A lyf LESS ORDINARY: THE ASCOTT LIMITED OPENS lyf IN COLLINGWOOD, MELBOURNE
A place to stay? Check. A place to work. Check. A place to network, make friends, cook a meal, raise a glass, bring a pooch? Check off all the above at lyf Collingwood Melbourne, open now.
Pronounced ‘life’ or ‘live your freedom’, lyf Collingwood, Melbourne is the first lyf to open in Australia, and it’s a hotel but not as you know it. It’s a shared workspace but also a play space. It’s a communal kitchen for fun hangs and a launderette that makes a chore a pleasure. All designed for next generation guests to forge connections and nurture a strong sense of community.
A lyf THAT HAS IT ALL
lyf Collingwood, Melbourne is envisaged as a place where leisure travellers can mix and mingle with business travellers, where friends can catch up over a coffee before going in search of a perfect lunch, where guests can do a load of laundry before their next adventure, where a start-up founder can pitch a potential investor in a tech meeting space.
Located in the hippest corner of the hippest neighbourhood in Melbourne, lyf Collingwood is two minutes’ walk to Smith Street, the world’s coolest street according to global culture bible Time Out, and a 10-minute tram to the CBD.
Its neighbours are Melbourne’s chicest boutiques, edgiest galleries, quirkiest homewares stores and buzziest restaurants and bars.
lyf features 105 studio rooms with a choice of the One of a Kind studio or the Two of a Kind offering, custom-designed for mates or colleagues travelling together and featuring two side-by-side studio rooms with shared communal kitchen space decked out with SMEG appliances.
Through #lyfxart, guests can discover Melbourne’s Street art right within the property. Think custom murals by contemporary artist Mysterious Al adorning the property’s walls and most strikingly, a giant piece on the building’s exterior which can’t be missed. Each unit also boasts a bespoke wallpaper design by the artist.
There’s a networking lounge, free barista made coffee for Ascott Star Rewards members, high speed Wi-Fi, a communal kitchen and a laundry space with an old school arcade-style games machine.
The 24-hour reception area is staffed with expert lyf guards who live to find a great pizza at 2am, the perfect afternoon wine bar or dog-friendly walking path for discerning hounds.
Shermaine Chong, lyf champion, AKA lyf Residence Manager, said the lyf concept recognised travellers just want more. “Start-ups and technopreneurs don’t just want a conference room — they want fun, creative spaces and the opportunity to explore. They want to bond and network organically.”
“Guests don’t just want a room and a shower. They’re looking to connect with like-minded people. They want a team who can help them really discover the fabric of a neighbourhood — the secret bar, the pop-up restaurant, the late-night comedy gig. Our guests want authenticity and community — they want somewhere to stay that is much more than just somewhere to sleep.”
And that includes travelling doggos who are welcomed under the CollingWOOF Canines package with a bed, blanket and food bowl for their stay plus a welcome pack including a treat and toy.
For guests who want to take the stress out of coordinating their stay, there’s the Once in a lyf Time Experience package which includes two nights in a One of a Kind studio, a welcome cocktail or brew on check-in and a bespoke local experience curated by the lyf Guards.
B now: https://www.discoverasr.com/en/offers/once-in-a-lyf-time-experience
THE lyf Collingwood, Melbourne EXPERIENCE
A cool meeting room to pitch to a potential investor? A hip hang out to savour a drink between hitting the galleries and heading to the newest culinary experience to hit Collingwood?
From the Connect coworking lounge, to the light-filled courtyard, to the meeting rooms and sensory space decked out with vinyl records to the Bond communal kitchen, there’s a space for every possibility at lyf Collingwood Melbourne.
And there’s an apartment to suit every need too at the 105-unit coliving property.
The Two of a Kind studios are designed for friends or colleagues travelling together. They have side-by-side apartments with separate lockable entrances and a shared kitchen featuring stylish SMEG appliances.
The One of a Kind studios are perfect for singles or pairs. For those seeking a little more floor space there’s One of a Kind Plus accessible apartments, featuring open format bathrooms with wheel-in shower and easy access counters and door handles.
KNOW THE lyf ESSENTIALS
SAY HI!: Staffed by expert “lyf Guards”, the 24-hour reception offers complimentary barista-made coffee for members of Ascott’s loyalty programme Ascott Star Rewards.
CONNECT: Social lounge at ground-floor lobby with high-speed Wi-Fi and charging outlets.
BOND: Communal kitchen equipped for making a simple breakfast or an impressive three-course meal.
WASH & HANG: Launderette with washers, dryers and an arcade-style games machine.
COLLAB & WHITE ROOM: Small meeting and multi-purpose rooms for hatching plans, hosting presentations and brainstorming.
COLLINGWOOF CANINES: Discerning doggos who enjoy travelling are welcomed with a bed, blanket, food bowl, treat and toy.
David Mansfield, Ascott’s Managing Director - Australia, also expressed his excitement for the continued growth of their key brands in the Australian market: Citadines Apart’hotel, Citadines Connect, Somerset Serviced Residence, Quest Apartment Hotels and lyf.
“The opening of lyf Collingwood signals the start of a phase of growth for The Ascott Limited in Australia, following successful integration of the Quest Apartment Hotels brand into the business.”
“We see great opportunity for expansion across key gateway cities in Australia, especially for our globally successful Citadines Apart’hotel and lyf brands and we are currently working with a number of interested parties on both management and franchise models.”
In 2023, the company will bring the Citadines Apart’hotel brand to Sydney with the opening of the 252 room Citadines Walker North Sydney.
Furthermore, The Ascott limited continues its aggressive growth of the Quest Apartment Hotels brand under the successful business format franchise model and is set to open four new apartment hotels this year (Quest 256 Lambton, Wellington, Quest Hastings, Quest on Cambridge, Christchurch and Quest Watergardens, Melbourne), and six in 2023 (Quest Collingwood, Melbourne, Quest Geelong Central, Quest Woolooware Bay, Quest Blacktown and Quest on Wickham Terrace).
WHAT’S NEXT FOR lyf?
In 2022, four other lyf properties are slated to open across the globe in gateway cities such as Bangkok, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur and Xi’an. Five other lyf properties are scheduled to open in Beijing, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Paris by 2025.
On Monday 11th April, Mr Kevin Goh, Chief Executive Officer for The Ascott Limited announced that the company has set a target to sign 150 properties with over 30,000 units under its lyf coliving brand by 2030.
At the same time, Mr Goh announced the launch of lyf Innovation Lab to develop immersive virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to deliver cutting-edge experiences to guests in the metaverse. Created in collaboration with Singapore’s Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Informatics & IT, the lyf Innovation Lab will explore, design and testbed immersive virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies and digital experiences for lyf.
lyf one-north Singapore will serve as a living lab for field testing these digital innovations. Successful pilots will eventually be implemented across other lyf properties worldwide.