Apartment living in Melbourne is set to transform as a number of international hotel brands forge their way down under. One project, in particular, will see residents have unlimited access to the hotel’s unique amenities, five-star services, management and maintenance.
Located on the banks of the Yarra River and forming part of Riverlee’s $500 million mixed-use Seafarers precinct, Seafarers Residences will be an exclusive collection of 123 premium riverfront apartments and will offer residents unlimited access to the luxury amenities and services of Australia’s first 1 Hotel, including a state-of-the-art wellness centre; spa, swimming pool, sauna, full-service fitness centre and retail and hospitality selections.
À la carte services will also be available on-demand, from private catering, and organic pantry stocking to ongoing personal shopping services, botanical care, pet services, dry-cleaning, pharmacy and in-room dining. Residents can opt-in for eco conscious housekeeping and linen services, or even in-house massage, personal training or beauty treatments and packages.
In addition to a 24-hour concierge, access control and bellman services, residents will have exclusive owner privileges extending across 1 Hotels globally, granted priority status for hotel room reservations at special resident rates and room upgrades based on availability, as well as residential signing privileges across hotel restaurants and recreation facilities.
Speaking to the luxury residences on offer, Director of Colliers International Residential Brett Griffith said Seafarers Residences are unlike anything the Melbourne apartment market has seen.
“Seafarers unique riverfront location, oversized residences and waterfront views coupled with the services offered by 1 Hotel brings a truly rare offering. As Melbourne’s high-end apartment market continues to mature, the market now recognises the scarcity of genuine luxury quality opportunities.”
Alongside the hotel perks, residents will also have access to exclusive residents-only amenities, including a 500sqm rooftop garden terrace, dining rooms, library and a private lounge – all managed and immaculately maintained by the hotel - in addition to a sprawling 3,500sqm public park, known as Seafarers Rest.
Located next to the Mission to Seafarers building on Flinders Street, the proposed Seafarers Rest park design will pay homage to the site’s rich maritime history and provide a place for rest and relaxation, as well as exercise and play, while also improving pedestrian and bicycle access, ultimately acting as a vital link between Birrarung Marr and Docklands.
Riverlee Development Director David Lee said Seafarers Rest provides a unique opportunity to design a new waterfront park for the city.
“The northern part of the Yarra River has been under-utilised for over 40 years and in some ways, forgotten about. The proposed design seeks to inject new life and activity into the riverfront by creating a place for the community, designed by the community themselves,” he said.
Forming part of the City of Melbourne’s Open Place Strategy, Seafarers Rest has been expertly designed by landscape architects Oculus and the current design, as it stands, is in response to an initial community engagement survey where close to 100 respondents in the local community shared their needs and aspirations for the new space.
Understanding the significance of the site’s history as the most used wharf on Melbourne’s Yarra River waterfront, Seafarers Rest will look to incorporate relevant existing objects connected to the site, along with some new design elements and materials that reference the site’s past.
As part of Riverlee’s commitment to urban renewal and the site’s history, the wharf, which dates back to the immediate post-war era, has also undergone significant refurbishment alongside the restoration of Melbourne’s last-remaining original electric crane and the Goods Shed No 5.
Originally located on the west end of the historic Goods Shed No. 5, through additional investment and effort, Riverlee opted to relocate the restored crane to the east end as a means of making the crane more publicly accessible and to integrate with Seafarers Rest.
As the last remaining waterfront opportunity in the CBD, it is fair to say the Seafarers site was deserving of something extraordinary and through 1 Hotel, Seafarers Residences and Seafarers Rest, the site will once again come alive, reminiscent of the buzzing port that came before it.
“1 Hotel & Homes is renowned for fusing luxury with responsibility and it’s a brand unlike anything Melbourne has seen before,” said David Lee.
“It seemed only fitting to partner with a hotel brand that values sustainability with the utmost importance — a brand that inspires residences, hotel guests, and visitors to live better by using less and as a developer, inspires us to deliver something that is not only sympathetic to the history of the site but supports long term ecological balance,” he said.
Seafarers Residences is being exclusively sold by Colliers International and offers a selection of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. For more information, please contact 1300 308 295 or visit the website here
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