Le Méridien Melbourne opened on 16 March 2023, bringing the French-born brand back to the Australian market after nearly two decades away. The five-star property at 20 Bourke Street layers a restored Art Deco red-brick façade over a 12-storey build, adds a rooftop pool deck, and tucks an underground restaurant into its ground floor. This review piece separates what official records and editorial coverage confirm about the hotel from what you should verify yourself before booking.

Last checked: 2026-09-23

Address: 20 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria · Star Rating: 5-star · Key Amenities: Rooftop swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, restaurant, bar · Location Highlights: Near Parliament House, Princess Theatre, Rod Laver Arena, MCG

Le Méridien Melbourne at a glance

1 Brand-new opening

• Opened 16 March 2023, marking Le Méridien’s return to Australia (Hotel Management Australia)

2 Size & classification

• Five-star hotel with 235 guestrooms, including 14 suites (Le Méridien press release)

3 CBD position

• 20 Bourke Street, near Parliament House and the Princess Theatre (Marriott International)

4 Signature amenity

• Rooftop pool deck Le Splash, with views over Parliament House, Fitzroy Gardens and the skyline (City of Melbourne)

Detail	Verified value
Address	20 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Star rating	5-star
Opening date	16 March 2023
Guestrooms	235
Suites	14
Building height	12 storeys
Largest listed suite	91 m², two king bedrooms, two bathrooms
Key amenities	Rooftop pool (Le Splash), sauna, fitness centre, restaurant, bar, in-room dining
Location highlights	Near Parliament House, Princess Theatre, Rod Laver Arena, MCG
Breakfast (listed)	AUD 45 adults, AUD 22.50 children (time-sensitive)
Tripadvisor indexed rating	3.8 / 5 bubbles (dynamic)

Is Le Méridien Melbourne new?

The short answer: yes. The property opened its doors on 16 March 2023, according to Hotel Management Australia, which described the launch as Le Méridien’s return to the Australian market. That makes it one of the most recent five-star arrivals in the CBD core, not a refurb of an existing hotel brand.

The building’s history runs much deeper. The same trade report notes the 12-storey structure preserves an original Art Deco red-brick and stained-glass façade from a property first built in the 1850s. The design, by architecture firm Peddle Thorp, blends that heritage shell with a mid-century-inspired interior — custom joinery, statement lighting, and marble bathrooms in the guestrooms, per the brand’s opening press release. What you experience as “new” is a full conversion layered onto a much older shell.

The bottom line: If you’re weighing a stay against older CBD hotels, Le Méridien Melbourne is genuinely new construction-in-tradition — operational since 2023, not a renamed legacy property.

Is Le Méridien considered luxury?

The hotel is officially rated five stars on Marriott’s property page, and the hotel group positions it firmly in the luxury tier. The rooms back that up: standard stays include the signature Le Méridien Bed, Malin+Goetz bath amenities, Marshall speakers and 55-inch LCD televisions, according to the brand’s press release.

What amenities define luxury at Le Méridien Melbourne?

Three amenities carry the luxury claim. First, the rooftop pool deck Le Splash — described by the City of Melbourne as “the hotel’s standout feature” — frames Parliament House, Fitzroy Gardens and the skyline. Second, the suite inventory tops out at a 91 m² two-bedroom, two-bathroom layout with separate living and dining rooms, per Marriott’s suites page. Third, DOLLY, the underground European restaurant and late-night cocktail bar, offers steak nights and live jazz under Executive Chef Hervé Borghini.

“The hotel’s standout feature is its show-stopping rooftop pool framed by views over Parliament House and the CBD.”

— City of Melbourne, official tourism publisher

The implication: Luxury here is defined by a distinctive rooftop leisure offering and a design-led dining concept rather than by sheer room square-footage alone.

Where do celebs stay in Melbourne?

The honest answer is that no public source we reviewed confirms a specific celebrity stay at Le Méridien Melbourne. That’s an important caveat because much of the search traffic around this hotel asks about Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz. We found no verified record of these names at this property in any tier-1 or tier-2 source we checked.

Did Taylor Swift stay at Le Méridien Melbourne? / Where does Novac Djokovic stay?

We found no documentation tying these celebrities to the hotel. What we can confirm is location: the hotel sits on Bourke Street, roughly a two-minute walk from Parliament Station and close to Rod Laver Arena and Melbourne Park, per Marriott’s own location notes. The proximity to the tennis precinct is real and verifiable — but proximity alone is not an endorsement that any athlete chooses this property.

Caution for celebrity spotters: avoid booking this hotel based on unverified star-sightings. Treat “where do tennis stars stay” questions as geographic context only. The verified facts we could source are the walkability to Rod Laver Arena and the five-star standard — not a named guest list.

The pattern: celebrity-stay claims in Melbourne’s hotel marketing are rarely documented; rely on verified amenity and location data instead.

What is the most luxurious hotel in Melbourne?

That title is subjective, but the verified landscape is clear: Le Méridien Melbourne competes in the five-star tier at 20 Bourke Street, and editorial coverage positions it on the “Paris end” of the street. Gourmet Traveller highlights the mid-century aesthetic, the rooftop pool and the theatrical dining concept as distinguishing features relative to more corporate five-star options.

For searchers comparing across Melbourne’s top tier, the key differentiator here is the rooftop pool deck — a feature not every central five-star hotel carries. The trade-off is size: 235 rooms and 14 suites make this a boutique-scale luxury property, not a sprawling convention hotel. If you’re deciding purely on “most luxurious,” compare Le Méridien against rivals on three axes: pool access, room size (the largest suite spans 91 m²), and on-site dining depth (DOLLY plus a ground-floor café-bar and rooftop bar).

Why this matters: “Most luxurious” is a comparative judgment; your call should hinge on whether the rooftop pool and theatre-adjacent dining outweigh a larger suite elsewhere.

Where do tennis stars stay in Melbourne?

Again, no verified list exists in our sources. What we can state factually is the hotel’s proximity to the tennis venues: Marriott’s official page lists access to Melbourne Park, Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Cricket Ground among the location benefits. For January’s Australian Open, that translates into a short walk between hotel and matches — a genuine advantage for any guest, athlete or spectator.

What hotel is closest to Melbourne Park?

We did not find a verified “closest to Melbourne Park” claim specific to Le Méridien in our sources. What we did confirm is that the hotel is positioned to make Melbourne Park walkable, and that Le Méridien’s own release leans into that theatre-and-sport adjacency. If tennis proximity is your priority, use the address (20 Bourke Street) and check walking distances against your specific venue entrance — distances vary across Melbourne Park’s several arenas.

The trade-off: location favours event-goers, but don’t assume player preference; no reliable source ties any named player to this address.

Le Méridien Melbourne: Jazz, DOLLY, and other highlights

DOLLY sits at the heart of the hotel’s personality — an underground European restaurant and late-night cocktail bar that the official Marriott dining page packages with steak nights and live jazz. The dining concept is reached via a curved staircase that editorial coverage associates with the former Palace Theatre setting, per Gourmet Traveller. Chef Hervé Borghini, touted as Michelin-trained, leads the kitchen.

“The property offers 235 guest rooms including 14 suites.”

— Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, brand launch release

Beyond DOLLY, the property maintains a ground-floor café and bar, a rooftop pool bar, an outdoor pool, a sauna and a fitness centre — all confirmed across Marriott’s overview and the brand’s release. In-room dining is available. For guests, the “jazz” angle is mainly a DOLLY programming note, not a hotel-wide theme.

What to watch: confirm DOLLY’s live-jazz and steak-night schedule before your stay — operating nights and reservation requirements vary by season.

Getting to Le Méridien Melbourne and exploring the neighbourhood

The address is 20 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, in the CBD’s Paris end. Expedia lists Parliament Station at roughly a two-minute walk and Melbourne Central Station around 15 minutes away. That places the hotel within easy reach of Flinders Street and the city’s tram network.

Le Méridien Melbourne address & parking

For drivers, the property’s accessibility page directs guests to contact the hotel for details on accessible rooms, common areas and disability-related services — and parking specifics follow the same pattern. We could not verify a current valet rate or booking fee from any source in our dataset, so confirm both directly. Walkable landmarks include Parliament House, the Princess Theatre and, further afield, the MCG.

Travel note: Budget for valet or nearby public parking before you arrive; Bourke Street’s compact address limits on-site space compared with larger suburban hotels.

The bottom line: the location rewards walkers and event ticket-holders, but you’ll want to settle parking and accessibility questions with the hotel before you book.

Pros and cons of a stay here

Alternatives to Le Méridien Melbourne

If the rooftop pool and theatre-adjacent dining don’t match your priorities, a few five-star alternatives sit within the CBD. We have not independently ranked these, but our verified notes point to three comparison axes — pool access, room size and dining scope:

Hotel option	Key differentiator (verified)	Watch-out
Le Méridien Melbourne	Rooftop pool deck Le Splash, jazz at DOLLY	Parking/accessibility not fully published
Other CBD five-star hotels	Typically larger suites and conference capacity	Often lack rooftop leisure facilities
Boutique luxury on Paris end	Walkable to theatres and Parliament House	Room counts smaller, rates variable

For searchers wanting a broader set of luxury escapes, our Melbourne luxury package comparison covers package-level trade-offs. If you’re geographically fixed to the CBD and Docklands, the CBD & Docklands booking guide outlines which booking channel suits each zone.

The takeaway: Le Méridien wins on rooftop amenity and heritage design; competitors tend to win on raw suite size and parking certainty.

Frequently asked questions

What year did Le Méridien Melbourne open?

The hotel opened on 16 March 2023, according to Hotel Management Australia’s trade coverage of the launch.

What is the star rating of Le Méridien Melbourne?

It is a five-star hotel, per the official Marriott property page, with 235 guestrooms including 14 suites.

Does Le Méridien Melbourne have a pool?

Yes — an outdoor rooftop pool on the Le Splash deck, which offers views over Parliament House, Fitzroy Gardens and the city skyline.

Does Le Méridien Melbourne have a gym?

Yes — a fitness facility is listed on the official property page, along with a sauna.

Is Le Méridien Melbourne close to Rod Laver Arena?

Marriott’s official page lists access to Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena among the location benefits; Parliament Station is about a two-minute walk per Expedia.

Does Le Méridien Melbourne have parking?

Parking specifics are not fully published in our sources; Marriott directs guests to contact the property directly for accessibility and parking-related details.

Is Le Méridien Melbourne jazz-themed?

Not hotel-wide — live jazz is a programme element at the underground restaurant and cocktail bar DOLLY, which also runs steak nights under Chef Hervé Borghini.

What is the DOLLY at Le Méridien Melbourne?

DOLLY is the hotel’s underground European restaurant and late-night cocktail bar, reached via a curved staircase linked to the former Palace Theatre setting, per Gourmet Traveller.

Our sources

The following sources underpin this review. Reviews were current as of 2025; pricing figures are dated snapshots and should be re-confirmed.

• Marriott International — official property overview
• Marriott International — suites
• Hotel Management Australia — opening coverage
• Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts — opening release
• City of Melbourne — places to stay
• Gourmet Traveller — hotel review
• Man of Many — hotel review
• Beauticate — hotel review
• Tripadvisor — indexed rating
• Expedia — hotel information