Between the Lake & the Laneways | 2BR + Parking

Bright, calm and beautifully kept — a two-bedroom on the leafy end of St Kilda Road, ten tram minutes from the CBD. Albert Park Lake for the morning walk, the Botanic Gardens for the afternoon, the NGV when it rains. Sleeps 4: one queen and two king singles. Full kitchen, laundry, aircon and a real workspace. Pool, tennis court and gym in the building. Free parking on site. There is a stretch of St Kilda Road where the plane trees meet overhead and the city stops feeling like a city. That is where this apartment is — a bright, two-bedroom on Melbourne’s grandest boulevard, ten tram minutes from the CBD, with Albert Park Lake, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the NGV all close enough to reach on foot before the coffee goes cold. It sleeps four in two proper bedrooms. A queen bed in the main room and two king singles in the second, which makes it equally at home for two couples, a family of four, or one person who has come to Melbourne to work and would rather not spend a fortnight in a hotel room. Both bedrooms have black-out blinds fitted, so a Melbourne summer sunrise at half past five is somebody else’s problem. There is clothing storage and a wardrobe with real hangers, fresh bed linen made up before you arrive, and towels, soap and toilet paper waiting so that nobody has to make a supermarket run in the first hour. The bathroom has a bathtub, which is rarer in this part of the city than it ought to be and is the whole argument for a long soak after a day of walking. Shampoo, conditioner, body soap and shower gel are provided, along with a hair dryer, plenty of hot water and towels for everyone on the booking. The kitchen is a kitchen, not a kitchenette. Full-size refrigerator and freezer, oven, stove, dishwasher and microwave. A toaster, a hot water kettle, a coffee maker and coffee to put in it. Pots and pans, oil, salt and pepper, a baking sheet for the nights when someone decides to actually cook. Dishes, bowls, cups, cutlery and utensils for the whole group, and wine glasses — because this is Melbourne, and you will end up carrying a bottle home from somewhere on Domain Road. There is a dining table indoors and an outdoor dining area on the patio-balcony, with outdoor furniture, for the evenings when Melbourne remembers it is meant to be warm. Practical things, handled. A washing machine and a dryer in the apartment, plus an iron, so a two-week stay does not have to be packed for like a two-week stay — and there is a laundromat nearby if the washing gets ahead of the machine. Air conditioning for the hot days and heating for the cold ones, which in this city can be the same week. Wifi throughout, a TV, and a dedicated workspace with a desk and power for the morning that turns into a work morning. Cleaning products are on hand, there is a smoke alarm fitted, and the building has a lift, so the luggage and the pram do not have to be carried anywhere. Downstairs, the building has a swimming pool, a tennis court and a gym, all reserved for residents and the guests staying in the building rather than open to the public. We should be upfront, though: they are currently being refurbished and are not available at the moment. We would rather you knew that now than discovered it with a towel over your shoulder. The nightly rate reflects it, and if the works finish before your stay we will let you know. There is free parking on the premises — genuinely free, genuinely on site — which on St Kilda Road is close to a small miracle. Anyone who has tried to leave a car anywhere between the Shrine and Toorak Road will understand exactly what that is worth. The address is the reason to book. St Kilda Road is Melbourne’s boulevard: six lanes of elms and plane trees running from the Arts Centre down to St Kilda, lined with the kind of buildings that were designed to be looked at. Albert Park Lake sits to the west, a five-kilometre loop of water, black swans, sailing boats and joggers pretending to enjoy themselves — it is the best morning walk in inner Melbourne and it is right there. The Royal Botanic Gardens and the Tan track are to the east, thirty-eight hectares of lawns, lakes and enormous old trees. The NGV, the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall and the Melbourne Recital Centre are all within a comfortable walk up the road, as is the Shrine of Remembrance. Domain Road and Fawkner Park handle the coffee and the croissants; South Melbourne Market is a short trip west for anything you would want to cook. Getting around barely requires a decision. Trams run the length of St Kilda Road at a frequency that makes timetables irrelevant — north into the CBD in about ten minutes, or south to St Kilda beach and the Esplanade. The CBD end of the route sits inside the free tram zone. The MCG, Rod Laver Arena and the whole sporting precinct are a short ride or a long walk. And when you do want the car, the M1 and Kings Way put the airport, the bay and the Mornington Peninsula within easy reach. Most guests park on arrival and do not touch the car again until they leave. Long-term stays of 28 nights or more are welcome, and the apartment is set up for them — real laundry, a real kitchen, a real desk and somewhere quiet to work at the end of the day. Check-in is self-service. The apartment is non-smoking throughout, there are neighbours in the building so we ask for quiet after 10pm, no parties or events, and the maximum is four guests. Families, couples, business travellers and long stays are all equally welcome. Bring the car. You will not need it.