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There’s something pretty pleasing about seeing Melbourne recognised for what it does best on the global stage – and this time it’s not coffee, record stores or an overachieving pizza scene, but hotels. Specifically, a new sustainable stay that has barely had time to settle into its its plant-shrouded shell before landing on Travel + Leisure’s ‘It List’ (a global round-up of the 100 best new and renovated hotels) in the Affordable Luxury category.
ICYMI: Melbourne was ranked the best city in the world for 2026
After opening in June 2025 inside the beautifully reworked heritage bones of Goods Shed No. 5, 1 Hotel Melbourne has officially been singled out as one of the world’s most compelling new stays. The hotel’s inclusion in the list isn’t just about its architectural polish (though there’s plenty of that), it’s about a very particular Melbourne kind of comfort: considered and quietly confident rather than showy. As Melbourne Managing Editor Leah Glynn noted in her review, this is a place where “laid-back luxury meets industrial chic”.
Step inside and you’re greeted not by marble-and-mirror excess, but by living moss, reclaimed timber and more greenery than a Brunswick backyard in spring. There are floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Yarra River, filtered water taps instead of plastic bottles and a “biophilic” design language (where nature is woven into everything). Then there are the details that make it feel distinctly un-hotel-like in the best way.
Melbourne Managing Editor Leah Glynn pointed to the small but memorable touches: a lobby farm stand stocked with fresh apples, rotating “happenings” like yoga sessions and DJ sets, and a general sense that the building is behaving more like a living precinct than a static hotel. The food and drink offerings also pull weight here. The on-site restaurant From Here by Mike – from chef Mike McEnearney – anchors the experience with a low-waste, produce-led philosophy that fits neatly into the hotel’s sustainability-first identity.
All of which helps explain why 1 Hotel Melbourne has found itself on the It List for 2026. The Travel + Leisure recognition, particularly in the Affordable Luxury category, tends to favour places that deliver more than just plush sheets and skyline views – rewarding personality and sense of place. If you needed an excuse to add it to your staycation hit list, the nod from these global experts might just be it.
While the Melbourne hotel is the biggest headline as far as we’re confirmed, Australia as a whole showed up strong on this year’s list. In Sydney, 25hours Hotel The Olympia topped the guide to the best city stays in the world for 2026. Up north, Queensland also had a moment with two resort standouts: the sleek, high-rise Mondrian Gold Coast and the breezy island escape the Sundays Hamilton Island, both delivering the kind of waterfront, poolside, cocktail-in-hand energy the tropics do best.
Wanna know what else is making waves in the hotel world right now? You can check out Travel + Leisure’s full list of the 100 Best New Hotels of the Year here
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