Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne - Melbourne, Australia Travel Forum

Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Sun June 1, 2008 12:00 PM UTC

Vanakam, & greetings from Singapore.

To start off, let me just say, I love Melbourne, especially the pubs & restaurants there.

I still have very fond memories of drinks parties at "The Elephant & Wheelbarrow" (opposite the Victoria Parliament building), as well as "The Duke of Wellington" pub, diagonally opposite Flinders Railway station, I think.

Just wondering whether anyone knows if "The Duke of Wellington" offers accommodation, how much it costs, & how I could arrange it. I don't seem to see a web-site or contact details (e-mail address, etc) for this place, so would appreciate any assistance in this regard.

Cheers.

kentut_besar

15 replies

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Sun June 1, 2008 12:22 PM UTC

Hello and greetings from Pittsburgh. I, too, love Melbourne!

If you take a look here, VT member IrishFem has a review and phone number.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/53912/1c94cf/3/

Hope this helps.

Cristina

Was this reply helpful?

yes

Lacristina

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Sun June 1, 2008 12:41 PM UTC

The bad news is that I walked past it last month and it is currently under going very major construction work. We have lost a lot of pubs to other building usages so not sure if it will come back as it was. I will try and find out but if your visiting in the near future it would not be on.

The E&W is still going strong.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

mgmarcus

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Sun June 1, 2008 12:58 PM UTC

Looks like the building is protected from changes but a devoloper has brought the site and wants to build apartments on the parts that are not protected and still use the D of W as some sort of drinking establishment in the future. I have seen where their saying what the want to do but nothing about what they got approval to do in the end.

Tried the contact details below without luck
Telephone: 03 9654-4301

Was this reply helpful?

yes

mgmarcus

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Sun June 1, 2008 01:47 PM UTC

Congirming above info - D of W is closed and don't know if it will re-open as a pub or not. Sadly so many of the pubs in the city have closed down, or been "renovated" to within an inch of their lives and totally lost their original character.

That's the bad news, the good is the "Elephant" is still going strong and has a bigger brother on Fitzroy Street, StKilda.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

sirgaw

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Mon June 2, 2008 12:05 AM UTC

Oh, what bad news!

Went to the Duke several times on all my Melbourne visits, and found it absolutely unique.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

Kakapo2

[Reply]

Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Mon June 2, 2008 02:39 PM UTC

Goodness gracious, why do these things happen to the most delightful places, always ostensibly in the name of "progress" ..... (grrr !!) ..........

I hope they re-open & retain the original flavour, instead of undergoing renovation as another arty-farty place serving watered-down brightly colored fluids :) That would be really tragic !!

Anyway, good to know the E&W is still going strong, at least I still have 1 favourite watering hole in Melbourne, guess I'll have to widen my circle of pubs :)

Any other good pubs to recommend around Melbourne CBD area ?

Appreciate the advice, cheers everybody.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

kentut_besar

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Mon June 2, 2008 03:17 PM UTC

>Any other good pubs to recommend around Melbourne CBD area ?

Sadly the CBD ones (with few exceptions) have all been converted - "yuppiefied" if you like.

Many of the pubs in Firzroy, Collingwood, Richmond have retained their original flavour and particularly the back street ones. I'd stay well clear of the pokies venues too. Quite a few of the pubs are live band venues, if you're into music with the beer.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

sirgaw

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 03:32 AM UTC

i think the stork in elizabeth street has gone too - it was one of my favourites

also had great cheap accomodation

Was this reply helpful?

yes

craic

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 03:59 AM UTC

You can always go to Young and Jacksons which is directly opposite the station. Also you have a number of small bars in flinders lane that still have character.

I think closing the Duke of Wellington was a bad thing to do. The sports crowds now have to head to Y&Js or transport, no real other options.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

suzyq40

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 04:00 AM UTC

Oh and if you head to the elephant, keep an eye on your drink. I have had mine spiked a couple of times there

Was this reply helpful?

yes

suzyq40

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 04:33 AM UTC

Suzy is right, Young and Jacksons is a very nice place. And the food is good, too.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

Kakapo2

[Reply]

Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 10:04 AM UTC

Q for Suzy, you say your drinks were spiked @ E& W ?!

You mind sharing more details, e.g., what exactly did they do, put in dope or something ? How did you find out your drinks were spiked, & what can I do to prevent this from happening to me ? I don't want to end up behind bars out of ignorance ..... especially if the narco cops show up & start doing random tests .....

Good Lawd, whats happening to my beloved watering holes in Melbourne ?!

Was this reply helpful?

yes

kentut_besar

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 10:22 AM UTC

YOu never know how and when your drink will be spiked.
What happened? thats the problem, I have no idea. I dont know how I got home or anything, but know i didnt have a hangover the next day.

Was this reply helpful?

yes

suzyq40

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 11:36 AM UTC

i don't think a guy (or an older woman) would generally have their drin k spiked

I have done my rsa certificate ( resposnsible service of alcohol so i can work in a bar or a licensed restaurant) and they showed us a movie just how easy it is

what you actually need is a sober friend who notices if you suddenly blank out

Was this reply helpful?

yes

craic

[Reply]

Re: Duke of Wellington Hotel, Melbourne
Posted: Tue June 3, 2008 01:05 PM UTC

Sounds like a real worry if your a young female then, it can get very jam packed in the E&W. I read somewhere were they got agreement from the legitimte drug manufacturers to make the drug produce a color when mixed with liquid but I suppose people could put their own together or use old stock.

Was this reply helpful?

yes