Australia: Oakwood Premier has announced its Australian debut as part of a new mixed-use tower in Melbourne.
The brand’s first Australian property is set to open in October 2021, which is ahead of its originally scheduled opening in 2022.
The tower, which is on the banks of the Yarra River, will be forty stories tall and will contain 392 rooms, which include 132 studios designed for short-term stays. The remaining 260 rooms will be two-bedroom apartments designed for longer stays.
The building will also include numerous amenities for guests, including a fitness centre, a lounge and games centre, meeting and conference rooms, co-working spaces, and two outdoor green zones.
For dining, guests and visitors have access to a rooftop bar, which is also set to open later this year. The tower also includes a bar in the lobby and an all-day restaurant. The tower will also include Oakwood’s Mobile Bar concept, which includes a bar cart that makes rounds throughout the building each night to offer cocktails and light snacks for guests to enjoy in their rooms.
Guests will also be able to bypass the front desk through mobile key access.
The tower will attempt to promote environmentally friendly options by providing charging stations for electric cars and through an elevator design that minimises energy usage.
General manager of the Oakwood Premier Melbourne, Andrew Donadel, said: “The features throughout the property are outstanding, catering to business travellers who will be in town for a while and require a well-appointed residence, as well as leisure guests who may be visiting for a local staycation or stopping by Melbourne briefly. The property exudes luxury and has been developed to pamper guests from the moment they arrive.”
The property, which is in close proximity to both the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the South Melbourne Market, and Marvel Stadium, is predicted to attract both business and leisure guests when it opens in October.
The property is Oakwood Premier’s tenth property under the premier brand. Although the tower will be Oakwood’s first premier property in Australia, the company already operates Oakwood Hotel and Apartments in Brisbane. Additionally, the company is also in the developing stages of a third Australian property in Dandenong, which will also not be under the premier brand.
CEO of Oakwood, Dean Schreiber, said: “This second foray comes at an opportune time where serviced apartments have increasingly been recognised not just as an alternative to hotels but as a preferred accommodation both for leisure and business travellers.”
