This was published 11 years ago
Height of luxury: Australia's top five hotel suites
Huge rooms, unsurpassed views, private butlers, even a $9000 toilet - Ute Junker takes a look what Australia's most exclusive hotel suites have to offer.
Chairman's Villa
Where: Crown Towers, Melbourne
How much: $27,500 per night
What it buys you:
The Chairman's Villa is big. Really big. The total area is more than 1000 square metres, but that doesn't explain how large it is. This place is Alice in Wonderland big: everything about it seems designed to make you feel small.
The Chairman's Villa at Crown Towers is big. Really big. The total area is more than 1000 square metres.
Take, for example, the corridor that leads to the bedrooms – it's larger than some people's living rooms. It contains three overhead lights and four armchairs, in case you get tired on the way to bed. The custom-made bed itself is also huge – covering more than four square metres, it's considerably larger than a king size bed, its pillows and cushions stuffed with 100 per cent down.
There's a private gym and a massage room with satin curtain walls, and Axminster carpets that have been hand carved with a razor blade. The feel is old-style movie-star glamour, with neutral tones highlighted by black leather panelling and the type of sleek art-deco lines you might expect to find on a super-yacht.
Still, $27,000 is a year's worth of rent. Would an accountant say it's worth the money? Actually, they might. The villa is stuffed with precious pieces – from an elegant Eames desk chair that sells for around $8000, to an artwork by Australian artist Marie Hagarty that wouldn't leave much change from $20,000. Add it all together, and by some standards, it qualifies as a bargain.
Sydney Suite
Where: Park Hyatt, Sydney
How much: $16,000 per night
What it buys you:
Everyone knows that in Sydney, it's all about the harbour, which is why the Park Hyatt – perched on the waterfront between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge - has long held the title of most glamorous lodging in Sydney. When the hotel reopened after a $60 million upgrade earlier this year, it had something else to boast about: its new two-bedroom Sydney Suite.
The Sydney Suite is spacious – 350 square metres, complete with indoor/outdoor dining for up to eight people, a fully-equipped kitchen, five TVs, a sauna, a fireplace, and 24-hour butler service. But what really sets the Sydney Suite apart, of course, is the magnificent views.
Wherever you stand or sit in the suite, the floor to ceiling glass walls offer gobsmacking harbour vistas. If you're lying in bed or lounging on your private terrace, you'll have postcard-perfect views of the Opera House. Even the bathroom – which comes not only with an oversized tub, but also a dry sauna and a steam room – has front-and-centre views of the Harbour Bridge. The view isn't the most remarkable thing in the room, however, - that would be the $9000 toilet, which plays music and has an inbuilt seat warmer, massager and deodoriser.
Penthouse Suite
Where: The Darling, Sydney
How much: Around $12,000
What it buys you:
How do you like to wake up in the morning? If you're staying in the penthouse suites at The Darling, the five-star hotel attached to The Star casino, you can program your ideal wake-up: whether that's the TV switching itself on, or the curtains gliding slowly open to let the sunshine in.
Other high-tech touches include a system that switches to energy-saving mode when you leave the room, and when you come back, turns on the lights and opens the curtains for you. However, what really sets these suites apart is not the technology, nor the size (anywhere between 185 and 235 square metres), nor even the lilac-tinted sheets and towels.
The first thing that sets them apart is the range of dining options. Guests in the Penthouse Suites enjoy 24-hour butler service, and one of the things your butler is happy to do is organise a takeaway meal from one of The Star's restaurants. Given that these are helmed by such culinary heavyweights as Stefano Manfredi at Balla, Teague Ezard at Black and Chase Kojima at Sokyo , that's a pretty swish substitute for room service.
And the other thing that sets these suites apart? Each one has a private gaming salon, where guests can play blackjack or whichever game takes their fancy at any time of day or night, without having to travel to the adjoining casino.
Stamford Suite
Where: Stamford Plaza, Brisbane
How much: $4000
What it buys you:
The baby grand piano in the Stamford Suite has been tinkled by many a muso – everyone from Elton John and Justin Timberlake to Keith Urban and Neil Diamond – but it's the instrument's connection with the Twilight saga that leaves teenage girls breathless. According to the story, it was while staying in the Stamford Suite that Stevie Nicks composed the music to Moonlight, her contribution to the Twlight soundtrack – recording the melody on her iPhone.
Twilight connections aside, the Stamford Suite is definitely old-school glamour: think four-poster beds, pure silk walls and elegant antiques. We suspect Queen Elizabeth II felt quite at home during her recent stay.
It has all the five-star touches you'd expect, including a separate dressing room. In keeping with five-star tradition, the marble bathroom has floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a gorgeous view over the river. Our favourite touch, however, is the private open-air terrace, which comes complete with a fireplace, to keep the chill off on those winter nights.
Imperial Suite
Where: Sofitel Melbourne
How much: $4000
What it buys you:
Check into this 160-square-metre suite on the 50th floor of Melbourne's Sofitel, and you're in lofty company indeed: Prince Edward was the first person to sleep here when the suite was introduced. Every room in this sky-high eyrie has a view, but it's what's inside the suite that makes it special, at least for us.
For a start, it's not every hotel room that has its own Brett Whitely limited edition print. The bathroom has a circular spa tub – pretty standard for this type of lodging, but the gold mosaic surrounds set it apart, while the Aquavision screen means you can watch your favourite show in the bath without worrying about it fogging up.
The furnishings are elegant and tactile – think leather chairs, American oak and granite benches – and if you're in the mood for entertaining, there's dining for eight guests under a spectacular chandelier. Not into cooking? That's okay - your butler can help prepare the meal in the suite's pantry.
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