Inside Melbourne's boldest hotel, where colour, creativity and cocktails collide

In a stroke of bad timing, the W Melbourne opened during turbulent pandemic times, in February 2021, part of a huge new development in the CBD - the $1.25 billion Collins Arch, twin towers linked by an eight-storey bridge and nicknamed the "pants scraper" because from certain perspectives, it looks like a pair of trousers. The Arch is mixed use, comprising residences, offices and, in its East Tower (or right-hand trouser leg, if viewed from above), the 15-storey W - a global luxury hotel brand owned by Marriott International.

The W's entry is in the CBD's heart on Flinders Lane, a less than 15-minute walk from famous Melbourne laneways such as Degraves Street and Hardware Lane, and other landmarks like Federation Square and Southbank, a short hop across the Yarra River. I go to sleep, curtains open, with the lights of the city twinkling around me, and wake up to the clang-clang of trams on the streets below.

Bold and glossy with lots of colour and sharp design, and nods everywhere to its Melbourne locale. The lobby - called the Living Room - is a soaring space that re-creates the city's street-art-bedecked laneways, and a lustrous-pink lift landing is a promise for all that waits above.

In my Marvellous corner suite - one of 29 suites and 265 rooms - the design speaks to the textiles history of Flinders Lane; like the plaid-patterned carpet in the bedroom and wall dressings that are split to resemble seams come asunder. One wall in the lounge area is an explosion of colour, as though the entire contents of a paint shop have been (very artfully) thrown at it. The bells-and-whistles Japanese toilet in my huge marble bathroom feels almost like a roommate by the end of my two-night solo stay, thanks to its regular beeping and self-cleaning and the way the lid shoots open every time I enter the bathroom, as though in greeting.

The WET pool on level 14 has city skyline views and a bar, and is a lovely place to hang out for a while. But get yourself to Curious bar on the lower ground - a moody, groovy place of dramatic design and corners to hide in. Order a cocktail from the Curious Matter "science meets sensation" menu, a collaboration with celebrated mixologist Matt Whiley who is a master of the molecular. Thus, Surface Tension is a gin-based concoction served alongside a tall glass beaker from which the scent of rain on hot bitumen is spilling out in a dry-ice-induced mist. The tequila-based Wizz Fizz, inspired by the old magician shops of Melbourne, is served with a big red balloon attached to the glass and duly popped with a flame by the bartender, releasing an aroma of peach.

Aside from those crazy good cocktails, I love the playful touches all around the hotel - staff-only spaces are marked "talent only"; scrawled messages on bathroom mirrors advise that "the best way to behave is not to"; and you might find a little piece of street-art-inspired whimsy in your wardrobe.

The writer was a guest of the W Melbourne