02The story

01

Melbourne argues about coffee, football and the correct order of a scone, and The Langham has taken a firm position on the last of these. Afternoon tea runs seven days a week at Aria Bar & Lounge, with JING teas and a constituency of its own. The hotel calls itself the unofficial home of the ritual in this city and nobody local appears inclined to contest it.

The setting earns its keep as well. From 1 Southgate Avenue the Yarra is directly outside, the arts precinct sits behind and the city grid is one bridge away, which turns the walk home along the water into a small event. River-facing rooms keep that view indoors. Chuan Spa, with an indoor pool, sauna and steam room, supplies the counterweight in a city that expects visitors to walk a great deal.

02

One bridge from the centre

Southbank puts the hotel on the promenade side of the Yarra, which is the better side for walking and the worse side for pretending to be busy. The arts precinct is immediately behind, the laneways of the grid are a bridge away and the river connects the two without requiring a decision. Melbourne is a city best understood on foot, and this address removes most of the reasons to take a tram anywhere.

03

River rooms and one residence

Deluxe River and River Corner Rooms take the obvious pleasure and make it the point, with the Yarra and the skyline arranged across the glass. Terrace categories add somewhere to sit outside and watch the same thing happen more slowly. Then there is The Residence by Kerrie Hess, an apartment given over to the artist’s pink and white world, which is either exactly right or emphatically not, and appears to know it.

04

Aria, Melba and the scones

Aria Bar & Lounge is the centre of gravity here: coffee in the morning, afternoon tea every day of the week and cocktails once the light comes off the water. Melba handles breakfast, laid out as a buffet with the Yarra and the towers beyond it. Below, Chuan Spa keeps an indoor pool, a sauna and a steam room for the afternoon when Melbourne has been walked far enough.

03Highlights

What sets it apart.

The signature moment

Three in the afternoon at Aria. The stand comes out, the JING tea is poured and the scones settle the argument for another day. Through the window a tram crosses the bridge and the light shifts on the water. Nobody in the room appears to have anywhere else to be.

01Southbank beside the Yarra
02Afternoon tea seven days weekly
03Deluxe River and Corner Rooms
04The Residence by Kerrie Hess
05Chuan Spa and indoor pool

04COUTURE by Langham

Here, as a preferred guest.

01
Breakfast for two, every morning
Breakfast for two each morning, at the hotel’s own table: the first privilege of the day and the one most worth taking slowly.Breakfast in Marylebone, on the Chicago River or on Fifth Avenue, before the city has woken.
02
A hotel credit to spend
A credit held in your name at the hotel, to spend as the stay suggests: a table, a treatment, an evening at the bar.A credit to spend at the bar, the spa or dinner at your Langham.
03
A room above your booking
An upgrade to the category above, so the room you return to each evening outranks the one on the confirmation.The room above the one reserved, whether it looks over Regent Street or the river.
04
An earlier arrival
Check-in before the house’s usual hour: the overnight flight lands, the car draws up and the first day begins in your room.The room ready for a morning arrival, ahead of the house’s usual hour.
05
A later departure
Check-out after the house’s usual hour, so the last morning is spent as the first was: at the table, by the pool or simply in the room.A last unhurried morning in Marylebone or beside the river before the car comes.
06
Known before you arrive
VIP recognition as a guest of the house: your preferences and the occasion known to the hotel before the door is opened for you.Your occasion and preferences reach the hotel through COUTURE’s dedicated partner support, ahead of you.
07
Offers for preferred guests
The offers a programme keeps for its own preferred guests, extended to a Dip Needle booking and shown beside the rate for your dates.COUTURE’s preferred offers for your dates, set beside the rate in the proposal.