W Melbourne hotel opens, adding to the city's luxury landscape

Marriott's W Melbourne hotel is now welcoming guests, bringing its "cool meets luxury" vibe to the $1.25 billion Collins Arch mixed-use precinct.

Housed in a New York-inspired building by Woods Bagot and NYC-based SHoP Architects, the W Melbourne extends its design cues from Melbourne's laneway culture into 294 guestrooms and suites, promising 'understated elegance' and 'curated design features' throughout each room.

A mid-tier Marvellous room at W Melbourne.

W Melbourne boasts 29 suites, including four spacious WOW Suites and the 15th-floor Extreme WOW Suite – with a 40sqm balcony, views of the Yarra River and an old-school jukebox, that's the hotel's take on the traditional presidential room.

A peek at the Extreme WOW suite at W Melbourne.

All guests can stir up a cocktail of choice at their private W MixBar and blast tunes through the 'high-quality sound system' – here's hoping the room soundproofing is up to scratch!

Regardless of the room you book, you're bound to find a modern space waiting for you: particularly in the 'Fabulous Rooms' that adopt a stylish yet futuristic design.

Four restaurants are on hand for Melbourne's culinary needs: Warabi seats just 30 diners and showcases the 'epitome of Japanese food'. Lollo will be under the culinary creative direction of a renowned local chef and will take diners from day to night and beyond, celebrating the chef's mixed heritage and unique approach to menu curation.

Culprit is a café-meets-wine-bar open for morning coffees to evening spritzes, and Curious is the bar to be at in the evenings.

W Melbourne's hotel bar is the place to be at night.

Offering light bites and a bespoke cocktail list, the bar is sure to be popular with locals and visitors alike, once Melbourne's current five-day lockdown concludes.

The fitness centre and pool, called FIT and WET, respectively, are found on the 14th floor. Working out doesn't have to be boring, as the indoor pool has a poolside bar and DJ booth.

Finally, there is over 830 sqm of meeting and event space at guests' disposal. The jewel of the hotel is the 426 sqm pillarless ballroom with abundant daylight and a 4m x 5m LED wall.

Collins Arch bestrides the south-western end of Collins Street, presenting a pair of tapered 164-meter towers connected by an elevated sky bridge. Keeping company with the W Melbourne will be 184 luxury apartments and nearly 50,000sqm of commercial office space.

W Melbourne will make its home in the soaring, stunning Collins Arch building.

Its location puts the W Melbourne close to Flinders St Station, the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, and Southern Cross Station for easy access to the airport.

Out the front of W Melbourne.

The W Hotel Melbourne is a Category 6 property when it comes to redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points, so you'll need between 36,000 and 60,000 points per night for a standard room depending on the season.

Additional reporting by Chris Chamberlin.

Brandon Loo

Based in Perth, Brandon enjoys tucking into local delicacies, discovering new cocktails, and making aeroplane food look good on camera.