Saint Hotel, a stalwart of St Kilda since 1915, has inspired a major makeover by its latest owners, to be firmly on the map of Melbourne entertainment precincts.
Following a renovation budget of $3-4 million, megavenue Saint Hotel, commonly known as The Saint, will become host to five venues. Saint Dining and Saint Bar have recently opened and will share ground floor space with The Vault, a retail wine store.
Upstairs will be host to their bar 54 (a nod to both Studio 54 and Saint Hotel’s street address) and Stellas, a cocktail and listening bar, both set to open in the next week.
While The Vault is still some time away from opening due to licensing, plans are for limited seating and private events within the cellar.
Saint Dining, led by executive chef Gary Lai, formerly of The Atlantic, focuses on steak and seafood cooked on a Josper grill, while Saint Bar is a ‘premium casual bar’ serving food and drink all day long.
While Bar 54 will utilise the terraces for more casual drinks and snacks, Saint Hotel will make its mark with Stellas.
The premium cocktail bar is also a listening bar, modelled on Japan’s jazz kissatens. One of only a handful in Australia, listening bars are designed to be able to listen to music, and generally boast large vinyl collections.
One key to the listening bar’s design are excellent speakers. Stellas centrepiece will be an enormous pair of custom Pitt & Giblin speakers, just like Waxflower Bar in Brunswick.
Bar manager Roy Das Neves will be matching the vibe with his hyper-sustainable drinks, similar to his work in the CBD’s Bouvardia.
General manager Mrinal Beekarry says the historic hotel was key to their inspiration.
“It was a beautiful building and we saw so much potential. I’ve been fortunate to find people along the way who share the same enthusiasm and passion for the project.”
