotel in Melbourne, which will be the biggest in Australia and is set to house Gordon Ramsay's first Australian venture, expected to open early 2010.

For more information on visiting Melbourne and the Australian state of Victoria go to www.visitmelbourne.com. Click this link to see more Melbourne luxury hotels recommended by Luxury Travel Magazine.