By James Wilkinson
The name of Crown’s new 658-room, $300 million hotel has been unveiled as Crown Metropol and is on schedule to open in early 2010.
New star: Crown Metropol has been unveiled
“The new hotel is a demonstration of the confidence Crown has in the future of Melbourne as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations,” Crown Melbourne chief executive oficer – David Courtney said at an exclusive press launch on Monday May 25.
“When the Bates Smart-designed hotel opens, it will employ over 300 people and will provide accommodation for approximately 340,000 guests including 100,000 visitors from overseas,” he said.
The architecturally striking design includes a stunning, futuristic podium entry, a day spa located on the top floors of the hotel, a sky bar and terrace on level 28, the hotel’s highest floor, extensive meeting rooms and a retail precinct showcasing brands previously unavailable in Australia.
One of the property’s most exciting features is a Gordon Ramsay Maze restaurant – which, alongside fine dining, will also responsible for the property’s room service and potentially for event catering.
When Crown Metropol opens in early 2010, it will mean guests, conference organisers and event planners have over 1600 rooms and suites from which to choose across the three Crown Melbourne hotels.
Located on the corner of Clarendon and Whiteman Streets, Crown Metropol is across the road from the new convention centre extension to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and next door to the new Crown Conference Centre, set to open in December 2009.
Victorian Tourism Minister Tim Holding said the new hotel would provide a massive boost to the state’s leisure and business tourism sectors.
“Major projects like the Crown Metropol deliver jobs and provide a significant boost to our economy,” he said. “The new hotel will also be a great addition to Melbourne’s world-class tourism infrastructure.
Holding said the hotel’s timing could not be better, given the upcoming bookings at the new MCEC.
“There are almost 50 conventions booked for the venue which will bring more than 100,000 delegates to Melbourne,” he said.
In addition to being a benchmark-setting hotel, Crown Metropol will also be the site of a $10 million purpose-built training facility, Crown College, where all of Crown’s training and development programs will take place.
Every year Crown trains close to 40 apprentice chefs, over 200 front of house staff and hundreds of employees across the business in areas such as gaming and security as well as many more disciplines.
