Le Meridien’s Rooftop Pool and Bar Are Open to the Public for Summer

There are few better Melbourne summer activities than a visit to one of the city’s many. Now that the temperature has well and truly risen, Le Méridien’s pool deck, Le Splash, is once again open to the public.

The CBD hotel’s level five rooftop pool bar and terrace is typically reserved for hotel guests. But during summer, anyone can buy a pool pass and enjoy a dip in the 28-degree pool, some dry sauna time and city views. A limited number of morning passes (which grant access from 8am to midday) are available daily, and from Sundays to Thursdays sunset passes that allow you to swim from 6pm to 9pm are available. Passes are $85 per person and include Le Scoop gelato and a complimentary wine, beer, tea, coffee or soft drink.

From 5pm to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, the rooftop pool bar is open for those who prefer to drink and dine poolside rather than dive into the water. The unfussy bar menu is the work of executive chef Hervé Borghini, who also oversees the hotel’s European bistro, Dolly. “It’s food that fits the pace of a long afternoon, drinks you recognise, and a menu you can return to regularly throughout summer,” he says. 

The signature steak sandwich – seared flat iron steak with melted cheese, caramelised onions, sweet pickles and rocket sandwiched between grilled Turkish bread – is a relaxed take on Dolly’s steak frites. “We wanted to translate those flavours into something suited for a rooftop setting,” he says. And the Mediterranean melon salad is a “bright and sweet” combination of watermelon, cucumber, feta, pistachio and finished with a lime mint dressing. 

Cocktails lean classic with Aperol Spritzes being the most ordered drink. And it’s worth booking in just for the house-made ice bars, which Borghini says are restrained in sweetness and designed to refresh rather than overwhelm. Choose from either the Citrus Frost, a limoncello iceblock dipped in white chocolate, or Berry Noir, a strawberry iceblock that’s coated in dark chocolate.

Being Le Meridien, there are naturally some upmarket offerings including poolside champagne and caviar served with blinis, chives and crème fraîche. “The roe is large and glossy, with a firm texture and gentle salinity,” Borghini says of the Kaluga Hybrid Sturgeon caviar on offer. It’s paired with GH Mumm Cordon Rouge, but the hotel also has an allocation of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015 Limited Edition by Takashi Murakami available on request.

Despite the elements of luxury, “the focus is on quality enjoyed casually, as part of a long afternoon on the rooftop rather than a formal occasion,” Borghini says. “The rooftop stands on its own as a relaxed, down-to-earth space designed for repeat visits rather than special occasions.”

Bookings are essential.

Le Splash at Le Meridien
20 Bourke Street, Melbourne
(03) 9123 3900

Hours:
Pool
Sun to Thu 8am–midday; 6pm–9pm
Fri & Sat 8am–midday

Bar
Fri & Sat 5pm to 9pm

lesplashmelbourne.com