The Australian state of Victoria is launching a startling array of new premium hotels, restaurants, experiences and events this year, in time for the anticipated increase in visitors in 2021-22.

Melbourne has an enviable number of attractions, but perhaps best of all is its exquisite café culture found in the intimate laneways of the city, as well as an extraordinary choice of restaurants and cuisines. Here are 12 of the best new attractions in Melbourne and beyond. 

ACCOMMODATION

The W Hotel chain opened its first property in Melbourne in February. W Melbourne features 294 rooms and suites, along with a bar, restaurant, spa, gym and a heated indoor pool. The new hotel is located in the towering new precinct Collins Arch on Collins Street, with the hotel lobby located on Flinders Lane, the hugely popular gastronomical precinct.

W Hotel Melbourne  408 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Located in Melbourne's cultural hub of South Yarra, right near the famed intersection of Toorak Road and Chapel Street, is the latest addition to Ovolo Group's collection of ever-growing hotels, Ovolo South Yarra. With 123 rooms and suites, it claims to blend past, present and progressive, to create a place where retro-chic and pop-art meet. Guests and diners can experience a unique Ovolo kitchen and bar concept inspired by fresh, locally sourced produce.

Ovolo South Yarra  230 Toorak Road, South Yarra 

The Hilton brand has returned to Melbourne with the opening of a centrally located property on the corner of Little Queen Street and Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD. The Hotel Melbourne Little Queen Street features 244 stylish guest rooms including 10 spacious suites, a restaurant and bar, a fully equipped gym, an executive lounge and five meeting and event spaces. The Hilton is located in the Equity Chambers building, which dates back to 1931 and is known for its beautiful revival architectural style and Italian Romanesque and Gothic detailing.

Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street  18 Little Queen Street, Melbourne

Destined to be an attraction in its own right as the tallest hotel in Australia, The Ritz-Carlton will open in Melbourne later this year. Upon arrival guests will enter the hotel lobby via the porte-cochere and take an elevator directly to the hotel's sky check-in on level 79, offering panoramic views across Melbourne's CBD and beyond. Featuring 263 luxury hotel suites with quality finishes and furniture, guests will enjoy state-of-the-art bathrooms, jaw-dropping views, and luxurious amenities including day spa, restaurants and bars, concierge services, function rooms, business centre, 500-seat grand ballroom and outdoor garden terrace.

westsideplace.com.au/the-ritz-carlton  250 Spencer Street, Melbourne

CULINARY

The new 80 Collins development in the heart of Melbourne's city centre is set to become a dining destination in its own right. Along with a 255-room Next Hotel, the precinct will be home to new premium restaurants. Chef Alejandro Saravia, from laneway restaurant Pastuso and widely credited with introducing Peruvian cuisine to Australia, will open a new farm-to-table eatery that celebrates the best of the Gippsland region. Farmer's Daughters will feature across three-floors, offering an array of options, including a ground-floor deli, main dining room and a rooftop space.

80collins.com.au  80 Collins Street, Melbourne 

Five years since first opening, Yarra Valley's Levantine Hill Estate is set to open its new $20 million winery development by acclaimed architect Karl Fender. The spectacular new building, which incorporates the highest levels of environmentally sustainable principles, will serve as a state-of-the art winemaking facility and brand showcase to the world. The three levels will include a winery, display and events space, as well as wine tasting and presentation areas.

Levantine Hill Estate – New Cellar Door  882 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream

Grazeland is Melbourne's most exciting new culinary destination: a playground for foodies and families that brings tantalising food and entertainment together in one location. Situated 5km from Melbourne's city centre, the new gastronomical precinct will provide a rotating weekly festival featuring live performances, roving entertainers and a lively atmosphere that highlights Melbourne's celebrated food culture.

Grazeland  Booker Street, Spotswood

Lakes Entrance Slipway will be a culinary and cultural delight featuring some of Gippsland's best producers who have never had a physical shopfront. Years of hard work have finally come together to deliver a vibrant pop-up retail community at the Lakes Entrance Slipway. Enjoy tastings from renowned Sailor's Grave Brewing, whose beers are unique, sometimes challenging but always with nuance and subtle layers of complexity.

slipwaylakesentrance.com.au

EXPERIENCES

ACMI, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, reopened this year following a $34.8 million development. One of the country's most progressive cultural icons, Australia's museum of film, TV, videogames, digital culture and video art is the most visited moving image museum in the world. As part of the new design, ACMI's Federation Square home has been stripped back to reveal a spacious, light-filled interior. The reimagined space will feature emerging technologies and transformative architecture, combined to create a globally connected museum of the future.

ACMI  Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne 

Due to be completed by Parks Victoria later this year, the Grampians Peaks Trail will be a once-in-a-lifetime 13-day hike through the backbone of a mountain range famed for its dramatic scenery and Aboriginal heritage. The 160-kilometre trail, located three hours west of Melbourne, will stretch the length of the Grampians National Park and feature dramatic mountain peaks, rugged rocky outcrops, unforgettable panoramas and the ancient Aboriginal heritage of Gariwerd. Stage one is already open with a 36-kilometre, 3 days/2 nights, hike through the rugged interior of the national park, beginning and ending in Halls Gap.

Grampians Peaks Trail 

Wildlife Wonders is a unique ecotourism experience and social enterprise that will offer visitors to the Great Ocean Road unsurpassed opportunities to observe and photograph the native animals of the area in a natural, predator-free setting. Set on a spectacular 20-hectare property just west of Apollo Bay, the attraction will be the first of its kind on the iconic Great Ocean Road. Accompanied by a qualified conservationist guide, visitors will be able to see koalas, potoroos, bandicoots and kangaroos in their natural habitats, with a spectacular ocean view in the background. The experience has been designed and created by Brian Massey, who was the Greens Master for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, art director of The Hobbit and landscape designer of the highly successful Hobbiton in New Zealand.

Wildlife Wonders

EVENTS

Taking the place of the Melbourne International Arts Festival and White Night Melbourne, RISING is a major cultural event for the Asia-Pacific Region created by a diverse team of local, national and international artists and curators. The inaugural festival will take place 26 May – 6 June 2021, beginning on the evening of the total lunar eclipse in May.

RISING

Main pictures from top: Melbourne with St Kilda Beach foreground, Hardware Lane, Yarra River at night, suburb of St Kilda, ACMI, Grampians National Park. Photos courtesy of Visit Victoria.

Thumbnail photos © Barry Barford

Useful links

​visitvictoria.com