Hotel Review: Shadow Play by Peppers, Southbank

Olivia Mackinnon Olivia Mackinnon
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When it comes to the age-old Sydney v Melbourne rivalry, I’ve always had my feet firmly fixed in Sydney’s camp. Being born and raised in Australia’s best city (sorry, Melburnians!) means that my loyalty has never wavered… until now.

What I’ve found is that where you lay your head at night can actually deeply impact the experience you have when you travel, because let me tell you – I’ve been to Melbourne at least 10 times, and I’ve never been quite so taken with it until my stay at Shadow Play by Peppers.

 

It probably sounds cheesy – okay, I know it does. But it’s true. Opened for the first time in April 2019, the hotel I’m branding Melbourne’s newest ‘edgy luxe’ hotel is still very much establishing itself – but you wouldn’t know it. It’s operating as though it’s as established and mysterious as one of the city’s famous hidden laneways. Okay, enough fan-girling; let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Details

Shadow Play by Peppers, Southbank
308-320 City Rd, Southbank VIC

The rooms

You’d be forgiven for thinking Shadow Play by Peppers was more of a serviced apartment than a hotel in layout if it wasn’t for the major giveaway: the beds were made every day! We had a kitchen, but not just the standard sink, kettle and mini fridge – oh no. This one had a full-sized fringe, around 10 cupboards, microwave, coffee machine, as well as incredible lounge room and hallway – with more storage. It was better than my own apartment; I could have stayed for six months.

 

The beds were also super comfortable, and my request for a cot for my five-month-old was met with a smile and a timely assembly. The curved windows showed an impressive view of the bustling city streets below, and while the bathrooms were also modern and roomy – the real winner was the addition of a winter garden. The enclosed balcony space was the perfect area for a pre-dinner vino, minus the winter Melbourne chill.

Shadow Play room
The apartment style rooms make for optimum luxe living
Comfort and design – what more could you want?

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The restaurant

Edwin. Woah. If you’re on the hunt for proper Victorian cuisine (and I get it, Melbourne isn’t short of a good spot to eat), then you can’t go past Edwin Wine Bar & Cellar. Like the hotel it belongs to, it’s still establishing itself, but it won’t need to for long. The menu featured only the best Victorian produce, minus the oysters – they were from Tassie – but don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone.

 

After going through the menu with our waiter, we settled on oysters drizzled with champagne melon and prosecco, burrata, zucchini flowers, kingfish dressed in passionfruit, charred cauliflower and slow-cooked melt-in-your-mouth lamb. It could well have been the most impressive meal I’ve devoured in at least a year – maybe even two.

 

The sommelier also presented us with an exclusive Victorian-focused wine list, and we sipped on what I can only describe as the finest riesling I’ve ever tasted. Then came the red… also ‘wow’! But I have to admit, by this point things were a little fuzzy. Smooth and delicious – but fuzzy.

The amenities

You might think Melbourne is no place for an outdoor pool, especially in winter. But it is at Shadow Play. Level nine features an outdoor lap pool heated to a comfortable swimming temperature, even in Melbourne’s infamous ‘four seasons in a day’. As long as you’re game enough to make the few steps from the pool to the sauna, it’s well worth going in for a dip. For those who aren’t, the state-of-the-art gym or sauna and steam room might be more your speed. They were certainly mine.

Level nine features an outdoor lap pool heated to a comfortable swimming temperature

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The location and the staff

During our stay we visited The Crown, which was only a short seven-minute walk away. We even crossed the Yarra and headed into Bourke Street Mall. No need for public transport, everything you need is within a 20-minute walk; easy peasy.

 

If you didn’t take up the delicious buffet breakfast at Shadow Play, ST ALi South Melbourne is a five-minute stroll away. I know this, because as soon as I arrived at Shadow Play to check in, I was handed a list of staff picks in and out of the area, covering restaurants, shopping and cafes. It was the kind of welcome surprise that’s about 10,000 times more useful than a mint on your pillow.

Shadow Play
Simplicity at its best
Olivia Mackinnon

Olivia Mackinnon

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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.