Melbourne Buildings

Savoy Plaza Hotel: 630 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Looking north east from western side of Swanston Street.

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Hotel Alexander (or Alexander’s Hotel) was opened in early 1927 and run by Alexander Hotel Pty Ltd.   At the time it was billed as “Melbourne’s most modern hotel” a fully licenced hotel with 200 rooms each with their own bathroom.  At eleven storeys it was one of Melbourne and Australia’s tallest and most prominent hotels at the time taking advantage of its proximity to Spencer Street railway station. ¹  A 20th Century American style hotel it claimed to be one the first in Australia to offer modern  air-conditioning.

It was designed by Leslie M. Perott.  Architecturally it is a good example of the interwar commercial palazzo style  featuring a deep cornice, featuring prominent upper balconies.  It was opened by the Premier of Victoria, Edumund John Hogan.  The construction was by T. Shillito at a cost of £300,000 and was in reinforced concrete.²

Shortly after opening, a partron died from a broken back after falling out of the elevator.³

The building was part of the Central Activities District Conservation Study – Graeme Butler, 1984 with a grading D which meant that it could be demolished.⁴

The building was acquired by the state in 1974 and served some time as a police academy.

Nevertheless, a major redevelopment in 1991 as the Savoy Park Plaza Hotel retained all of the exterior features.

In 1993, the building was re-graded B, however no heritage overlays applied to the building.  By 2002, it was downgraded to D and was acquired by the Vibe hotel group.

Following the Capital City Zone Heritage Gaps Study (2011), the building was upgraded to B heritage status.⁵