1 Hotel Melbourne Review: Sustainable 5-Star Luxury Hotel

When 1 Hotel Melbourne opened in June 2025 on the Yarra River’s North Wharf, it brought the brand’s mission‑driven sustainable‑luxury ethos to Australia for the first time. With a LEED Silver shell, heritage reuse of Goods Shed No. 5, and in‑room water filtration that eliminates single‑use plastic bottles, the property positions itself as Melbourne’s most ambitious eco‑conscious five‑star stay. This review draws on the hotel’s official sustainability disclosures, neutral guest reviews, and local media to assess whether the reality matches the rhetoric.

Last checked: 2026-05-30

Hotel name: 1 Hotel Melbourne · Star rating: 5-star · Location: Melbourne Docklands, Yarra River · Brand: 1 Hotels (sustainable luxury) · Opened: Recent opening (exact date per official site) · Key amenity: Pool, gym, in-room dining

Is 1 Hotel Melbourne a 5‑star Hotel?

Multiple sources confirm a five‑star rating. The hotel’s official website and booking channels list it as a five‑star property, and neutral review platforms such as TripAdvisor and Booking.com reflect that designation through guest scores and category filters. Reviewers on those platforms regularly use terms such as “modern, clean, and spacious” to describe the rooms, aligning with the service and amenity expectations of a luxury property.

What Is the 1 Hotels Sustainable Luxury Brand?

Founded by hotelier Barry Sternlicht, 1 Hotels is a “nature‑first” luxury brand that places environmental mission at the centre of the guest experience. The Melbourne property embodies this through LEED Silver certification, heritage adaptive reuse of Goods Shed No. 5, and a suite of operational practices: low‑energy LED lighting, smart thermostats, water‑cooled air‑conditioning with heat recovery, and a 50 kW solar array. Sustainable Hotel News noted that the hotel is “at the beginning of its sustainability reporting journey”, aiming to collect 12 months of data before setting long‑term targets. That honesty is a departure from many hotels that claim green credentials without baseline measurement.

What does this mean for guests? The brand asks you to be a conscious participant: shower timers encourage shorter showers, energy‑saving switches are standard, and in‑room water filters replace plastic bottles. It’s an integrated approach—not a checklist of add‑ons.

The pattern: 1 Hotel Melbourne offers a deeper, more structural sustainability than most competitors at this price point, but it is still early in the measurement and reporting cycle.

Who Owns 1 Hotel Melbourne?

The hotel is owned and operated by 1 Hotels, a brand under the hospitality platform founded by Barry Sternlicht’s SH Group (now part of the larger Starwood Capital orbit). 1 Hotels operates sister properties in the United States and the Caribbean. The Melbourne outpost is the brand’s first in Australia. Neither the brand nor its founder has disclosed an individual local owner; the property is a corporate development. The official site lists 1 Hotels as the operator, and local business registries show the entity as 1 Hotel Melbourne Pty Ltd.

Why this matters: Brand ownership matters because 1 Hotels’ global sustainability standards—such as in‑room water filtration and plastics elimination—are applied consistently across the portfolio, giving guests a predictable eco‑luxury experience.

Does 1 Hotel Melbourne Have a Pool?

Yes, the hotel features an indoor pool, part of a wellness complex that also includes a sauna, steam room, a Jacuzzi‑style spa, and the Field House Gym. The pool is described by Hotel Designs as integrated into the property’s biophilic design, with natural light and plant walls. Beyond the pool, guest rooms include filtered water taps, DeLonghi coffee machines, Bamford bath amenities, and a local minibar. The pool is open to hotel guests and—subject to availability—to residents of the branded residences above the 11th floor.

The bottom line: The pool is a standard five‑star amenity, but the surrounding wellness offer (Bamford Spa, yoga programming) elevates it beyond a simple lap pool.

Where Did Taylor Swift Stay in Melbourne?

During her Eras Tour visit to Melbourne in early 2024, Taylor Swift stayed at a suite in the Crown Towers complex, not at 1 Hotel Melbourne (which had not yet opened). Multiple Australian media outlets—including the Herald Sun and News.com.au—reported the Crown stay. There is no verified connection between Swift and 1 Hotel Melbourne. The persistent search query likely reflects general curiosity about celebrity hotel choices in the city rather than a specific brand association.

The catch: While 1 Hotel Melbourne has hosted its own share of high‑profile guests (Roger Federer is a noted fan of the brand globally, as discussed below), Taylor Swift’s Melbourne accommodation remains Crown property.

Where Does Roger Federer Stay in Melbourne?

Roger Federer’s preferred Melbourne hotel has historically been Crown Towers, where he stays during the Australian Open. This is well‑documented in sports media and confirmed by Sofitel Melbourne On Collins coverage that contrasts its own sustainability program with that of Crown. Federer has not publicly associated with 1 Hotel Melbourne, though the brand’s founder, Barry Sternlicht, has noted Federer as a fan of 1 Hotels properties elsewhere. There is no evidence that Federer has stayed at the Melbourne 1 Hotel since its June 2025 opening.

The trade-off: The search interest in “Federer + 1 Hotel” may stem from the brand’s sustainability ethos aligning with Federer’s own public environmental interests, but as of this review, the two are not linked in Melbourne.

1 Hotel Melbourne Location and Opening Date

The hotel is at 9 Maritime Place, Docklands, on the Yarra River’s North Wharf precinct. It occupies the last undeveloped riverfront plot in the area, with approximately 220 metres of water frontage. The location places guests within a 15‑minute walk of Southern Cross Station and the city’s tram network, though the immediate Docklands neighbourhood is quieter on weekends. The hotel opened in June 2025, as confirmed by Sustainable Hotel News and the hotel’s own booking system.

What to watch: The Docklands location offers a quieter, less tourist‑dense setting than Collins Street or Southbank, but still provides easy access to the CBD and Marvel Stadium.

Pros and Cons of 1 Hotel Melbourne

Pricing at 1 Hotel Melbourne

Time Out Melbourne reports starting rates from approximately AUD 350 per night for a standard room. Prices vary by season and room category; suites and residences are priced higher. At that entry point, 1 Hotel Melbourne sits at the upper end of the city’s luxury segment, comparable to Sofitel Melbourne On Collins and a step above Pan Pacific Melbourne. Room rates on the hotel’s booking engine fluctuate with demand.

Location and Getting There

Address: 9 Maritime Place, Docklands VIC 3008. The hotel is a 10‑minute taxi ride from Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) via the CityLink toll road, or a 20‑minute SkyBus ride to Southern Cross Station followed by a 15‑minute walk. Tram routes 11, 48, and 86 stop within a few hundred metres. For drivers, parking is available at the Seafarers carpark beneath the hotel (paid). The Yarra River path directly outside the hotel connects to the CBD cycle network.

Sustainable Luxury Alternatives in Melbourne

If 1 Hotel Melbourne’s nightly rate is beyond budget or you prefer a more central location, two other Melbourne hotels offer strong sustainability credentials:

• Sofitel Melbourne On Collins – Five‑star, centrally located on Collins Street. It holds ISO 14001:2015 and Green Globe certifications, and in January 2025 launched a circular water‑bottling system that eliminates an estimated 39,068 single‑use plastic bottles annually (Sofitel Melbourne media centre). The Sofitel has a longer track record of measurable waste reduction.
• Pan Pacific Melbourne – Certified by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and located on the Yarra’s South Wharf (Pan Pacific sustainability page). It uses hotel‑wide LED lighting, water‑saving showerheads, and a lobby‑based filtered water dispenser. Rates typically start lower than both 1 Hotel and Sofitel.

What this means: Sofitel offers comparable luxury with a longer sustainability record; Pan Pacific is a more accessible option. Neither, however, matches the built‑in eco‑architecture of 1 Hotel Melbourne’s LEED‑designed new build.

Our Pick: Who Should Book 1 Hotel Melbourne?