InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto

Taking its name from the famous bridge that crosses the Grande Canal in Venice, The Rialto is as rich in character as it is in history.

Built in 1891, the hotel began as two separate buildings that housed the famous Melbourne wool stores and its offices. The bluestone cobbled laneways between the Rialto and Winfield buildings, which once echoed with the clatter of horse hoofs as carts carried wool and wheat to the wharves, remains untouched under our floorboards.

Completed during the Gold Rush when Melbourne was the richest city in the world, the historic Rialto building was commissioned by Patrick McCaughan, a wealthy Melbourne businessman, and designed in the neo-gothic style by celebrated architect William Pitt.

Next door, the Winfield building housed the offices that serviced the wool and wheat stores in the late 1800s. Designed by architects Richard Speight Jr. and Charles D’ebro, the Australian National Trust lists it as “an example of the brick Romanesque style from the closing phase of the gold boom”.

This magnificent hotel was acquired by InterContinental Hotels and Resorts in December 2008 after a $60 million renovation and refurbishment.

Come and experience a glorious mix of old and new in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.