Smith Street in Collingwood was recognised as the coolest street in the world in 2021, beating out streets in cities like London, Barcelona and Los Angeles, and for good reason. The suburb is home to cool Scandi furniture shops, incredible cheap eats, and several of our city's best cocktail and dive bars, on top of having a long, proud and chequered history of street gangs and punk culture.
An afternoon simply isn't enough for exploring it, but hotels can be expensive: enter Lyf Collingwood, an affordable yet chic new accommodation boasting dorm-style living with a variety of communal spaces. There are 105 units inside, ranging from side-by-side apartments designed for friends or colleagues travelling together, single studios for singles or pairs and accessible apartments with wheel-in showers and easy access counters and door handles.
While you're likely to want to spend most of your time scouting out the area, there is also heaps to take advantage of within Lyf's walls. Make friends in the social lounge, share meals together in the community kitchen, make laundry fun in the laundrette that's fitted out with a game machine and take meetings in the multi-purpose rooms. Oh, and if you have a four-legged pal, travelling doggos are welcome to stay in one of the hotel's dog-friendly rooms.
Rooms start at $139.50 per night, and all rooms can sleep a minimum of two people. If you book the four-person room, you can stay in this trendy 'burb for as little as $55 per night.
