The StandardX Hotel Could Be Melbourne’s Coolest Stay
Standard? This spirited new hotel in buzzing Fitzroy is anything but.
“Quite a lot of Fitzroyalty comes in,” says the waitress at Bang, the pan-Asian restaurant at The StandardX, as she delivers a plate of breakfast prawn siu mai dumplings. Turns out that Melbourne’s edgiest residents – the people of Fitzroy and surrounds – congregate in the area to shop for vintage clothes at The Rose St. Artists’ Market or grab a dim sim and a pint at the nearby Punters Club. Now the “Fitzroyals” have a hotel to match their title.
The first “cool little sibling” for the global Standard brand (there’s also a Bangkok outpost) opened its doors last August and made an impression immediately. Dreamed up by local design firm Hecker Guthrie, the property’s entry is through an unmissable fire-engine-red revolving door, which leads to a lobby that’s all terrazzo flooring, candy-striped lounges and macramé-wrapped pillars. Many people come just to hang out at Bang – it’s open all day so you can do round-the-clock noodles, cocktails or both – while those who book one of the 125 guestrooms find they’re compact but filled with very Melbourne touches: works from local artist Jane Sinclair, a Frank Green French press coffee maker and fuzzy stools shaped like macarons.
But perhaps the most enticing feature is the top-floor outdoor terrace just for guests, known as The Roof. The Victorian capital’s weather isn’t always conducive to spending time alfresco but on a sunny day, this rust-and-terracotta space, with olive trees and kangaroo paw, is one of the city’s coolest spots to settle in. Even if you’re not Fitzroyalty, you’ll feel like it as you gaze across the rooftops below.
