Have you heard of pickleball? It's the latest sporting craze to sweep the globe and Melbourne has been catching on. While January in the city is tennis-crazy time, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is opting for a different kind of racket, throwing a pickleball party every night for the next two weeks.
The hotel is inviting Melburnians up to its CBD rooftop to have a hit on the brand new pickleball court, complete with themed cocktails, snacks and city skyline views. If you're a newbie to the game, you can have a coaching session and get shown the ropes, or you can jump straight onto the court for a 30-minute match with your mates.
Monkey 47 Gin is on bev duty with a themed gin cocktail menu, with each drink named after a different type of hit technique (think backhand, serve, volley), while Luci restaurant will be serving up platters and bites for players' snacking pleasure. For the second week of the pop-up, there'll be special sunset sessions, with a DJ spinning tunes to get the party started between 5pm and 7pm.
The rooftop pickleball court pop-up is open from Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 28 from 5pm to 9pm – aka perfect timing for the Australian Open buzz. If you're not staying at the hotel, your player fee is simply purchasing a cocktail (not such a bad deal if you ask us).
