Adelphi Hotel
Where? On Flinders Lane in Melbourne, close to the city's art galleries and best shopping streets.
Sounds desperately fashionable. Owned, designed and operated by architectural practice Denton Corker Marshall, the style of the hotel is uncompromisingly modern.
Sleek and simple or flash and funky? Sleek and simple. The monochrome guest rooms have black slab beds, white walls and black carpets. Stainless-steel bedside tables and the odd piece of multi-coloured furniture prevent the look from becoming too Zen.
Any office stuff? Each of the 32 rooms and two suites has a desk with high-speed Internet dial and a dataport. Oh, and all rooms have DVD and CD players.
What about the bathrooms? Black granite floors are complemented by sleek stainless-steel counters. Bulgari toiletries and sumptuous bathrobes soften the architecturally sharp lines.
Is there a restaurant? Guests can tuck into modern Australian fare at the Cafe/Restaurant Bar, where the bleached concrete floors, white nylon chairs and salt and pepper mills designed by Ettore Sottsass attract trendsetters from early morning until late.
And for serious foodies? Australian 'freestyle' cuisine (healthy dishes with an Asian twist) is available at the hotel's award-winning ezard at the adelphi restaurant. Serious drinkers can down the hard stuff in the all-black rooftop bar, which has fantastic city views.
Isn't there also a rooftop pool? Cantilevered out from the eighth floor, the glass-ended lap pool enables swimmers to peer down on the heads of pedestrians as they beetle about below.
