Hotel Esplanade

The Esplanade Hotel was built in 1878 and remains one of the earliest, largest and most prominent 19th century resort hotels in Victoria. Originally intended to be three large terraces, the building was altered to become a hotel during construction, and became one of the premier hotels in Melbourne outside the city. Alterations were made in 1921 changing it from exclusive residential use for the wealthy to incorporate entertainment for the middle classes, with the addition at the ground floor of a grand staircase and lounge bar. Well, thank God for that as all I was interested in was the lounge bar. I was introduced to the Esplanade by Marino (Hey! Marino — I know you’re out there!), as we left Melbourne’s first Chili Cookoff, sponsored by Taco Bill (no, not a spelling error), and full of contestants from our company, primarily those who were there representing Southwestern Bell. — but that’s for another post, and quite a bit more mild than wild — why do you think we walked away in search of a better place to drink. Remember this, it was the first ‘chili cookoff’ in Melbourne. Miss Jalapeño wore blue jeans.

Just to clarify — While similar to any major city throughout the world, Australian cities are full of large high-rise hotels (most all of which contain bars). However, in Australia if you see a charming two-story structure with a large sign that says “Hotel,” you can count on it being a bar, usually with restaurant facilities, but no rooms to let. Basically a ‘hotel’ is a pub.

Okay, more history, but really, it’s the lounge bar and the view across the street of the St. Kilda Harbour and beach, the breeze that flows into the bar off the ocean… right, more history:

Between 1920 and 1925, the “Eastern Tent Ballroom” constructed to the rear of the site became an important jazz venue and dance venue, then the main entertainment district in Melbourne. In the 1970s, the Hotel’s Gershwin Room, a grand dining room, was turned into a disco – complete with flashing Saturday Night Fever-style dance floor.

The Esplanade Hotel was classified by the National Trust of Australia in October 1990.