Grand Hotel

Last weekend I had a 'staycation' which was arguably my first holiday befitting that ugly portmanteau word. It has been a while since I travelled far and friends had been recommending to me the joys of getting away while in your own home town. They were right.

Usually, holiday accommodation is a means to an end, but this time, it was the centrepiece of my weekend. I stayed at the Grand Hotel on Spencer Street, and much of my focus was there. The structure had been made in the Nineteenth Century as the offices of Victoria Rail and stayed that way for several decades. Eventually, government departments grew and were reconstituted into newer forms, and the bureaucracy moved away.

Ever since the 90s I have looked at it from the city train and been curious about the huge old edifice (which looked derelict for some of the time). For a while now it has been a hotel but, wandering its halls, I could imagine public servants walking purposefully along its corridors carrying files to-and-fro.

And what corridors they are! The Grand Hotel reception staff are rightly proud of the central staircase, but it was the wide and exceedingly long hallways that impressed me. Rarely have I looked so far and had a sense of distance while still indoors. The Grand is very long, dominating most of a city block, and each level is defined by these extensive passageways with rooms to either side. There is a mix of both hotel rooms and permanent residences, although I never discerned whether they are mingled or separated by level or section.

We made sure to explore every feature accessed by those halls or the elevators at either end. On the Friday night we dined on-site at Gaylord Indian Restaurant. On Saturday afternoon we visited the 'hidden' gardens (sandwiched between the hotel and its three-level carpark alongside the railway embankment). We also made use of the indoor swimming pool and spa (a glasshouse which divides the gardens into two). And on Sunday morning we sat in the book-lined parlour close to reception. Everything was charming to us.

Part of that charm came form the fact that this is a conscientiously gracious (four star) hotel. More however came from its nature as a heritage site that has changed in function. We are both fans of the quirks that arise from the repurposing of architecture. Why exactly is my room this shape and what purpose did this odd nook once have? The rooms themselves are well-appointed and we cooked pancakes in a kitchenette on the Sunday morning. I almost forgot to say - we were on the top floor sporting balconies and therefore ate in the crisp morning air six levels from ground.

I should include the things we did in the city itself. The only other fixed booking we had was a virtual reality experience of the ruins of Machu Picchu. This was impressive but we were relieved to return to reality after a half-hour of walking around artificial sights and sounds. We also explored various arcades and lanes visiting stationary and comic book stores. We had Saturday brunch in a Collins Street cafe and Saturday night Mexican dinner in Southbank. I even got to see a helter-skelter while we treated ourselves to ice creams.

The weekend ended with us getting the Metro Tunnel home. I'm left with a fondness for the Grand Hotel. I may even stay there in future. Or just have another meal at Gaylord sometime.