Unique Sleeps: DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne

Unique Sleeps: Amazing hotels hand picked by Expedia Experts. DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne

The DoubleTree by Hilton brand has taken over the world one cookie at a time. Yes, cookie. Since the early 1980s, DoubleTree hotels have given out a warm chocolate chip cookie to guests upon check in – at first it was a marketing stunt, but today the cookie is a worldwide symbol of the hotel brand. These days roughly 28 million cookies are baked and delivered to guests every year.

When the DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne opened its doors early this year, guests were lining up to try the cookie. Okay, it might have just been me, because I got a taste for this warm walnut and choc chip cookie when the brand arrived in Australia a few years ago and had been craving for more. I’d hear a lot about the cookie – mainly from Americans who deliberately stay in DoubleTrees wherever they go. It’s just a cookie but it’s a good cookie. And when you’ve come straight from the airport, dealt with Melbourne’s traffic and are handed a warm cookie (warming ovens are kept behind the front desk), it’s a nice touch.

Enough about the cookie, the hotel itself is also worth talking about. Located literally across the road from Flinders St Station, the hotel has one of the best locations for access to the city and to public transport. A Citigate Melbourne in a former life, the property has undergone an extensive renovation – it’s cool, hip and has plenty of design nods to the historic location.

After a few bites of the cookie, the lobby gets a look in. It’s very industrial chic and refreshing when Hilton hotels have a tendency to be, ahem, cookie cutter. You’ll also find restaurant Platform 270 inside the lobby. Head chef Tony Moss has been hard at work to bring the hotel a menu that showcases local produce and serious culinary skill. Expect everything from dainty crab ravioli to pickled carrot and quinoa salad. Save room for dessert – flourless chocolate cake topped with a bright quenelle of berry sorbet is tart and tasty.

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Now there are plenty of different room types at the DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne. Internal rooms are great if you plan to shop and drop – clever vintage maps of Melbourne printed onto frosted window panes and curtains give the illusion of a window. The King Flinders Street Station rooms have panoramic views straight down to the bright yellow building below and thanks to double glazing, get none of the train traffic noise. There’s also Skyline River view rooms that look out to the Yarra – some even have balconies, a rarity in CBD hotels. Views aside, the rooms themselves are simple yet stunning, thanks to beautiful headboards designed by local artists to evoke the ripples of the train tracks. A few design notes were taken from the Orient Express but the subway tiles and cool filament lights in the bathrooms are very Melbourne.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne is a hotel for all types of travellers – whether you’re a business traveller after convenience and quiet, a shopper who wants to save pennies for the shops, someone who appreciates the Melbourne skyline, a traveller looking for something different or someone like me, who likes a little bit of everything, and a warm cookie to start my stay.

Lisa was the guest of DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne