The over ten years old Crown Complex on Melbourne’s Yarra River is growing larger with a new hotel tower being built to bring the guest’s room total to 1600. FRV checks in to see more.

Text by Emma Westwood

Regardless of the time of day, date or weather, there’s one place beating at the heart of Melbourne that’s guaranteed to attract a crowd: Crown Entertainment Complex. This modern megalith, cascading along the Yarra River foreshore, represents a significant juncture in Melbourne’s awakening as an international player.

Normally an understated, culturally-refined city, the opening of Crown provided Melbourne with an opulent drawcard, attracting the global glitterati like moths to a flame. In the ten years Crown has graced the city, guests have incorporated the likes of Elton John, Bill Clinton, Andrea Bocelli, Bill Gates, Luciano Pavarotti and Stevie Wonder; its shows/ productions have eclipsed the 1000-mark, and its tenants included the most highly-venerated designer names, such as Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Versace.

When Crown’s gas-jets sent flames leaping skywards for the first time at its permanent location in 1997, not everyone was cheering. Many considered Crown a blight on the local social and cultural landscape; one of those consciencious objectors being actress Rachel Griffiths who famously ran through the complex topless on its opening night.

Despite such impassioned protests, Crown has managed to weave itself into Melbourne’s urban fabric to the point that, as previously stated, there is never a time when its cavernous interiors are empty. A stroll across the gaming floor is comparable at 4am to 4pm – the same razzle-dazzle and flashing lights, the same jackpot ‘zings’ and ‘dings’, although you need to take our word for it because privacy regulation means Crown’s gaming areas are never filmed or photographed. High rollers are granted membership to the exclusive Mahogany Room, which offers the ultimate in luxury and excess.

Crown’s General Manager of Public Relations, Ann Peacock, is quick to point out the venue’s importance as part of the city tapestry: “The Melbourne identity revolves around quality dining opportunities, excellence in retail, variety in entertainment and events, first class hotels, and a city known for its friendliness. Crown has managed to capture all of these elements and created the largest and most successful entertainment complex unlike anything else in the Southern Hemisphere,” she says. “Crown’s energetic commitment to fine and varied dining options, and its passion for involvement in those things that make Melbourne unique, such as the Grand Final and the Spring Racing Carnival, have ensured that Crown has become uniquely Melbourne.”

In the decade Crown has presided over the city, it has hosted occasions in support of Melbourne’s most high profile events/organisations: the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Ball, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Australian Football League clubs, the Australian Cricket Association, the Spring Racing Carnival, the annual TV Week Logie Awards and the internationally acclaimed IMG Australian Open Tennis Party. Ann Peacock names the KOALA Foundation Million Dollar Lunch and Ilhan Food Allergies Foundation Rainbow Ball as two of her highlights at Crown over the years, where a combined total of over AUS$3 million was raised.

While humility is not one of Crown’s greatest qualities, there may be a couple of ‘secrets’ that are not generally known about this decadent dame. For instance, did you realise Crown was the founder of an electronic version of Roulette called ‘Rapid Roulette’ where players place bets on their own personal touch screen? This invention has been adopted by casinos the world over.

Not only that, but Crown salvaged a very important cargo from a sunken wreck that now hides under lock and key at the Number Eight restaurant. Two thousand bottles of the 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole ‘Gout Americain’ champagne found their resting place on the bottom of the ocean off Finland after the vessel in which they were being transported was brought down by a German U-boat in 1916. This precious cargo was originally intended for the Russian Imperial Army, but rested in its watery cellar until 1997 when the bottles were brought to the surface and purchased by private collectors around the world – a few making their way to Crown Casino. While we sniffed at its label-less and somewhat musty smelling bottle, actually popping the cork of one would have set us back a cool AUS$13,000.

“New to the complex is celebrated chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill, and Nobu, the world’s most recognised Japanese restaurant made famous by its celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa,” explains Ann Peacock about the Casino’s enviable list of restaurants. “There are also the new additions of Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons, and Bistro Guillaume, both were Gourmet Traveller’s nominees for Best New Restaurant in Victoria.”

The Casino’s prestigious Crown Towers hotel is touted as ‘six-star’ and continues to collect award-upon-award for luxury accommodation. The ‘business hotel’, Crown Promenade, with ‘sky-walk’ directly into the gaming areas, complements Crown Towers, and a yet-to-be-named ‘third tower’ hotel that won’t open until 2010 will bring the complex’s capacity to more than 1600 guest rooms. This new property adjacent to the Crown Entertainment Complex will be the largest hotel in Australia and is estimated to cost a whopping AUS$300 million by the time of its completion.

Watching this construction take place provides startling visual evidence that Crown’s footprint just keeps getting bigger. For the likes of Rachel Griffiths, who was willing to go to extremes in order to voice her contempt for Crown, its success is something of a kick to the head, or maybe just another stark reminder that there is no stopping progress. As graceful as Melbourne may be, Crown is as ‘Las Vegas’ as they come, and she who shouts loudest is sure to get the most attention.

www.crowntowers.com.au
www.crowncasino.com.au

Related posts:

1. Urban Resort: Crown Plaza Singapore
   Whether you are a tired transit traveller, on a no-nonsense business trip, or just craving quiet accommodation away from the...
2. Scandinavian Beauty: Svarmisk Apartments
   Three or so hours north of Melbourne at Mt Beauty – just shy of Falls Creek’s famous ski fields –...
3. Let It Snow: Huski – Falls Creek, Victoria, Australia
   As the weather cools in the great southern land and the snows begin to fall, FRV’s Australian correspondent, Emma Westwood,...
4. The Complex Simplicity of Il Ristorante – Bvlgari Bali
   The name Bulgari has been a style setter for over one hundred years in making jewelery and luxury designer goods....
5. Reach For The Sky: Eureka Tower, Melbourne
   The world’s tallest residential building has landed in the center of Melbourne. FRV checks the site and finds a 92...