A summer-time only pursuit.  Kick back under a velvety back sky atop  Melbourne’s iconic “Curtin House” and watch that movie you’ve always meant to catch.  The eclectic program offers something old, something new, something borrowed and sometimes something blue.  Comfy deck chair seating and food and drinks available.  Viewing Melbourne’s urban landscape from pidgeon position is offered at no extra charge.  Rooftop cinema runs from the end of November to the end of March.  Weather permitting.

Rooftop Cinema Website

This recommendation comes compliments of Apartment Alkira – a fine example of Melbourne Apartment Accommodation.

If you feel up to a gamble, but the Casino’s not quite your thing, saunter off to the inner city suburb of Carlton and try your luck at one of Australia’s oldest fringe theatre venues – La Mama.  Set up in 1967, La Mama has been gracious hostess to an enormous number of new  Australian works for theatre for over four decades. Some have been knock outs; edgy, insightful, inspiring,  others rather dreary numbers.  It’s something of a lucky dip, but at very reasonable door prices and with the sense of ‘cultural community’ the theatre embodies, it’s worth dipping and hoping you don’t get the trashy plastic frog.

Latest shows: http://www.lamama.com.au/

23 Degraves St,
Melbourne

Degraves Espresso Bar was the original glint in the eye of Melbourne’s Grand Pa Pa of Cafe Culture, Con Christopoulos many moons ago. This was way before Melbourne grew itself a name for sneaky laneways and serious ‘tude about its caffeine scene.  Things have moved on a little since then and Con has extended his reach into other corners of Melbourne, but the Grande Dame of the cobble-stoned laneway still pumps out good espressos to CAE students and the city’s workers.  Light meal options.  And of course cake.

Degraves Details

This review brought to you by the people who like to munch their way through the
wonderful cafes and eateries of Melbourne’s CBD.  Apartment Alkira.

The tardy service and slightly sticky tabletops might put you off dining at Bokchoy Tang, but if you can get past that, the food will reward you well for your tenacity. Set back in an anonymous-looking multi-level building at the rear of Federation Square, Bokchoy Tang feels like it would really rather not be discovered. But that would be a shame as the food is great – and Chinese food without MSG is hard enough to find. It’s nice to be able to nibble away without fear of the potential side-effects of MSG over-load.

Review courtesy of Apartment Alkira – Melbourne Short Stay Apartments
- CDB based Accommodation in gorgeous Queen Street.

Your Best Melbourne Accommodation Options Explained

Melbourne’s put on a little weight lately. Like a voluptuous woman who’s had one or two chocolate eclairs too many, the middle button on her blouse is suffering a little under the strain. I mention this only because the population balloon has a knock-on impact for your short stay, corporate or holiday accommodation options.

In 2001, the City of Melbourne’s resident population was just 56,000 (CBD area – not the whole city). Merely seven years on, the most recent official stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, shows an increase of nearly 35% to 89,000 residents. And these stats are at least 12 months old. While new building has been rocketing along at an incomprehensible rate, there is still something of a dearth of quality, affordable accommodation in Melbourne’s CBD. This has meant short-term accommodation options have been squeezed a little. That said, there are still some great choices, but you might need to think ahead a little and book as soon as you have a feel for the sort of thing you’d like. Some options to consider:

Privately Operated Boutique Apartments
I shall declare my hand immediately and fess up to this being my favorite form of Melbourne accommodation. But of course. As one of the owners of Apartment Alkira, I obviously have a preference for individual and unique places to stay within Melbourne’s CDB. Not all private boutique apartments are wonderful of course, and you should definitely check reviews and ask around to make sure you’ll be getting what you’re expecting. In general however, they are a terrific way of staying in quality properties without paying the mega pricetag. You’ll find them considerably larger than a standard hotel room and with much greater amenity. Make sure you get one with good windows to let in light and a lift if it’s in an older-style block. There are some magnificent heritage buildings in Melbourne’s CBD – Alkira House is only one example – many others offer accommodation options, so it’s worth checking if you’re interested in architecture, design or something a little quirky.

Serviced Apartments
These are often in newish apartment complexes and have the benefit of being generally well kitted out and self-contained. You’ll usually find a reasonably well-equipped kitchen where you can stock up and make meals if that’s what you’re looking for. The down-side is that they can be a little sterile and formulaic and are generally in characterless compounds. There have also been complaints of the newish complexes that the walls aren’t well insulated resulting in noise travelling between apartments more easily than you’d like. However, they are usually very secure and conveniently located. Check carefully however as many claim to be located in the CBD and are on the outskirts or nudging into inners suburbs. You should be able to find centrally located serviced apartments that are within 5-10 minutes leisurely walk from the centre of Melbourne, Bourke Street Mall or Federation Square.

Bed & Breakfast
There are very few true B&Bs in the central area of Melbourne. You’ll really need to venture further afield into some of the inner suburbs to find good B&B options. Check out Victoria’s B&B association if you’re interested in this style of accommodation.

Hotels
Melbourne has some swish hotels. As you’d expect of a city that’s becoming sexier and more sophisticated by the nano-second, there are some fabulously indulgent hotel options if you’re in a hedonistic mood. They are joined at the umbilical cord to sexy, sophisticated and STEEP prices, but if that doesn’t scare your purse too much there is definitely a good range to choose from.

Daggy sister to sparkly, sassy Sydney for many years, Melbourne is only now truly coming into her own – notwithstanding her snugly fitting blouse. Federation Square and the Arts precinct along St Kilda road is bubbly and buzzy with shows and performances all year round. The slinky wee laneways are about as sexy as you’d get in a sidewalk and the extension of the lush greenness along the north side of the Yarra River at Birrarung Marr has opened up the city to a host of great activities. Whirl around the circumference of the giant technicolour ferris wheel or lick a double-header mint choc icecream as you promenade along the river bank. With some early accommodation planning you’ll be able to enjoy all the gorgeousness of Melbourne’s CBD on your next short stay, corporate trip or weekend escape.

Getting here
fly to Melbourne
Check out flight options on fly.co.uk

I love food. But I particularly love sweetie-treaties and am drawn like an ant to a splodge of brandied plum jam, to places that render them well. And such a place is Baker D Chirico. Their macaroons are truly splendid and their pastries light and crispy and full of good things like rhubarb and poached pear (and they’re both fruits, so they’ve got to be good for you).

The slabs of chocolate nougat bounce with hazelnut-chocolatey gusto straight from the counter into your mouth before you’ve coaxed ‘that will be all thanks’ from your salivating mouth. But their masterpiece is the light-as-air baked sour cherry cheesecake which may well spend a lifetime on the hips, but will be worth every crease in your ‘too tight’ jeans in years to come. Enjoy!

Review courtesy of Apartment Alkira -
Melbourne’s central boutique serviced apartment

Now seriously, I challenge you to find a better value way to spend $3.10 than the all day Sunday travel card.

Sen-sat-ion-al value!  If you’re at a loose end and can drag yourself away from the comfort of your Melbourne CBD accommodation, you can hop from moving vehicle to moving vehicle all day long and only ever part with $3.10.

The tricky thing is finding the sneaky buggas.  You can’t buy them on the vehicle or at ‘rare as hen’s teeth’ ticket vending machines, so you have to track down a metcard supplier at either a Metcard stocking 7-11 (not all do) or the city outlet at the Melbourne Town Hall.

But when you think of the latte you’ve just paid for with the savings…well…

This ‘hot budget tip’ was brought to you by
Apartment Alkira; quality Melbourne CBD Accommodation

If you find yourself anywhere along the banks of the Yarra at night – keep walking. Not because of Melbourne’s oft overplayed ‘scary streak’, but because if you continue in an Easterly direction you’ll find yourself in the land of whimsy. – The oversized Ferris Wheel spins around most mild evenings with its coloured lights blinking at the city. A wonder-filled ride but particularly gorgeous at dusk.

Halftix Melbourne

This great little outlet in the Melbourne Town Hall sells cheap tickets to the city’s current entertainment – shows, theatre, music- at half full price plus booking fee. It’s a great deal. The line up’s only available on the day of sale, so it’s a bit of a lucky-dip, but if your accommodation is in the Melbourne CBD it’s worth the trip to the Town Hall precinct to check it out. Look for this sign. You can also check out their website, but it’s sometimes not quite 100% correct.
Halftix Website

Courtesy of Apartment Alkira – Great Melbourne CBD Accommodation

These are among our absolute favs for a bite of something yummy and a decent coffee.

Click on the blue bubbles below for details.

View Best CBD Cafes (Recommended by Apartment Alkira in a larger map