voco™ South Melbourne to be seventh IHG hotel in Australasia.
voco™ South Melbourne is scheduled to open in early 2023 in partnership with Melbourne-based developers, BEKL. The new voco South Melbourne is being built at the northern end of St Kilda Road, where accommodation options are currently limited to serviced apartments.
The hotel offers easy access to the St Kilda Road commercial precinct, Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre (MSAC), Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, The Alfred Hospital, AAMI Park, Melbourne Arena, Rod Laver Arena, and Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Plus Architecture, will design the 171 rooms focusing on the ‘Me Time’ concept offering premium beds, innovative lighting and user-friendly technology, as well as superior showers.
The brand’s signature ‘voco Life’ concept offers guests with vibrant and sociable restaurant and bar spaces where guests can enjoy morning coffee, catching up with friends over afternoon tea, or kicking off a great evening.
“It’s quite astounding to reflect on the fact that IHG launched the voco brand just 24 months ago, and we already have two open hotels and another five in the pipeline, three of them in Victoria. Clearly it’s striking the right chord with guests and owners. The new-build voco South Melbourne will bring unique design and memorable guest experiences to this great location, and will complement our voco Melbourne Central, which is already under construction and scheduled to open later this year", said Abhijay Sandilya, IHG’s VP Development, Australia & Japan.
BEKL Managing Director Katherine Liu mentioned that Melbourne is one of the world’s great cities with strong tourism and an increasing appetite for outstanding accommodation.
"Even after a challenging period over the past few months, we know Melbourne will bounce back better than ever, and we can’t think of a better brand than voco to bring a unique personality to our South Melbourne property. We are proud to be partnering with IHG to open this exceptional hotel in 2023." she added.
The signing of voco South Melbourne continues the rapid growth in IHG’s upscale pipeline in Australasia, which includes seven Hotel Indigo properties, seven voco hotels, and three Crowne Plaza hotels that will open this year in Hobart, Adelaide and Sydney Darling Harbour.
IHG currently has 52 hotels operating under four brands in Australasia, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, voco and Holiday Inn Express, with another 38 in the pipeline.