A staycation at The Olsen, Art Series Hotel

This year I promised I’d give myself some more “me” time and take more frequent breaks from work and writing to recharge the batteries a little. Since working as a freelancer and having a mobile office, often the lines between work and personal space become blurred so I love any excuse to take a break from technology and reflect and re-energise.

I was recently invited to The Olsen, to play their stay and play initiative – the Art Series Hotel Group overstay checkout concept. The concept is simple -just book a stay in any of the Art Series hotels and on the day you are due to check out you can call reception for a late check out or even an over stay (extra night for free). If you get another night you can try again the next day. Sounds like a good excuse to have an extended staycation! And after all who wants to check out of a nice hotel before 11am anyway?

It’s always great to visit my former stomping ground of South Yarra and see how much it has changed over the last few years. Located on Chapel Street, The Olsen is a boutique hotel nestled in the heart of South Yarra and is surrounded by quality restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. It features a large glass bottomed pool, sun deck, day spa and a contemporary restaurant and bar.

I stayed in one of The Olsen’s studio suite’s which is a perfect option for singles or a couple. Featuring John Olsen’s lyrical prints and earthy toned designer furnishings, it was easy to feel immediately at home. There’s even a reclining chair to watch movies on their flat screen television, or an equally comfortable queen sized bed which is perfect to sink into with a cup of tea. There’s also complimentary T2 tea and coffee and a fully stocked mini bar for some epic afternoon munching.

It was lovely to put the feet up and read some travel magazines to fuel the next wanderlust adventure.

The Olsen is a perfect base to explore Melbourne. In the evening we had some pre dinner cocktails at Katuk before heading to one of my favourite little Italian restaurants in Melbourne – 38 chairs on Bond Street. If you’re looking for some good old-fashioned Italian fare, think no further. The hidden gem in Bond Street offers diners sumptuous dishes like melt in your mouth style gnocchi served with mozzarella and basil and velvety pappardelle with duck ragu. With its charming atmosphere and charismatic Italian waiters, you couldn’t get much more of an authentic Italian experience outside of Italy.

In the morning I called reception to see if we could extend our check out. Unfortunately they had someone else checking in that night so an additional night was not available but we were offered a late checkout of 3.00pm. So I rolled over and got an extra hour’s sleep before ordering breakfast in bed from Spoonbill Restaurant, their in-room dining service.

    

After breakfast, we had a quick swim in the glass bottomed pool before retreating to the sun deck for some extra rest and relaxation.

The overstay checkout promotion is available at all the Art Series Hotels (The Olsen in South Yarra, The Blackman on St Kilda Road, The Cullen in Prahran, The Schaller Studio in Bendigo, The Larwill Studio in Parkville and The Watson in Adelaide). The promotion finishes on January 18. It’s available at all the Arts Series Hotels. You can find a list of these here http://www.artserieshotels.com.au

I was kindly invited as a guest of the Art Series Hotel Group. All views are honest and my own.