Real men stay at The Langham Hotel – those not afraid of pink. Think pink roses, pink stationery, pink chocolates and even pink tennis balls, but it’s touches of pink without transforming the hotel into a fairy floss palace.

Text by Emma Westwood

The Langham incorporates the colour pink chicly into its embellishments, maintaining the classicism expected from a five-star hotel, but with a peppering of romance that takes it beyond the usual chain-hotel homogeny. But, the hotel has also managed to take that romantic aspect one step further, with the recent introduction of a feature unique among Melbourne hotel rooms: 50 metre square private balcony rooms, perched way, way up high in the sky.

While hotel rooms with balconies are not uncommon, it’s important to point out Langham’s Club Terrace Room balconies are huge. In fact, they take the cake for being the largest offered by any five-star hotel in Melbourne. Equipped with city panoramas – thanks to the position of the hotel on the Southbank side of the Yarra River – it is not just a pleasure but more of a privilege to be able to recline on your own private sun lounge or indulge in room ‘silver’ service by moonlight (wrapped in fluffy white robe, of course) with the hum of the city and the blast of Crown Casino’s majestic riverside flame throwers filtering wistfully up to you.

Inside your Club Terrace Room, leading out onto balcony.

Most five-star city hotel experiences present their views behind sealed glass windows and within climate-controlled environments. When staying in Langham’s new Terrace Rooms, you get to step out from behind the glass at 19, 20 or 21 floors above everyone else and take in the distinct four seasons of Melbourne weather from your very own wind-protected sanctuary.

Look one way, and you will notice the historic Flinders Street train station, St Paul’s Cathedral and architecturally-designed Federation Square. Look the other way, and you’ll see the Rialto Building and Crown Casino Complex. Look down, and there is the Yarra River with streams of people enjoying riverside dining and drinking. Look up and over your shoulder, and there is the famed Eureka Tower reaching even higher above you – with the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Such a luxurious indulgence in outdoor space begs the question: Is it acceptable to invite friends and family along for a cocktail party, perhaps?”

Such a luxurious indulgence in outdoor space begs the question: Is it acceptable to invite friends and family along for a cocktail party, perhaps? “The rooms were created for guests to enjoy as a traditional hotel room, but with the benefit of fresh air and a spacious outdoor terrace for relaxing,” says Amanda Thompson, Executive Assistant Manager – Sales & Marketing, without mincing words, but then adds, “While the Terrace Rooms are not party rooms, all guest requests will be considered.”

The Langham Hotel Melbourne has refrained from altering the interiors of these rooms in their transformation from Deluxe River Rooms to Club Terrace Rooms – they have simply incorporated a sliding door into one window and then built the 50 metre square balcony beyond it.

“These rooms were formerly corner rooms, which meant two sides of the room had panoramic windows overlooking the river and city skyline, but no balcony,” explains Amanda. “Our general manager recognised the potential for this space to be turned into a personalised and private outdoor experience that would appeal to both our corporate and leisure travellers. We were fortunate the design and shape of the building and the cantilevering of the top five floors meant there was structurally an opportunity to create this on the higher floors.”

When staying in a Langham Club Terrace Room, guests also gain access to the 24th floor Langham Club, which offers a range of enticements – hot English breakfast, all-day coffee and nibbles (including strawberries dressed in white and dark chocolate tuxedoes), afternoon tea, and early evening canapés and aperitifs, among other things. You’ll immediately find yourself on first-name basis with your Langham Club host and commence chatting in the kind of relaxed manner usually reserved for friends. That’s a feature worth noting about Langham Hotel in Melbourne – the warmth of the service. A smile comes to the lips of staff with apparent genuineness, not just because they’re told to do so.

Within the Club Terrace Rooms, there is another feature that should be mentioned – the ‘Blissful Beds’ – their words, not ours, although ‘blissful’ is an understatement. When the weather is mild, it is a great idea to pull the terrace doors open (keep the flywire closed) and fall into the perfect slumber with some assistance from the fresh, rather than recycled, air.

Guests who like to snoop through every nook and cranny of their room are in for a pleasant discovery… In the same year (1865) that the Langham Hotel in London – considered Europe’s first ‘Grand Hotel’ – opened its doors, author Lewis Carroll released Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland). As such, every Langham Hotel across the globe comes supplied with a special copy of Alice in Wonderland stashed in bedside drawers as a nod to the Langham’s year of birth and something surprising for guests to discover. It’s sure to leave its finders tickled pink, but not too much (pink, that is).

Note: The Langham Hotel in Melbourne recently launched Residential Wellness Retreats that incorporate customised general wellness and stress reduction treatments undertaken in their Chuan Spa with accommodation in Club Terrace Rooms. For more details, visit www.chuanspa.com.au.

The Langham Hotel
1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank
Melbourne
Tel: +61 3 8696 8888
www.langhamhotels.com

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