The Hotel Windsor Melbourne

The Hotel Windsor Melbourne

On a recent visit to Melbourne I had the pleasure of being a guest at The Hotel Windsor for two nights.

I was immediately absorbed with the grand Victorian architecture of the hotel building. The porter greeted me as I hopped of the shuttle bus and carried my bags inside to the impressive lobby, with comfy traditional seating, fresh flowers, a grand piano and original Ernest Buckmaster historic paintings.   

My Deluxe Room

The Hotel Windsor Melbourne is the most well known grand hotel still surviving from years gone by. The Hotel Windsor Melbourne's has 180 luxurious well appointed guest rooms, with a choice of Traditional, Superior, Deluxe rooms and Junior, Windsor, Victorian and Royal suites available. I stayed in the most luxurious hotel room type, the Deluxe Room.

The Gorgeous Drapes

I was impressed with the large room, the magnificent high ceilings, large marble bathroom stocked with toiletries from The White Company (UK), lounge area with large LCD TV and walk-in robe. I had a wonderful nights sleep in the comfy king sized bed using the pillows supplied on the bed, though I could have chosen from one of the 10 customised pillows from the Pillow Menu. The outstanding feature of the room? For me it was the gorgeous Victorian style curtains draping the large windows.

The Marble Bathroom

There is wireless internet access in the guest room which I effortlessly connected my laptop to. I used the tea and coffee making facilities, with the chilled milk from the mini-bar. Other facilities in the guest room that were available but I didn't use were the iPhone/ iPad docking station (as I do not have an iPhone or iPad), the working desk, mini-bar, and iron and ironing board.

Location

Adam Lindsay Gordon Statue
in front of The Hotel Windsor

The Hotel Windsor sits proudly in Spring Street Opposite Victoria’s Parliament House, the Old Treasury Building, and the Treasury Gardens. It is next to the Princess Theatre. The Hotel Windsor is easily accessed by private or public transport. Valet parking is available at the Hotel, in nearby parking stations, or on the surrounding streets. The underground Parliament Train Station and City Circle Tram Stop is outside. This is a free tram service that I often used during my stay at The Windsor to visit the tourist attractions in Melbourne. From the Airport the Skybus and Starbus have transfers to the Windsor. As I few to from Newcastle to Melbourne I used the Skybus Coach service from Tullamarine Airport to the Southern Cross Station, then the Skybus mini-bus transfer to The Hotel Windsor. I was surprised at how efficient Skybus was, as I only had to wait a few minutes for each transfer.

Dining

Part of the Breakfast Buffet

For dining at The Hotel Windsor the 111 Spring Street Restaurant is the place to be. It is open for breakfast, afternoon tea, pre-theatre dinner and dinner.

On my first morning I chose the Continental Breakfast, which was a scrumptious choice from a buffet of Pastries and bakery (Croissant, almond croissant, fruit Danish, fruit muffin, house-made banana bread, savoury, scones, organic sourdough, white bread, crumpets, wholemeal, English muffins, multi-grain seeded sourdough, Windsor jams and marmalade, Vegemite, local fresh honeycomb); Fresh fruit (whole and sliced seasonal fresh fruit, natural Greek style yoghurt with selected condiments including berry compote, stewed rhubarb, poached fruits, fruit and nut clusters, assorted nuts, dried berries and seeds); Cereal (All Bran, Cornflakes, Special K, Coco Pops, Weetbix, Rice Bubbles), Fresh juice (Orange, tomato, pineapple and apple); and Hot Drinks (Freshly brewed Lavazza filter coffee, espresso style coffee, hot chocolate, selection of specialty Windsor Teas).

Silverware & Fine China Breakfast

On the second morning I chose items from the extensive A La Carte menu - Freshly squeezed orange juice; Traditional Creamy Oat Porridge (with banana, dates, honey and pecans); Sweetcorn Fritters (roasted corn kernels, prosciutto, ricotta and fine herbs) and one of the Windsor Speciality Teas on offer -the Windsor Breakfasr Blend. Very enjoyable!

The Cricketers Bar features a $15 lunch special which also includes a meal and a beer, wine or soft drink. The Bar features an outstanding collection of cricketing memorabilia treasures, including photos of English and Australian teams from the 1800’s and 1900’s on the walls, a Sir Donald Bradman bat and memorabilia signed by Shane Warne.

A Brief History of The Hotel Windsor

Front Entrance of
The Hotel Windsor

This magnificent five star hotel of fine Victorian architecture was built in 1883. George Nipper built the hotel, then known as The Grand Hotel with architect Charles Webb designing it. The Hotel Windsor is actually older than many of the grand hotels of the Victorian era, including The Savoy, London (1889), The Plaza, New York, (1894), The Waldorf Astoria, New York (1894), the Hotel Ritz, Paris (1898) and The Raffles, Singapore (1887).

George Nipper sold the "Grand" to James Munro and James Balfour who doubled the size of the hotel, added the Grand Ballroom, the Grand Staircase, and the twin cupola-capped towers. They renamed it the Grand Coffee Palace, and for a brief period did not sell liquor.

The Hotel was sold in 1897, and once again sold liquor. A little known fact is that Australia's constitution was actually drafted at The Hotel Windsor between February and March 1898.

Grand Staircase of
The Hotel Windsor

The Hotel Windsor was bought by the Victorian Government in 1976 so that it would not be demolished. The Oberoi Group leased The Hotel Windsor in 1980 and purchased it in 1990. They renovated and refurbished to return it to its original splendour.

In November 2005 The Hotel Windsor was purchased by the Halim family. An extensive redevelopment and refurbishment of the hotel will commence next year.

It is interesting to look at some of the old photos of The Hotel Windsor that are on the historical display panels on the ground floor.

Famous Hotel Guests

Lobby of The Hotel Windsor

Many international celebrities, politicians and royalty have stayed at The Windsor over the years. Notable guests include Screen luminaries - Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Gregory Peck, Douglas Fairbanks, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep, Sir Laurence Olivier, Claudette Colbert; Entertainment Stars - Kylie Minogue, Barry Humphries, Dame Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann, Rudolph Nureyev, Dame Margot Fonteyn and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson; Sporting greats - Muhammad Ali, the Australian and English Cricket teams and Politicians - Former Australian Prime Ministers John Howard, Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Sir Rupert Hamer, Paul Keating and Sir Robert Menzies. Along with other notable politicians such as Governor Michael Dukakis.

Lobby & Grand Staircase

The aspect that I appreciated about my stay at The Hotel Windsor is that I was treated like one of the above famous celebrities. All the staff, including the porters, cleaners, restaurant waiters, and reception desk personnel were very friendly, helpful and professional. The high quality of the service provided by the staff matched the grandeur of the hotel building.

Meetings

Tram in front of The Windsor Hotel

The Hotel Windsor has a choice of six private function spaces available catering for 10 to 300 guests. Meetings, conferences, celebrations, weddings and private functions can be provided with a range of food and beverages. Internet and technical facilities are available.  

 

Packages

Various packages can be viewed on The Hotel Windsor website that provide wonderful opportunities to take advantage of staying in this grand Melbourne hotel.

Further Information

Website: http://www.thehotelwindsor.com.au/
Email: info@thw.com.au
Address: The Hotel Windsor, 111 Spring Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
Telephone: (+ 61 3) 9633 6000
Facsimile (+ 61 3) 9633 6001