element melbourne - hotel party event - mint lane

Block Party @elementmelbourne

How do we tackle jet lag? We head out to a party to celebrate the grand opening of Element Melbourne Richmond! And what a party it was! Having only arrived back in Melbourne from Bangkok that afternoon (you see soon more), a quick nap saw us fit and ready to head out to enjoy the grand opening of this new establishment in Richmond, Melbourne.

Launch Party @ElementMelbourne

This environmentally conscious, pet-friendly hotel for active travellers just opened its doors in June to guests. Equipped with a state-of-the-art fitness centre and healthy food options, this hotel is really geared at helping you find wellness and balance in life while you’re away from home. The hotel is in Richmond, Melbourne (as the name states) in a fairly quiet part of town. The location is only a stone’s throw away from everything that a Melbourne visitor would need so we can see it being a popular destination. Your four-legged friend is also welcome to stay!

Event and Conference venue in Melbourne

Not knowing what to expect, we walked into quite a feast of food and entertainment. My eyes grew wide when I saw large pans brimming to the top with delicious paella! There were grazing tables with seasonal fruit and cheeses, an oyster stand, a pizza stand, skewers on a bbq, freshly shaved salami and prosciutto, a table covered in more sweets than we could cope with! The Melbourne Gin Company must have known that my love affair with gin had been rekindled while we were away in Europe! Their Single Shot gin and tonics were divine! A live band had guests tapping their feet away and for those who were cold, they were welcome to pedal on the bikes which generated electricity for the photo wall.

With a plate of paella in one hand and a drink in the other, we found seating in one of the igloos which the hotel has erected outside for relaxation. After a bit of fun with strangers inside the igloo and packs of conversation starter cards, we rejoined the party outside and signed up for a masterclass in gnocchi rolling! We were wondering why guests were running around with aprons and chefs hats on when we arrived!

Mint Lane Restaurant

The wonderful chefs at Element Melbourne Richmond taught us what it takes to make the perfect gnocchi. It’s really all about using the right flour (OO Flour) and potatoes (Purple Congo potatoes in this instance). Chef Christian then cooked our perfectly rolled out (cough, cough) and shaped gnocchi then tossed them into a pan with a rich gorgonzola cheese sauce and served them up to us. They sure tasted better than they looked!

Puppies! Nearly forgot about all those cute, immaculately groomed puppies running around! Did I mention that this hotel was pet-friendly? Wish I had a dog to take along to such a party! We don’t own a dog due to the fact that we have no extra time for them. Handling two kids is enough work! It was fun to say pet the spoilt dogs which were there. There were dog groomers at the party to pamper these pooches!

We must have really enjoyed ourselves as we stayed right until the end. Our jet lag could have had us hanging around all night! Pleased to say that we refrained from filling up a takeaway box with sweets (it was really hard to say no). Our month of over-indulgence over in Europe had to stop somewhere! Our waistlines really didn’t need those delicious looking chocolates and jars of sweetness.

Thanks for the wonderful hospitality team Element Melbourne Richmond!

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