AccorHotels’ Novotel brand has been selected by Middle East hotel owner and developer, Action Hotels Group, for a new 4-star hotel to be developed next to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Revealed to almost 800 delegates at the at the eighth annual Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE) in Melbourne today (May 3), the new-build 347-room Novotel Melbourne South Wharf will be the fourth hotel development between AccorHotels and Action to open in Australia.
Novotel Melbourne South Wharf is currently under construction and is scheduled to open by Q1 2018.
The project is located close to the expanded exhibition space of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, providing business and leisure guests more high-quality accommodation options on the Yarra River’s south bank.
AccorHotels’ Pacific Chief Operating Officer, Simon McGrath, said the development of the Novotel would contribute significantly to the continued evolution of Melbourne as one of Asia Pacific’s most important tourism, meeting and events cities.
“Significant investment in infrastructure such as this Novotel hotel will further increase the capacity for Melbourne to attract significant events, conferences and exhibitions and cater to the domestic and international travel markets,” he said.
“Novotel is a leading worldwide brand that is thriving globally and in the Australian market, and we are delighted to be again partnering with Action Hotels Group and Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah on a fourth local hotel project under the brand.
“We believe this latest partnership in Melbourne will deliver an out-standing 4-star hotel for Melbourne that will provide great support to the city’s strong events calendar and tourism industry,” McGrath said.
The hotel will encompass 347 rooms incorporating the global Novotel ‘N Room’ design as well as Novotel Gourmet Bar and Food Exchange concept. The hotel will encompass Novotel brand identifiers including Live N’ Dream bedding, interactive TV’s and FairTrade bathroom amenities, and free barista coffee at breakfast.
Action Hotels Founder and Chairman, Sheikh Mubarak A. M. Al Sabah, said: “We are delighted to be partnering once again with AccorHotels for Novotel Melbourne South Wharf, which is ideally located to service the largest convention centre in the Southern hemisphere.
“We are very excited about this addition to our Australian portfolio and the potential of this hotel, which will offer premium accommodation with best-in-class customer service and quality in a highly sought-after business and leisure destination.”
Novotel is the heritage brand of AccorHotels in Australia since the opening of the first flagship hotel – Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour in 1991. Over 25 years, the brand has achieved extraordinary growth and boasts a portfolio of 28 hotels (6,097 rooms) across the country.
The new Novotel Melbourne South Wharf will complement the existing Novotel Melbourne on Collins, Novotel Melbourne Glen Waverley and Novotel Melbourne St Kilda hotels in the city, and join the brand’s established global network of over 450 hotels and resorts in 61 countries.
AccorHotels and Action have previously worked together on the ibis Styles Brisbane Elizabeth Street (2016), ibis Melbourne Glen Waverley (2007) and ibis Budget Melbourne Airport (2015). Globally the two groups are partners on ten hotels.