Apartment Alkira – Boutique Melbourne Short Stay Accommodation

So, it’s just you, your map of Melbourne and the sparrows.  In need of a kick-start breaky before you hit the streets? Not sure where to head?

Well, if your CBD accommodation of choice is Apartment Alkira, you simply saunter half a block up the road, to a quaint wee place at 95 Queen Street.  The girl’s at Sparrow’s Nest are early starters, so while the sparrows are going about their daily ablutions, Rana and Sarah are warming prosciutto and gruyere croissants and coaxing frothy milk from their most impressive coffee machine for the Genovese coffee.  A couple of communal tables are good if there are a few of you,  but the front bench or small round tables are the perfect choice for a gentle solo or duo breaky over the paper. Bread from one of Melbourne’s finest bakers – Dench.

95 Queen Street
Melbourne

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Apartment Alkira – Melbourne’s best boutique self contained apartment accommodation

If you’re looking for accommodation in the city of Melbourne (CBD) we’d love you to stay with us.

The central city serviced apartment is close to everything – museums, galleries, public transport, the major stadiums, theatres, the aquarium, cafes and restaurants – and of course the best of Melbourne’s shopping.

The short-stay apartment is modern, self-contained accommodation with a complete kitchen and bathroom and an additional study/reading room for extra stretch-out room.

This bright shiny bauble is the newest kid at the groovy end of Hardware Street.  Where Hardware Lane ‘Proper’ has become a crass strip of overpriced sidewalk restaurants, the rawer, slightly edgy end of Hardware Street on the north side of Lonsdale Street offers delights from a sensational music shop to this little gem of a modern cafe.  Open for breaky and lunch – but only Monday to Friday – Hardware Societe offers a refreshing menu of French and Spanish fare, along with good “Supreme” coffee and a selection of teas.  Owner/operators are warm and hospitable and seriously ‘into’ their food.

120 Hardware St
Melbourne, 3000

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Apartment Alkira – Melbourne’s best boutique self contained apartment

e.g.etal deals in seriously groovy designer jewellery.   I fell upon it a few years ago when it was located in Little Collins Street and neither my wallet nor my neckline have been the same since. You know it’s going to be a few notches above what you’ll find on rotating department store racks when their website refers to them in third person as a “commercial gallery”. And I guess they are.  You’re not buying trinkets here, you’re buying art.  They deal mostly with precious metals and gemstones; delicious pieces for both men and women by around eighty Australian and New Zealand contemporary jewellers.  *Worth noting that one shouldn’t get ones hopes up just because there’s “basement” in the address – pricing policy reflects the unique nature of the wares*.

Basement
167 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
ph: 3 9639 5111
web: e.g.etal

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Apartment Alkira – Melbourne’s best boutique self contained apartment

A rare find in the heart of Melbourne, Apartment Alkira is a spacious, light- filled one bedroom apartment available for short-stay accommodation in Melbourne’s CBD.

The recently renovated self-contained apartment is located in one of the city’s most striking Art Deco buildings. The second floor apartment accommodation is one of only two apartments on the same floor. The building has lift access.

Close to the hub of the action for foodies, art lovers, theatre goers and shoppers, yet set back a bit for a quiet night’s sleep in a beautiful tree-lined city street, this self-contained apartment is ideal for short-term, weekend, corporate or longer holiday stays.

Vue de Monde is undeniably one of Melbourne’s *starlet* eateries, but if you can’t get in, or don’t want to part with the requisite *starlet* pennies, Café Vue will give you an inexpensive way to hover in the glow of the Vue de Monde halo.  Open for brekky and lunch Monday to Friday, it’s worth the jostle with the neighbouring legal fraternity to secure a spot.  The delectable pastries and brioche is house-made, as is the fabulous selection of naughty sweeties that beg to be devoured with a smooth, creamy ‘Illy’ latte.  While the staff can often be vague and disorganised, the food more than makes up for it.  Hot tip: try the $15 lunchbox – extraordinary value for a mini three course morsel meal.  The lunchbox line-up changes daily, allowing you to indulge on a regular basis and never tire of the fare.

Cafe Vue
Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins St
Cafe Vue Website

review courtesy of Apartment Alkira
- Melbourne’s best boutique short term apartment

If you’re heading to the Arts Precinct across Princes Bridge, (National Gallery, Arts Centre, Hamer Hall) you’ll probably need to augment your gallery/music/theatre experience with a glass of bubbles or a bite at one of several eateries in the area. The ‘coolest’ by far is ‘Curve’ tucked away to one side of the Arts Centre and serving uncharacteristically good food in what can often be a touch-and-go end of the food spectrum. The ‘share plates’ are good value and speedily delivered to cater for the pre-theatre crowd. On a balmy night the outdoor tables bring a sparkle to the otherwise dead space between the Arts Centre and the National Gallery.

The Arts Centre
100 St Kilda Road
Curve Bar – The Age Epicure Review

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Apartment Alkira – Melbourne’s best boutique short term apartment

Coming to Melbourne? Want accommodation right in the thick of things?

Our Apartments spacious, light- filled one bedroom accommodation available for short or longer stays  in Melbourne’s CBD.

Close to the hub of the action for foodies, art lovers, theatre goers and shoppers, yet set back a bit for a quiet night’s sleep in a beautiful tree-lined city street, this self-contained apartments ideal for short-term, weekend, corporate or longer holiday stays.

Apartment Alkira, one of Melbourne’s unique short stay city apartments, was recently featured in an episode of TV Travel program “Postcards.

Click here to watch the video on the Visit Victoria website (takes a few seconds to load).

Various Venues
Lots at the Melbourne Town Hall

Melbourne is a city of many things.  Coffee.  Excellent Food.  Prized Grafitti.  Sport (yawn).  Trams.  The ‘Yellow Peril’ (don’t ask, it’s a long story).  Shopping.  Daggy cruises down the Yarra.  Arty precincts.  Laneways.

And Laughs.

Well at least in April.  For almost the whole month, very funny people from far and wide (and some from just up the street) have a crack at making Melbournians (and our guests) laugh. And the people they love it. Last year attendance was at 450,000, and with the current persistent gloominess precipitating a need to be amused, there are predictions that this year’s comedy crowd will be mammoth.

So, where to go and what to do, to score yourself one of those laughs.  Ot at least a little snigger/giggle/shoulder shake.  First stop should be the Comedy Festival Website.  But if you’ve feeling spontaneous and want to court serendipity, you can just rock up to the Melbourne Town Hall (corner of Collins and Swanston) or the Halftix booth slightly to the north of the fancy Town Hall building, and see who’s on.  Melbourne’s daily paper “The Age” is worth checking out too – as a major sponsor, it gives the festival a good guernsey.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed watching a very sexy ventriloquist and her potty mouthed monkey talk nonsense for a bit over an hour so if you,’re after a lead, Nina Conti’s “Evolution” is worth a look.

Off you go.  Giggle your way to a new tomorrow.

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Apartment Alkira – Melbourne’s best boutique short-stay apartment accommodation