Review: Vibe Hotel Melbourne punches above its weight for the price

I'm in the Fletcher Suite, rooms with a view, although this is not immediately apparent as I enter via the lounge/kitchen. There's a TV, couch, coffee table, coffee maker, kettle and a fridge full of intriguing local goodies including Brick Lane Lager and Pale Ale, 23 Twenty Third St distillery gin, StrangeLove Low-Cal smoked cola, Minor Figures coffee, cocoa and milk, Murray River salted caramel and wine.

The desk by a window has river views, but this is a mere teaser to the main game, the bedroom, which offers vistas right down the Yarra, across to the MCG and over to the NGV - the floor-to-ceiling viewing eclipsing anything on offer on the wall-mounted TV. There's a wardrobe with ample hanging space, a safe, iron and board. The bathroom has a bath, rainshower, double vanities and Enriched bath products. At night I enjoy the big city lights from my plush nest while the morning sun fills the room with a golden glow, making the brass highlights pop.

STEPPING OUT

So where to first? On your doorstep are the city's famed laneways, the six historic theatres in the East End Theatre District, the Yarra, the NGV, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, restaurants, bars, footy or tennis. You can walk just about everywhere but if you'd rather not, jump on a free CBD tram.

For shopping head to Melbourne Central, the Block Arcade in Collins Street for more boutique options, or to the seriously beautiful 1920s Cathedral Arcade in Swanston Street, which is all art deco stained glass and leadlight. Here you'll find treasures at Vintage Sole and magical items at Muses of Mystery upstairs, a perfect appetiser for one of the hottest tickets in town, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, at the very Potter-esque Princess Theatre.

But I have a date: a catch-up with a friend who has a love of fashion - the perfect companion to take to the Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto at the NGV, also a short walk away. I arrive early so pop across the road to enjoy the sun with Paul Montford's Water Nymph, John Olsen's Frog and several ducks in the Queen Victoria Gardens. The Chanel exhibition, which premiered in Paris in 2020, showcases more than 100 pieces of the designer's clothing, plus jewellery, accessories and perfume in its first international outing. The clothes are exquisite, and tell a story of women's changing roles as well as fashion, and we hear gasps of appreciation ahead of us as we wander through the exhibit. My friend points out how the clever stitching makes every skirt flatter and dance while I'm intrigued by the designer's chunky cuff jewellery.

Next stop is in front of a tiered cake stand at a High Tea in the gallery's Level One Tea Rooms, where the mix of tiny pastries and sandwiches seem to have been inspired by Chanel's delicacy and craftsmanship. To continue this theme, we wander up Collins Street - the Paris end of course.

THE FOOD

This being central Melbourne, there's no shortage of excellent food, drinks and coffee in the streets and laneways nearby, but I'm heading further afield to Hawthorn, where Ocha (ocha.com.au), an excellent Japanese restaurant that did a thriving takeaway trade during lockdown, is open for business. Favourites are carpaccio of porterhouse and the crunchy prawn ball - cooked prawn with leeks, rice flakes and matcha salt.

It's rare to write home about the quality of hotel food but the breakfasts at the Vibe's in-house St Marks Road Co are far from ordinary (avocado bruschetta with coconut labneh, crispy curry leaf chickpeas, puffed rice, pine nut pesto on sourdough or cold smoked salmon, sous vide eggs avocado, preserved lemon, cream fraiche, cucumber salad, caper dust on rye). A room service dinner of crispy skin barramundi, olive tomato sugo, croquet potato and citrus salad is exceptional.

THE VERDICT

This hotel may be priced more as a four-star but punches well above its weight and is the perfect central solution for a weekend away.

THE ESSENTIALS

Vibe Hotel Melbourne, 1 Queen Street. From $235 a night; Fletcher Suite from $450, including Wi-Fi. See https://vibehotels.com/

The original two-part production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on at the Princess Theatre, Spring Street, until March 27. The reimagined one-part production starts in May. See harrypottertheplay.com

The Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto at the NGV is on until April 25. See ngv.vic.gov.au

HIGHLIGHT

The hotel's welcoming and efficient staff and the central location.

LOWLIGHT

Thinking of grabbing a taxi or Uber for a short trip? Forget it. COVID-19 has lured many off trams and trains and into cars, making Melbourne traffic a bit of a nightmare. It's almost always quicker to walk.

Jane Richards was a guest of the Vibe, Melbourne, Cultural Attractions of Australia and the NGV.