The brand is one of three new branded properties established by visionary hotelier, Barry Sternlicht, the man behind Starwood Capital that built a brace of well-known brands including Westin, W and St. Regis, all of which were ultimately sold to Marriott International.
Operating as SH Hotels and Resorts, Sternlicht has developed a range of luxury brands – 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, Treehouse Hotels and SH Collection, but 1 Hotels is the group’s first foray into the Australian market.
1 Hotel Melbourne will have 277 rooms plus 114 residences on a site that has been home to the Missions To Seamen and is often referred to as Seafarers.
The hotel will also have a 1,000-seat function space, even though the MCEC is just a short walk across the Yarra via a nearby pedestrian bridge. As part of the development project the hotel retained the historic goods shed and the crane that used to load and unload ships’ holds when the river was navigable that far upstream.
The property also includes a 3,500m2 public park, which forms part of Melbourne’s Green Wedge beside the river.
A major feature of the 1 Hotels brand is what they call “ecoluxury”, its sustainability promise. Their ecoluxury approach includes using wood instead of plastic, no plastic bottles and a range of other sustainable practices and partnerships.
