Hotel Windsor, Melbourne — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Before the Waldorf Astoria, before Raffles, before the Ritz, and before the Savoy, there was the Hotel Windsor. Melbourne's only surviving purpose-built "grand" Victorian hotel has been holding court on Spring Street since 1883, when it was constructed for George Nipper and designed by architect Charles Webb as the Grand Hotel. The story takes a surprising temperance twist in 1886, when the hotel was converted into a liquor-free establishment and renamed the Grand Coffee Palace, reflecting the powerful temperance movement that swept through Victorian society. Imagine a grand hotel where champagne was replaced by coffee and moral improvement. The current name arrived in 1920 when the hotel dropped its teetotal pretensions and became the Windsor Hotel, embracing a more relaxed attitude to hospitality. Affectionately known as the "Duchess of Spring Street," the hotel has hosted prime ministers, international dignitaries, and cultural figures throughout its long history. The building's Victorian grandeur is unmistakable: ornate plasterwork, grand staircases, and the kind of generous proportions that hotels simply don't build anymore. Its location directly opposite Parliament House means it has been the unofficial living room of Melbourne's political establishment for well over a century. Questo's Melbourne heritage trail stops at this grande dame where Victoria's temperance movement and Melbourne's love of luxury created one of the world's most characterful hotels.