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Recently, I spent a weekend away with Accor Hotels to experience a couple of the unique boutique hotels that fall under their MGallery by Sofitel collection. Each boutique hotel in the MGallery by Sofitel collection personally curates and offers a 'Memorable Moment' experience inspired by the local landscape, culture and hotel itself and I was excited to stay at and experience two of these at The Como Melbourne & Hotel Lindrum. Here's how it all went down.

CHECK IN AT THE COMO MELBOURNE

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The rooftop pool

I started my weekend with a check in at The Como Melbourne, situated in the bustling Chapel St precinct. Check in at The Como is a seamless, smooth and friendly process. I stayed in the 'open plan suite' and this was by far one of the most spacious hotel rooms in Australia I have stayed in! The suite is like a large open plan apartment filled with a fully equipped kitchenette, dining table, living area, bed and separate bathroom. Two massive floor-to-ceiling windows bring in heaps of natural light during the day. The Como left a sweet fruit filled welcome plate on the table upon my arrival.

THE COMO MELBOURNE'S MEMORABLE MOMENT

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Being in the heart of fashionable Chapel St, The Como Melbourne offers the Memorable Moment of a personalised shopping experience on Chapel St, accompanied by Melbourne stylist Elaine Marshall. Elaine is energetic and full of fun, with an abundant amount of expertise under her belt. Our styling session started off with a get-to-know you debriefing where Elaine went through with us our pre-filled styling questionnaires. We chatted about the importance of dressing for your body shape, how to pick out the right new season items for you and the importance of basics - the latter of which is something I need to keep in mind because I love shopping for statement pieces - ha. After that we headed to Chapel St to shop up a storm![ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end]

DINNER WITH MR. MIYAGI

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[ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end]I've been wanting to visit this place for ages but because it is so popular, it's often hard to get a table here. Dinner was at Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese-inspired Asian fusion restaurant. I've heard previously that the sushi here is really good and I can confirm now that it really is! Other favourite picks of the night included the tacos, gyoza and tempura broccoli but really, I'm pretty sure everything on the menu tastes amazing though!

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IN-ROOM BREAKFAST

Wearing: Lonely Lounge by Lonely Hearts kimono

My in-room breakfast the next day came promptly and beautifully. Breakfast at The Como, even if it is room service, is presented pretty like a picture! It was the ultimate way to start the morning before moving onto our next destination.

CHECK-IN AT HOTEL LINDRUM

Our next stop, Hotel Lindrum. Hotel Lindrum is another one of the MGallery by Sofitel hotels and is situated conveniently in the city, a few steps away from Flinders St station. Hotel Lindrum has a bit of a romantic feel to it with its beige and warm toned decor and large arched windows overlooking the cityscape. Its name comes from its heritage as Lindrum's Billard Centre which was named after Walter Lindrum - a champion of the game.

DEGUSTATION AT FELT RESTAURANT

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For lunch, we tried out the degustation offering (normally you have this for dinner!) at Felt Restaurant which was situated on the ground floor of the hotel. This restaurant is sophisticated and intimate, seating just 40 guests at one time. I don't eat a lot of non-Japanese food when I am out (yes I love Japanese cuisine that much) but I really rate this restaurant! The dishes were very fresh and made with seasonal ingredients, tasted extremely yummy and were beautifully presented too. Here's a snippet of the menu:

Fresh oysters with nuoc mam dressing

Pumpkin and goats curd spinach ravioli with tirokafteri and enoki mushrooms

Seared tuna with salsa verde (my favourite! Probably because it reminds me of seared tuna nigiri)

Spring lamb, peas, mint and hazelnut crumb

Strawberries and cream

Sides:

Heirloom tomato & buffalo mozzarella salad

Pickled beetroot carpaccio & Pecorino Romano

MEMORABLE MOMENT BY HOTEL LINDRUM

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After lunch we experienced Hotel Lindrum's Memorable Moment activity. Due to its billiards heritage, Hotel Lindrum's curated moment is a private bollard lesson hosted by world champion billiards player Robby Foldvari, on an original billiard table from when the building was the Lindrum Billiard Centre. I can't say I'm any good at the game but Robby sure knew what he was doing! Above is one of the tricks he happened to have up his sleeve.

Catching some late afternoon light around our hotel.

Wearing: Country Road jumper | GRANA slip dress | Salvatore Ferragmo bag | Gorman keychain.

Photo: Helen-Jayne @ Boho Tailor

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View from my hotel room window.

DINNER AT CECCONI'S

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There are a heap of good restaurants around Hotel Lindrum so it made sense to keep it local for dinner. Our evening meal was enjoyed at Cecconi's on neighbouring Flinders Lane and if you're feeling adventurous, a quick shortcut through the neighbouring carpark can get you there even faster. We enjoyed some lovely entrees, mains and desserts to share with many stand out dishes. A particular favourite of mine was the salmon dish with cucumber jelly.

BREAKFAST AT LINDRUM

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I love a big meal for breakfast but just couldn't narrow it down from the extensive menu so ordered everything I was craving. Breakfast for me was eggs benedict, with added sides of avocado, potato rosti, tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as a plate of fresh fruit and mango juice. I set up my dining station at the window seat by the large arched windows whilst watching the sun rise. Thanks Accor Hotels for having me on this wonderful staycation!

Photography: Connie Cao / Canon EOS 7D Mark II

memorable moments with MGallery by Sofitel