Mr & Mrs Smith

The Cullen

Melbourne, Australia

With skyline views of Melbourne, boutique hotel The Cullen takes its cue from the art of Australian enfant terrible Adam Cullen, offering cool contemporary rooms starring original paintings and prints, two tasty restaurants, a bar, Smart cars and bespoke bikes. Shopping addicts will love the fashionable Prahran location too, opposite the food market.

Need to know

• Rooms 119, including eight suites.
• Rates Double rooms from AU$190.00, excluding tax at 10 per cent.
  Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency (AU$190), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
• More details Rates exclude breakfast but include 24-hour gym.
• Facilities Gym with yoga deck, bikes, Smart cars, hair salon, WiFi throughout (AU$9.95 a day). In rooms: LCD flatscreen TV with Foxtel, DVD player, preloaded iPod and iPod dock, Adam Cullen artworks, art books, Art Series toiletries, minibar, kitchenette.
• Poolside There's no pool at the Cullen, but you can use the one at sister art hotel the Olsen for free, just a 15-minute stroll away, or enjoy a discount at Prahran Aquatic Centre just two minutes' walk away.
• Check-out 11am, but flexible subject to availability. Check-in, 2pm.
• Children The Cullen is a fairly adult playground, but nippers are welcome. Baby cots can be supplied for free and extra beds for older kids in rooms cost AU$60 a child a night. Babysitting with a local nanny is yours for AU$90 for three hours. More...
• Eco-friendly Going beyond than the usual recycling and organic food efforts, the Cullen is a seriously green building, harnessing natural ventilation through its dramatic central light well to avoid guests overdosing on air-con. Windows even open in rooms.
• Also Two bespoke red sit-up-and-beg Swedish Kronan bicycles are up for grabs for AU$5 an hour if you fancy wheeling round the shops or you can hire a dinky Art Series-branded Smart car from AU$10 an hour, or AU$60 a day.

Food and drink at The Cullen

• Hotel restaurant The Cullen doesn't run its own in-house restaurant, but enjoys strong links with two tasty tenant eateries which peel off its ground-floor. Terrace Bar & Bistro, which includes a covered streetside deck, whips up wholesome breakfasts as well as Med-style tapas, , sharing plates, pasta, pizza and steaks, while seductive Chinese restaurant Hutong is the go-to spot for dumplings and duck come dusk (it even boasts its own custom-built duck oven).
• Dress code This is Melbourne darlings, so make it black, layered and deconstructed. To work the art crowd look, team vintage op-shop finds with local designer labels.
• Top table Grab a semi-alfresco pew at Terrace, in the covered corner deck; at Hutong, the private dining rooms take some beating if you're eating with pals.
• Last orders Terrace serves dinner and drinks until 11pm; Hutong sees action until 10.30pm Sunday–Thursday, and 11.30pm Friday–Saturday.
• Room service Available 24-hours a day, room service is handled by Terrace, known for its kick-ass coffee. This is also where you'll come for breakfast if you'd prefer not take it in your room.
• Hotel bar Stylish but not uptight, Terrace doubles as a bar and bistro, serving wine, cocktails and great coffees all day. Right next door, wine bar Magnolia is also due to open its doors in mid-2010, offering niche Australian and New Zealand wine, cocktails and light tapas bites. Don't miss the street art figure by French stencil god Blek Le Rat on the adjacent wall (he also sneaked a trademark black rat up in room 318 when he stayed chez Cullen).

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

The Cullen 164 Commercial Road, Melbourne, 3181