I’ve been putting off writing this post. Seriously, I have withdrawals every time I have to look at the pictures. You’ll understand why by the end. This post is seriously picture heavy, even more so than usual.
Almost a year ago I went to an event at the Langham hotel here in Melbourne. It was right after I moved here and I was so excited because I had never been to a hotel with such pretty decor before. From that event I was invited to join the Press Club which is an extension of the Langham’s 1865 program. Part of that included a complimentary night at the hotel. I can’t tell you how excited I was at the prospect of a night away so I put the press pack away to save until I really needed a break! Fast forward to April this year and I decided that it was time to treat James to something special, it was coming up to my birthday and it’s our 4 year anniversary the end of this month as well as the one year point of coming to Melbourne so it felt like high time for a little time away!
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I booked it all in and made sure not to schedule anything that night but kept it a secret from James. Those who know me, know how hard that is because I giggle at inappropriate times and always want to tell James if I’ve done something clever! I managed to keep it a secret though and surprised him with packed bags! He was as excited as me by the time we walked across the river.We were greeted by the doormen who took our bags and showed us the way inside to the check in desk. The lady who checked us in was genuinely lovely and chatted with us while she arranged our papers. She gave a rundown of what was included in our stay and amenities of the hotel and even before knowing who were were she was super friendly (I assume the fact that I was there as press was written on their system). That was a real theme among the staff, every single person we spoke to was pleasant, went beyond the call of duty and was *genuinely* friendly. More on that later!
From there we had a little wander around the lobby which was spectacular with several sprawling staircases and really decadent decorations, then headed up to our room. I didn’t really know what to expect, a free night at a hotel I assumed that we would be in a small standard room… not so! They put us in the spa suite which is the second best one in the entire hotel, that’s saying something too because it’s a 5 star place!
Seriously, when we got inside I almost had a heart attack, the suite was bigger than our apartment!!!! Allow me to take you on a little tour. Here is the entry hall with floor length mirrors for outfit shots.
There was a bathroom behind the mini kitchen for guests. The kitchen itself was very well stocked with a tea cabinet, mini kettle, a lot of drinks, snack and necessities.
Through the hall was the lounge area, large tv and very comfy couches as well as a writing desk, phone and one of the most spectacular views in Melbourne. To give you a real sense of space here is a panorama James took as I was texting Celeste how excited I was hahaha! Click these pictures for bigger versions to get a real sense of it. From the entry hall:
On the left is the door to the bedroom, right is the kitchen/second bathroom:
The view from the writing desk…
Better versions of the spectacular view at night/day:
Tea in many varieties 😀 😀 😀
From there you walk through to the bedroom which has full wardrobes, tv, phone and more of that spectacular view.
The wardrobes had bathrobes and slippers and beside the bed there was an iPod docking alarm clock. The whole place was wifi enabled and apparently you could connect to the tv via bluetooth as well. Through the bedroom was a dressing area stocked with chocolate frogs 😀 clearly they know me well!
Through from there was the bathroom. Oh don’t get me started on the bathroom.
It was like someone had read my mind and designed something perfectly for me! Double sinks, gigantic heated mirror (oh yes you read right), double shower and a HUGE spa behind them! DO WANT.
I am somewhat of a bathroom obsessive, I love my long showers so this was heaven!
Before I get side tracked on that I want to point out all the little details that were taken care of in the room that put the icing on the cake- big make up mirror so I didn’t have to lean across the sink, box stocked with quality toiletries: nice things like a bathbomb for the spa- not the crap that you usually get at a hotel, big Vidal Sassoon hair dryer- again not the little ones you usually get. Spa goodies:
Leather box full of toiletries:
Unpacked because I’m nosy:
Just as we were done exploring our bags were delivered and the phone rang. It was the lovely Service Stylist Jamila calling to welcome us and seeing if we would like a tour of the hotel later in the evening. We agreed and decided to have a wander to see the health spa and also hunt up some afternoon tea.
We visited the Aria Bar and were just in time for high tea.
James got the regular one and I got the chocolate one.
The service was great here too, even though we were right on closing the attendant let us in anyway and chatted away with us until the food and tea was ready.
The tea was really nice as were the chocolates, some were a bit much for me but I think I was just more in a savoury mood at the time.I thought the sandwiches were a little old probably because we were so late to get there, but James REALLY enjoyed his.
On the way back to our room we stopped by the gift store and Chaun health spa.
The “Flavours of the Langham” store had not only pretty Langham themed merchandise but also really lovely souvenirs and general items.
Did I mention that everything at the hotel is pink with gold damask and therefore would look awesome in my house?
We took a quick tour around the spa area afterward, they did massages, had a very fancy gym and an awesome looking heated swimming pool. It made me a bit sad I didn’t bring my swimsuit… Then I remembered my room had a spa and I stopped caring haha! The thing I though was very cool is that you could order spa treatments from them to be brought up to your room and they would set them up into your spa! Very luxurious 😀 When we managed to drag ourselves back to the hotel room someone had come by and set up wine and cheese for us as well as leaving a press pack.
After relaxing and taking a quick shower we went back down to meet Jamila for a tour around the hotel.
She brought me a pink rose which was so sweet!
Upstairs they have big function rooms for weddings and the like, they are all decorated in rich dark wood reminding me a lot of my Grandma’s library as a child. So beautiful and the outside had another spectacular view.
Jamila suggested we check out the Club downstairs before going to dinner so she could introduce us to Suzanne the manager.
If you stay in any of the Club rooms it gives you access to this place all the time, they have quiet areas for reading, tables with a view (I swear every place in the damn hotel had a view), open bar and breakfast/afternoon tea/pre dinner canapés etc. The most important thing they have there is Suzanne though. She was the nicest, most entertaining, adorable lady I have ever met. She even looked awesome wearing James’ hat!
We chatted for a while and she made sure everything was perfect for us. It was a real pleasure to watch someone who seemed to genuinely love their job, she was keeping the kids there entertained, knew every guest by name and was just so genuine that the good time she was having was infectious!
We ate a bunch of the yummy appetizers and James even tried his manliest drink so far- gin and sprite hahah!
After chilling there we decided to head back to the hotel room and spend the rest of the night doing absolutely nothing. Spending time here was so relaxing! I thought it was high time to give that spa a good work out.
At around 7ish someone came by to turn down the room but I felt a bit weird with that much luxury, I mean I have arms, I can remove pillows myself! Luxury is what nights like this are all about though so next time I will make myself take advantage of that while I have the chance! James has wine, I have… tea XD The little kettle was so cute that we named him max, but max doesn’t like to be pet on the head while hes working. Doing so can result in serious burns for your stupidity…
We were so full from all of the snacking that we decided to leave dinner and just order room service later in the night from the 24 hour menu. Being the super high class people we are… We ordered nachos and chips XD it was very nice though and for some reason came with an assortment of 5 different mustards that James had to taste. Anthony, the man who took the order from James was yet again super nice and very helpful.
The next morning we woke up to James’s music as an alarm and the fantastic view again.
It’s funny how little things from home like having the alarm doc etc can be so relaxing. The bed was so comfy that James started drawing up diagrams of how to sneak it home and the doona wasn’t one of those horrible heavy hotel ones that practically chokes you during the night.
After making full use of the heated mirror again I got dressed and headed down to the Club room for breakfast.
There was a good selection of breakfast foods including bacon, eggs and delicious honeycomb.
While staring out the window I really could imagine myself as being quite the Victorian lady dining at her club.
Fresh flowers in the room:
We had a late checkout at 12 so the rest of the day was spent in our room lounging about and taking photos. It was really wonderful not to worry about packing and just relax. They treated us like royalty and it was such a breathtaking experience I didn’t want to leave!
As we checked out I thought seeing as this is probably the only time in my life I’ll have access to a concierge I should ask for a recommendation of a place to get my nails done for my birthday. Again I was blown away by how genuine and friendly he was. He found some fantastic sounding places, offered to book me an appointment, drew me a map and then as we were in no hurry to leave we got to chatting about all the important things: science fiction and fantasy novels! Peter=the best concierge ever. I made him take a photo with me and at 151cm I look so little next to him!!
On the way out the doorman offered to get us a cab and then when we said we were walking he offered to store our bags until later, I know things like that are part of his job but still so thoughtful. Hahaha James was greatly amused that this was the face I made at the thought of going home:
Competely unrelated but how cute are the gigantic bee statues on this building? I noticed it out the window ^_^
I’m sure you can tell by this point what a good time I had there being a princess for a day! Looking back through all of the photos makes me miss it XD I’ve had a taste now and I want to go back! James has stayed in a lot of 5 star hotels in his time and he thought this out classed them all by a mile. Even Dubai!
In fact I think I will make it my life’s mission to visit every Langham hotel location all over the world.
The idea and decor of them matches me perfectly I think and how much fun would a blogging world tour be?? I could have meet ups in every city along the way 😀 Ah a girl can dream.
Until then I’ll be staring wistfully through this album and remembering that one awesome night 🙂
Thank you very much to everyone we met at the Langham, we had a wonderful time and hopefully we’ll see you again soon!!
Best birthday/anniversary/Melbourne anniversary ever. |
