Haunting Luxury: Hotel Windsor

A lot of historic locations shy away from their ghost stories, fearful that tales of things going bump in the night might scare off visitors. But for some businesses, those eerie whispers become an asset. The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne is one of those places where the haunted reputation only seems to add to its mystique.

For some travellers, the idea of spending the night in a hotel where Dame Nellie Melba’s voice is said to echo through the corridors is part of the allure. A haunted hotel offers the chance to step into a real-life version of The Shining. For others, the thought of a ghostly visitor interrupting their sleep after a long day in the city is less appealing. Either way, The Windsor has embraced its legacy – both architectural and spectral – to become one of Melbourne’s most iconic stays.

Dame Nellie Melba, Australia’s operatic superstar of the early 20th century, is said to be The Windsor’s most famous phantom. Stories tell of her unmistakable voice drifting down the halls, and some claim she never truly left her favourite rooms. According to local lore, she would even host secret callers within the hotel walls. Guests have also reported the apparition of a teenage boy wandering the first floor – believed by some to be protecting Melba’s old suite.

More modern accounts add to the lore. One TripAdvisor user described their bed in Room 414 rocking as if floating on water. Another likened the experience to Disney’s Haunted Mansion. Even the staff, when confronted with such tales, offer a knowing smile and the suggestion that “maybe it was a ghost.”

Beneath the ghost stories lies one of the most fascinating pieces of Melbourne’s architectural and social history. Construction of the original Grand Hotel began in 1883 under shipping magnate George Nipper. Designed by Charles Webb, its Renaissance Revival style made an immediate statement: Melbourne was a city of sophistication, wealth, and ambition.

The building soon became a symbol of the temperance movement when, in 1886, it was transformed into the Grand Coffee Palace. Alcohol was banned, and the hotel served as a flagship for the liquor-free lifestyle championed by Premier James Munro and parliamentarian James Balfour. The grandeur remained, but the glasses held coffee, not champagne.

In 1897, the alcohol ban was lifted, and the hotel reclaimed its original name. By 1920, under the chairmanship of Sir John Monash, the Grand Hotel merged with the neighbouring Old White Hart Hotel and was reborn as The Windsor Hotel. Over the decades, it underwent further refurbishments, narrowly escaped demolition in the 1970s, and today remains the last surviving example of a nineteenth-century luxury hotel in Melbourne.

Whether you’re visiting for high tea, a stay in a luxury suite, or in search of ghostly encounters, The Windsor offers more than just a night in Melbourne – it offers a brush with history, myth, and maybe even the paranormal.

You can read more about the Hotel Windsor in Issue 12 of Unknowing.