Boomers seek to live as five star hotel guests
LONDON: Baby boomers are increasingly seeking to live as five star hotel guests in upscale apartments.
Melbourne prestige property buyers now have the option to live like a five-star hotel guest at home, with the launch of the city’s first hotel-branded penthouse for $18 million atop Australia’s first 1 Hotel.
The penthouse, which is under construction and slated for completion late next year, is part of developer Riverlee’s $600 million Northbank project on the Yarra River, and the latest in the growing national trend of hotel-branded residences.
The crown in the Seafarers project in the Northbank precinct, the four-bedroom penthouse covers 719 square metres of internal living space. It also has a 72sq m terrace, a private entrance, cocktail lounge, three living areas, chef’s kitchen and a wine cellar.
The Seafarers’ penthouse comes with the benefits of a five-star hotel year round, with access to 1 Hotel’s staff and services such as in-room spa treatments, botanical and pet care, valet, hotel housekeeping, a private chef, gym, sauna, pool and concierge.
Designed by architect, developer and Riverlee founder Clement Lee alongside architect Nonda Katsalidis, of Fender Katsalidis, the penthouse sits on the 18th floor of the 1 Hotels & Homes complex, one of 114 such residences located above the 277 hotel guest rooms.
Mr Lee said that hotel-branded residences were “the ultimate lifestyle proposition” when accounting for expectations around prestige property.
“Melbourne required a shift in luxury living, and hotel-branded residences is the next chapter,” Mr Lee said.
He said buyers “want the whole package. They are looking for a home that is designed and built for their individual needs.
“They also want a wholistic living experience beyond that: amenity, views, sustainability, wellness, service and convenience. They want an uplifting space and lifestyle aligned with their values.”
Billed as the world’s most sustainable hotel brand, 1 Hotel is one of the developments where wellbeing and sustainability are central to branding. It was developed by American hotelier Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Star-wood Hotels, which was purchased by Marriott International in 2016.
1 Hotels opened its first premises in New York and has since expanded to locations including West Hollywood, London’s Mayfair and Paris; Melbourne will be the first site in Australia.
Crown Resorts pioneered branded residences in Australia in 2020 with its mixed residential-luxury hotel in Sydney’s Barangaroo. The concept is already well established in Europe and the US.
Overseas brands include OWO Residences by Raffles, Mayfair Park Residences by Dorchester, St Regis Residences and Mandarin Oriental – which now has three branded residences in London.
Along with luxury hotels, fashion houses including Armani, Bulgari and Fendi – as well as automotive brands Porsche, Bentley and Aston Martin – have been expanding into the growing luxury-branded residences arena.
Mr Lee said that, as turnkey properties with high levels of amenity and service, hotel-branded residences targeted “discerning high-net-worth buyers”.
The pool of buyers is growing, Knight Frank’s 2023 Global Branded Residences Report said.
It reported that the global population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals – someone with assets of $US30 million ($45 million) or more – is expected to climb 28.5 per cent by 2027.
The agency’s co-founder, Steven Chen, who is handling the Melbourne penthouse sale alongside Colliers, said the city’s offering was good value compared with its Sydney counterpart at Crown Barangaroo.
“If you look at Sydney’s equivalent at Crown, the asking price there is $100 million, and Seafarers is less than a fifth of that,” Mr Chen said.
Other projects in Melbourne’s branded residences’ pipeline include Melbourne’s Park Quarter Marriottpartnered residences set for completion in 2025. In 2026, Australia’s first Hyatt House, which will offer long-term accommodation as opposed to permanent accommodation, is set to open.
