Melbourne’s Southbank precinct welcomes its newest arrival with the opening of Hannah St Hotel, a new boutique offering from Collection by TFE Hotels.
The $150 million purpose-built hotel is developed by Time & Place, in partnership with construction specialists Hickory, MaxCap Group and TFE Hotels, and forms part of the landmark Queensbridge precinct – a new mixed-use development designed to breathe new life into Southbank.
The property is also ideally positioned to complement the nearby $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation and elevate the area’s tourism, hospitality and cultural appeal.
Designed by interior architect David Flack and his Melbourne-based design team, Flack Studio, the 188-room hotel fuses art, architecture, music and hospitality.
“This site is incredible, and Hannah St will deliver an elevated and memorable hotel experience not only through the materiality and aesthetics of the design, but with the F&B and intuitive service on offer,” says David Flack of the triangular lot and facade, which draws comparisons to New York’s iconic Flatiron Building.
“We wanted to create a building that feels like it’s always been here. Something that’s part grand hotel, part underground bar, part cultural clubhouse – with spaces that feel layered and nostalgic, but completely of now.”
Throughout the hotel, guests will find hallmarks of the Flack Studio aesthetic through a mix of custom furniture, expressive colours, collectable art and bold materiality.
“The Flack Studio team of young professionals keep a healthy respect for the past and an eye to the future to deliver sophisticated and easy spaces to live and stay in, which is why we love working with them,” says Tim Price, Director of Time & Place. “Modern nostalgia is the feeling you get when you rediscover that familiar sense of home, and they understand how to incorporate this into the context of a hotel.”
Flack notes that his guiding design ethos is always shaped by the central idea to express the layered character of the building, the neighbourhood and Melbourne itself rather than replicate a single era, and adds that the resulting design of Hannah St Hotel is both nostalgic and futuristic.
He adds: “If you’d taken one of the grand buildings of New York and renovated it again and again over the decades – you’d end up with something layered, something refined. That’s what we’ve done here.
“It’s the definition of modern nostalgia. It feels old and contemporary – like the Chrysler Building. There is always a reverence in our work to spark memories, to take people somewhere they’ve been before, or somewhere they’ve always wanted to go.”
The Clubhouse is Hannah St Hotel’s dedicated space for lifestyle, movement and connection, spanning entire floors and including a sculptural black and white 25-metre lap pool, steam room, sauna, fully equipped gym, as well as a suite of wellness spaces.
Co-working studios, meeting rooms and breakaway lounges are also on offer for those mixing business with pleasure, and exclusive to in-house hotel guests and those residing in the Queensbridge building, The Clubhouse also features a rooftop garden terrace and a private Izakaya-style dining room.
