In the latter part of last century, Melbourne’s inner south was the epicentre of its youth culture and Fitzroy Street – with its grand old George Hotel, cafes, bars and late-night clubs of varying respectability – attracted a mix of bohemians, backpackers, sex workers, musicians and assorted characters.
These days, the city’s cool crowd may have migrated north to Fitzroy, Collingwood and Brunswick, but St Kilda has never entirely surrendered its rock’n’roll soul.
Fitzroy Street, though, had been off the boil for some years, given over to closed shopfronts and unsavoury elements.
After closing in 2015, the legendary Esplanade Hotel (AKA The Espy, not quite on Fitzroy Street but just around the corner), reopened in 2018 after a spectacular transformation that, some might argue, filed away its rough edges.
In 2021, the street gained a significant cultural landmark when Australia’s first purpose-built LGBTQIA+ community hub, the Victorian Pride Centre, was established.
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The Saint Hotel too will reopen next month after undergoing a transformation which has been punctuated by periods of closure. New operators hope to turn its fortunes around.
Meanwhile, The Prince is being reinvigorated under DJ, music producer and hospitality entrepreneur Grant Smillie, with renewed emphasis on its live music heritage.
It’s not a return to the gloriously grungy St Kilda of old, but as other new hospitality and residential projects take shape along the strip, it seems as if it’s the beginning of a new groove.
And Novotel, which once occupied a prime beachfront site on The Esplanade, is back taking over the former Saint Kilda Beach Hotel on Fitzroy Street.
The former Novotel St Kilda was demolished to make way for the luxury Saint Moritz apartments in 2019, but the brand’s new incarnation is a more intimate affair, with 80 rooms and a $15 million transformation.
The hotel, previously operated as Rydges St Kilda, has undergone a comprehensive redesign with public spaces by Rebecca Trenorden of Versa and guestrooms and corridors by Dezign.
At the heart of the hotel is a reworked internal garden atrium, which brings natural light into the building and connects its public spaces.
The ground floor is designed to engage locals as well as visitors, with the new Urban Kitchen & Bar which can accommodate up to 120 diners and includes private dining spaces.
There’s also a flexible coworking area, while conference and event facilities cater for groups of up to 140. A rooftop event space adds a fresh-air dimension.
Post refurbishment, its developer Erdi has donated furniture and fittings from the old Saint Kilda Beach Hotel to the Sacred Heart Mission and written cheques for local charities.
Some things about St Kilda remain constant: the beach, St Kilda Pier, the Palais Theatre, Luna Park and trams that connect the neighbourhood to central Melbourne.
And whatever its changing fortunes, there’s still nowhere else in Melbourne quite like it.
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