Look up as you walk into Lanson Place Parliament Gardens. Forty metres of frosted acrylic hang over the lobby – dozens of pages, each hand-formed by sculptor Corey Thomas, each recalling the way paperbark peels in layers. Jarra Karalinar Steel, a Boonwurrung, Wemba Wemba and Trawlwoolway artist, worked Kulin mark-making patterns into every one. The hotel calls them pages of a manuscript, a nod to the printing works. The piece is called ‘Letters to Country’, and it is one of more than 450 commissioned works in the building.
The building began as a Salvation Army printing works, designed by Brigadier Edward Saunders and dated 1901. The heritage-protected facade and arched windows still face Parliament Gardens. Behind them, Denton Corker Marshall added a contemporary tower as part of an $80 million redevelopment, and London practice Conran and Partners did the interiors – deep inky blues, Panda marble with an inkblot pattern.
This September, Michelin gave the hotel One Key, which it defines as “a very special stay”. There are now 54 Key hotels in Australia. Of the Melbourne hotels on the list, The Ritz-Carlton and 1 Hotel Melbourne are on One Key too. Capella Sydney and Longitude 131 have two, and only three have the full set: Lizard Island Resort, Southern Ocean Lodge and Saffire Freycinet. Inspectors visit anonymously and judge design, service and character. Not bad for 137 rooms on Albert Street with a restaurant in the lobby.
The kitchen in our Premium One-Bedroom Apartment surprised me most: hotplate, Nespresso machine with a handful of pods, toaster, blender, washing machine. That is more than one night needs, and it makes the place workable for a long weekend or a week. The couch has enough room for me to stretch out properly, but my husband, at over six foot, finds its bean shape a bit too small. He happily stretches out in the king bed instead. The bathroom is the other draw – good light, plenty of mirrors, a strong shower and a deep bath, where I read a new release before dinner.
Downstairs, the 20-metre heated pool is low-lit, with concrete-render walls, and it reminded me of a Bond villain’s lair. There is a spa too, and a 24-hour gym with Technogym equipment. I used none of them – a reason to go back.
Dinner was at Chronicle 502, named for the street number and the printing past. On a Wednesday it was full, locals among the guests, and service moved at an unhurried pace. That suits a long dinner, but plan around it if you have a show to catch. Rosemary focaccia proved the best tool for finishing the sweet corn puree under plump, sweet scallops. The rib eye, a Wednesday to Friday special, comes with mushroom or green pepper jus and salad or chips (chips, naturally, and steak cut). The Hazeldene’s Chicken burger arrives on a bun branded with the hotel’s logo, stacked with moist grilled chicken breast, bacon and cheese, and it comes with steak cut chips too. The onion jam was sweet and deeply caramelised, and very moreish. I would have loved something green sandwiched in between the savouries. When we asked our server which dessert to order, he answered without hesitating: “Both.” That is all the persuading we need. The apple crumble has a short, crunchy topping over soft fruit, and the chocolate fondant oozes as it should. The salted caramel ice cream, with its crunchy bits of burnt sugar, was my favourite.
Chronicle serves an a la carte breakfast, and some packages include the buffet in the Albert Lounge on Level 1, a warm room with plenty of seating. There is a cereal station, fresh-squeezed juices and a hot bar of scrambled eggs, bacon and mushrooms – plus Brussels sprouts, a bold choice at that hour. Eggs can be ordered separately, hash browns too. The lounge coffee comes from a machine, so barista coffee has to be sent up from downstairs. Mini viennoiserie is my kryptonite at a breakfast buffet, and Lanson Place has a good selection. I kept my impulse control under wraps and took only two for breakfast dessert: an apple foldover and a cinnamon swirl. The lamination on both was the point – crisp and golden without raining pastry flakes on me, the inner layers still soft to the tooth.
The hotel is at 502 Albert Street, on the quieter eastern edge of the CBD, with Parliament Gardens and Parliament House across the road. A room over the gardens feels removed from the city, even with the city right there. For things to do in Melbourne on foot, the address does the work. The Princess Theatre is two to three minutes away and Her Majesty’s about five. Fitzroy Gardens is five minutes, the boutiques of Collins Street five or six, and Parliament Station about four. Melbourne Central is roughly 12 minutes’ walk, and Melbourne Museum about a kilometre.
With the kitchen and laundry, you could spend a week out on foot and come back each night to somewhere that feels like home.
