Old favorite with a sparkling new look – The Australian Jewish News

The Kimberley Gardens Hotel was originally built in the 1980s and had not received much attention until recent years. With new owners and new management, the hotel has been reinvigorated, with nearly all rooms refurbished and a range of new rooms created to suit everyone’s budget and style.

Hotel manager Warren Slabe explained that the “old company furniture” originally found in the rooms has been replaced by a more modern and elegant Scandinavian-style look, as well as a color scheme. clearer.

Bathrooms have also been enhanced with new frameless stone and glass showers.

The renovations lasted over two years and included repainting, replacing rugs and mattresses in all bedrooms, and replacing furniture in the bedrooms.

“This is truly a lovely, warm and welcoming hotel, and the perception that it is still old and corporate is really wrong,” Slabe said.

The hotel at 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda has many regular guests from Sydney, including Kevin Koton who is a frequent visitor. On his last visit he stayed in one of the newly created Superior Rooms.

“I love this piece,” Koton said. “It has been refurbished to a very high standard – it’s almost like a five star room.”

Slabe said the hotel had created a small number of Superior Rooms for guests on a slightly larger budget who truly wanted a more luxurious experience.

Kimberley Gardens offers a range of rooms, from hotel rooms with queen-size beds to Superior Rooms and Deluxe Rooms with Spa, apartments with kitchens and even a room reserved for the Executive Rooms / Honeymoon Suite.

Spa Rooms are popular because they have king-size beds and marble bathrooms with a corner spa tub, but for a special occasion, the Executive Room is the ultimate.

Family villas are ideal for long stays and for large families. They are often booked by families doing home renovations or visiting simchas from the freeway or even remote places such as New York, London and Johannesburg.

The villas were completely renovated in 2017 and are meticulously maintained by Slabe and her housekeeping team.

“The whole hotel can vibrate with excitement when it’s full,” Slabe said. “A lot of times multiple events are happening simultaneously and we have such a vibe, it’s really uplifting.”

Enjoy a delicious breakfast on the balcony.

However, during the closures of the past 20 months and no international arrivals and few highways, the hotel was very quiet.

“It was difficult to be here on my own sometimes because all of my staff had been removed from their posts,” Slabe said.

“But since the end of last month, regular guests have been returning and weddings are resuming.

“And we also have a range of new guests who have remained on and off during the pandemic. “

Among the most frequent visitors to the hotel in Sydney are Norman and Daphne Simon, who stay in the same apartment every time.

“The hotel really takes care of us, it’s like a second home, and they kind of manage to always put us in the same apartment that we love. We would never go anywhere else in Melbourne, ”said Norman Simon.

The hotel recently upgraded WiFi to high speed and added a range of toys, games and books in the lobby for children to play with.

“Families are essential to our hotel,” Slabe said. “It is important that the children have fun. Yes, the heated indoor pool and spa are always a hit, but sometimes parents need to relax and let the kids play on their own, which is why we’ve added so many new games and toys.

During the pandemic, the hotel also upgraded the gym with new equipment, perfect for a good workout.

The hotel is nestled in two acres of lush gardens.

Kimberley Gardens, which has a restaurant and reception center, is Kosher Mehadrin Glatt under the supervision of Kosher Australia.

So what makes the hotel truly unique and welcoming? It is a family run boutique hotel and the staff understand the nuances of Jewish guests and the demands of Shabbat and Kashrut.

The hotel is offering a 20% discount to AJN readers until December 31, 2021, with some basic terms and conditions.
Visit kimberleygardenshotel.com.au

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