The Windsor is Melbourne's best known historic hotel.

In fact it is the only grand 19th century city hotel left in Australia.

The Grand Hotel 1888

The main building was actually built in two stages, both designed by noted architect Charles Webb. The southern half was completed in 1884 as 'The Grand Hotel', and the northern half, including the distinctive twin towers, was completed in 1888, just in time to host visitors to the Centennial Exhibition in the Royal Exhibition Building. The building was sold in 1920 and the name changed to The Windsor.

The hotel was one of the largest and grandest in Melbourne, competing only with the huge Federal and the older Menzies, both demolished in the 1970s. It hosted many notable national and international guests, including Alfred Deakin, the Duke of York, and PMs Robert Menzies and Malcolm Fraser. Many actors and musicians chose to stay there, as it was close to Melbourne's theatreland - Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh stayed during their triumphant 1948 tour.

Layout and changes

As with most 19th century grand hotels, the majority of the rooms were originally small, some facing into the large central light court, with shared bathrooms. The public spaces were however grand and sumptuous, the grandest of all being the huge central dining room. The grand staircase and part of the corridor on all floors was also spacious, and there were a number of smaller comfortable lounges, including a Moorish lounge, smoking room, small library, ladies lounge and smaller dining rooms, providing space for relaxation.

The rooms and facilities were altered and upgraded with a major renovation in 1921, and further changes in the 1950s and 1960s. These saw rooms enlarged, ensuites added, and a much larger foyer created, along with the large ground floor lounge (now the restaurant). The cricketers bar was created by gradually taking over the original shops that faced the street. The corner building was added in 1961, designed in a semi traditional style. Indeed, the alterations from all periods, including those of the 1950s and 60s, retained or re-used original features, or employed traditional detailing.

Decline, Rescue and Restoration

With the construction of modern 'international' hotels from the 1960s, the Windsor was no longer Melbourne's premier hotel. By the mid 1970s, it was run-down, and the grand dining room had been fitted out as a nightclub. In 1974, the then owners Windsor Holdings Ltd proposed to replace it with a 38 storey office block - at the same time the building was classified by the National Trust.

In response to public alarm at the possible destruction of the Windsor, the Hamer Liberal State Government took the highly unusual step of purchasing the building in 1977. In 1980 it was leased to the Indian based Oberoi Group, who undertook a major restoration of the hotel in 1983. The remaining Victorian elements were restored, including 19th century colour schemes to the lobby, staircase, and especially the Grand Dining Room, where the huge brass chandeliers were reproduced from photographs, and the glass domes re-instated. The restoration won a Victorian Architect's Institute award. The Spring Street Lounge, other public spaces and even the rooms were refurbished and decorated in a sumptuous traditional style.

The position of the Windsor as a leading luxury hotel and a major Melbourne landmark was then firmly re-established.

Recent Changes

In 1989, Sydney developer Warren Anderson began buying up properties to the rear, reportedly with an eye to purchasing the hotel and adding a 25 storey tower. The then Labor State Government refused to sell the hotel without proper safeguards, nor to allow a development over the 23m height limit. This height limit was established in 1982 in part to retain the low scale of the Bourke Hill area.

The Oberoi Group acquired the freehold in 1990, and soon after proposed marble flooring to the main lobby, said to be necessary to achieve 'grand hotel' rating. Opposed by the National Trust, they instead undertook a refurbishment of rooms and ensuites, and turned the function rooms in the 1961 corner building into a Hard Rock Cafe. The grand Dining Room became a function room, and the Lounge lost its comfy leather couches to become the main restaurant.

In 2005, the Singapore based Halim family bought the freehold, and took over management in 2007. The next year they proposed a radical redecoration that would have seen all the major spaces refurbished in a quirky 'Victoriana' scheme that had nothing to do with the original Victorian era appearance.

Heritage Victoria refused a permit for these works, effectively stating that the restored spaces should keep their (reconstructed) original appearance.