Next Melbourne Is the Soon-to-Open Inner City Hotel That’ll Barrel Age Its Spirits Onsite – Concrete Playground

Staycationing in your own city? Heading interstate for a getaway? Either way, deciding which hotel to spend the night in can depend on a range of factors. Some are straightforward, such as location and price. Others span the broader experience, including amenities, facilities, ad onsite restaurants and bars — and whether the place you’re bunking down in serves cocktails using spirits that it has barrel aged itself.

Set to open in Melbourne’s growing 80 Collins Street precinct in late March, Next Hotel Melbourne ticks the last box — and it’s the first hotel in Australia to do so. It’ll be home to a space called the Barrel Room, where it’ll run a wood-ageing program for spirits, cocktails and herbal liquors. You’ll be able to drop…