Melbourne, Australia

United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens

Price per night from$314.54

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (AUD481.82), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Creative genius

Setting

In bloom

United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens in Melbourne is custom-made for the design conscious traveller. Boasting a personalised concierge service, A-class style, access to faultless Australian cuisine and winsome views. This hotel has pedigree: its understated good looks come courtesy of the Carr Design Group (the team behind Smith-star Jackalope in the Mornington Peninsula), and  highly acclaimed chef – Scott Picket – captains Matilda 159, United Places’ sister restaurant. Fittings, furnishings and additional flourishes showcase a creative collaboration, including sofas by Patricia Urquiola, bath products by Le Labo and organic throws by Loom Towels. The peaceful South Yarra locale showcases a greener, serener side to this vibrant city.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A complimentary bottle of local Australian wine

Facilities

Photos United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens facilities

Need to know

Rooms

12 suites.

Check–Out

11am. Check-in, 2pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £274.04 (AU$530), including tax at 10 per cent.

More details

Complimentary breakfast of fresh bread, pastries, gluten-free granola, tea, coffee and juice available from 7am.

Also

Guests enjoy priority seating in Matilda 159, the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant. The guest services team will sort dinner reservations, theatre tickets, private tours, transfers and more.

At the hotel

Butler service; free WiFi throughout; laundry service; valet parking. In rooms: 4K HDTV with Netflix; Bang & Olufsen portable speaker; minibar; free bottled water; coffee-making kit; a kettle and tea; Le Labo bath products. Each suite has a kitchenette with an oven, microwave, dishwasher, sink and washing machine.

Our favourite rooms

Every room has a large balcony – opt for one surveying the Botanic Gardens for maximum lush-and-leafy views. On the other hand, Urban One-Bedroom Suites are good for city-lovers who want to spy on Melbourne’s rooftops and laneways.

Packing tips

Bring greenery to match the gardens… and an appetite for good food in Matilda 159.

Also

The front desk can arrange fitness sessions in your suite or in the gardens opposite the hotel – including a complimentary Technogym virtual training system, personal training, yoga and Pilates – and beauty treatments in your suite or at a local salon.

Children

Little Smiths are welcome. Domain Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens (which has a special section for little ones) are just opposite the hotel.

Food and Drink

Photos United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens food and drink

Top Table

They’re all rather lovely – but avoid seats at the busy bar if you’re on a hot date or having an intimate tête-à-tête.

Dress Code

Urban Melburnian: model threads from local designers such as Lady Petrova, Alpha60 and APC Melbourne.

Hotel restaurant

Acclaimed chef Scott Pickett (of Estelle and Saint Crispin fame, with two Chef Hat awards to his name) helms Matilda 159, named after Scott’s daughter. He remains on fine form here, wooing diners via a flame-licked charcoal grill. The menu is Modern Australian: try kangaroo tartare, octopus, Wagyu bavette or Macedon Ranges duck – and save room for rotisserie pineapple. All that flame-grilling inspires the styling, with timber taking a star role: admire tables commissioned from local maker Hugh Makin and the series of display cabinets, showcasing quality produce used in the kitchen. Guests can also take advantage of United Places’ nifty in-suite dining service: the hotel's obliging staff will set out the award-winning fare for you to enjoy in the comfort and intimacy of your suite. 

Hotel bar

Make the most of Matilda 159’s wine, beer, spirits and cocktails – and dip into your booze-stocked minibar.

Last orders

Dinner is served until 10pm in the restaurant.

Room service

Order food and drink to your suite around the clock with a simple call to the front desk.

Location

Photos United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens location
Address
United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens
157 Domain Rd, South Yarra
Melbourne
3141
Australia

The clues in the name: the hotel enjoys an enviable position right by Melbourne’s beautiful Botanic Gardens, in scenic South Yarra.

Planes

Melbourne International Airport at Tullamarine is a half-hour drive away. Smith24 are also available to sort out your flights.

Trains

South Yarra station, a five-minute drive from United Places, is on the Sandringham line, which stops at all stations to Flinders Lane Station in Melbourne’s Central Business District.

Automobiles

It takes just five minutes to get here by car from the CBD. The hotel doesn't have on-site parking but there's ample street-parking close by.

Worth getting out of bed for

Melbourne’s famous for its array of world-class eating and drinking spots, so make sure to ask the knowledgeable staff for recommendations of their favourite local haunts. Don’t stop at food and drink, either. They’re your go-to for off-the-beaten path activities, winery day trips, spa treatment bookings – whatever tickles your fancy. Spend a cultural morning or afternoon at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art on Sturt Street. Browse delicious edible wares at Prahran Market on Commercial Road, open on Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday. Catch a match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Brunton Avenue. You can hardly ignore them, since they’re on your doorstep – potter around the magnificent Royal Botanic Gardens on Birdwood Avenue.

Local restaurants

Begin the day in style with brunch at Gilson, run by a Melbourne culinary power couple (also responsible for city stalwarts such as Barry, Touchwood and Mammoth). Atlas Dining takes global cuisine seriously; the young chef-owner changes the cuisine’s nationality every four months. Dress to impress at swellegant Steer Dining Room: a modern Australian steak restaurant on Claremont Street with a thing for Asian flavours. If you’re in the mood for a more Francophile affair, book a table at pint-sized France Soir, where the quality of the food is matched by the bonhomie of the French-speaking waiters. With its breezeblock walls and 22-seat bronze table, contemporary Turkish restaurant Yagiz certainly hits the mark in terms of design, but it's the menu of inspired small plates that steals the show. Chef Murat Ovaz isn’t overly concerned with purism, instead combining all his culinary know-how to create a Turkish menu that’s relevant for Melbourne’s forward-thinking restaurant scene. Expect dishes like confit duck wrapped in yufka pastry, lamb’s liver cooked Albanian style and calamari stuffed with Ezine cheese.

Local bars

With its jet-black bar, parquet floor and Modernist stained glass windows, Bar Carolina makes a stylish spot for sundowners. Alongside a lengthy cocktail list, this 21st-century trattoria has excellent wines and whiskeys for the purists, and a menu of delectable antipasti should you get peckish. The mixologists are equally adept at Botanical, which is just across the road from the gardens, and Zhou Zhou Bar & Lounge, a vibrant drinking den above the Oriental Tea House. If you’re after Australian wines, try wine bar South Press, where the staff will be more than happy to guide you towards a few under-the-radar vintages.

Reviews

Photos United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this beautifully designed hotel in South Yarra and unpacked their Cherry Ripe chocolate bars and coffee beans, a full account of their Australian city break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens in Melbourne

United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens has enough sartorial eye-candy to fill a metaphorical sweet-shop: picture plush velvet curtains, moody charcoal-tinted mirrors, glittering brass light fittings, hardwood parquet floors and curvilinear Spanish furniture courtesy of Patricia Urquiola. The architecture is just as dashing: a modern medley of concrete, glass and brass that sits in dramatic contrast with its serene, green South Yarra setting. Hats off to the Carr Design Group, whose previous successes include Smith-favourite Jackalope in the Mornington Peninsula. The team has scored another home-run in Melbourne; it’s hard to pick a best bit, when a Scott Pickett–captained restaurant, prime city views, access to the Botanic Gardens, luxurious extras and flawless styling count among components.

 

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Price per night from $314.54