Last weekend I had some work in Melbourne CBD but opted to stay at the Hotel Urban in St Kilda (well OK I was doing a story on the hotel).
Normally I wouldn’t stay that far out of the CBD so I was surprised at just how easy the access is - the 96 tram is almost express from Fitzroy St to Spencer St as it runs along the old St Kilda rail corridor. So I was able to get to/from the city in around 20 mins.
What was surprising though is that it seems the tram system shuts down at midnight on Sunday nights - so I had to get a cab back. Not very impressive for a city that promotes itself as being cosmopolitan and public transport friendly. Anyhow the cabbie looked like he needed the $20 fare.
So back to the Hotel Urban - probably the first time I’ve been tempted to pinch a clock radio from a hotel - The Model Three by Tivoli Audio is as good as it looks.
Although they are promoting the Hotel Urban for conferences and meetings the hotel is also well known as a place where visiting musos stay…
… and although they weren’t staying at this hotel I did check out Kinky Friedman and Van Dyke Parks at the nearby Prince of Wales Hotel - very entertaining.
