Melbourne Patron

I'm not much of a camper. I really enjoy things like running water, a mattress, and food I haven't had to prepare myself on a tiny portable stove. Having said that, I also really enjoy things like views, the city, communal spaces, and the novelty of something unusual. What if you could get all of those things together? Turns out Jerome Borazio, of St. Jerome's Laneway Bar fame, has achieved that. The hospitality entrepreneur stood on the rooftop of Melbourne Central and thought, 'luxury camping' (...as you do). The result is St. Jerome's - The Hotel  (Level 3, 271 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne), a five-star camping experience (Borazio is apparently not a fan of the term 'glamping') on the astroturf-laden rooftop of the shopping centre. Borazio adds the accommodation venue to his already impressive list of bars ( 1000  £  Bend , Sister Bella , Ponyfish Island , The Workers Club , The Kelvin Club ), pizza restaurant ( Slice Girls ), wedding ve...

I've been in Melbourne for four years. Sister Bella  (22 Drewery Place, Melbourne) was one of the first laneway bars I heard about - possibly because it had just opened - and I visited it several times in my first year or two here. Then I heard a rumour that its food licence was illegal and that it was stealing internet from Myer. I don't know where I heard that, who from, or why it influenced me, but for some reason I thought Sister Bella had closed (and no, I'm not confusing it with its former sibling, St Jerome's). And so, I haven't been back for the last two years. Until recently. Sister Bella is notoriously difficult to find. If you come to the intersection of Swanston and Lonsdale Streets, then find Drewery Place (a laneway off Lonsdale, sort of towards Melbourne Central), Sister Bella is down another (unmarked) laneway that comes off Drewery Place - right at the end, behind a gazillion bins. When you find the doorway, you will figure you're in the r...