THE PLACE
Crown Towers Melbourne
THE LOCATION
Crown Melbourne, which turns 21 in June, still dominates the south bank of the Yarra and if you don't like it, tough luck, so to speak, since the casino complex's licence doesn't expire until 2033. And the 482-room Crown Towers itself, once touted as Australia's first six-star hotel, is still a dominant feature of the Southbank skyline. Since it opened Crown Towers has been joined by two other hotels, Crown Metropol and Crown Promenade but it remains the ace in the pack.
THE SPACE
These days Crown Melbourne fights it out on TripAdvisor with its neighbouring hotel, the Langham Melbourne, for the status of the Victorian capital's most favoured establishment. And like the Langham it delivers that buzzy big city feel that you normally have to travel to parts of the world like Asia in order to experience. It's a sprawling space with one of the more impressive, and commendably softly-lit and tastefully-decorated hotel lobbies in the country.
THE ROOM
My tastefully-decorated deluxe king room at 48 square metres is commodious, suitably luxurious but not necessarily exceptional. It comes with panoramic city and Port Phillip Bay views along with less appealing vistas of the utilitarian rooftop of the casino and restaurant and retail complex. The larger and, of course, more expensive executive club suites provide access to the exclusive Crystal Club Lounge where guests can enjoy personalised check-in, breakfast, afternoon tea and evening pre-dinner drinks and canapes. A little surprisingly, although there are "coffee and tea-making facilities", there's no espresso machine in the room, at least at the time of my visit, even though it's become an appliance that's pretty much standard at this standard of hotel.
STEPPING OUT
Here's one five-star where you could spend a whole weekend, even longer, without having to walk out the front door, and, for that matter, step foot into a gaming room. Crown has done an impressive job in attracting – and keeping – some of Australia's best chefs, notably Neil Perry and Guillaume Brahimi, and, more recently, Britain's finest in the form of Heston Blumenthal. However, you may have fat chance securing a booking at his wildly-popular antipodean Fat Duck pop-up restaurant at Crown. There's also a good range of luxury label boutiques to test your credit limit. If you must leave the complex there are plenty of pedestrian-friendly bridges providing access to the humming Central Business District, including its much-vaunted network of lively laneaways, with the city's cultural precinct along St Kilda Road also within easy enough reach.
THE VERDICT
Whatever you think of James Packer (and opinions are diverse), Crown founder, owner and sometime amateur pugilist, knows how to create and operate a sophisticated hotel. Some of Crown Towers' original and alleged six stars may have lost a little of their glitter but it still ranks as one of Australia's best hotel experiences.
HIGHLIGHT
Considering it's essentially a casino complex, Crown Towers is way more tasteful and restrained that it should or could be.
LOWLIGHT
Despite the glitz heaped upon glitz, ultimately you are staying in a casino.
ESSENTIALS
Doubles at Crown Towers start from $299 per night. 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, Melbourne. Phone:(03) 9292 8888. See crownhotels.com.au
The writer was a guest of the hotel.
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