Melbourne, Victoria

So/ Melbourne

Accor's So/ brand is making its Australian debut in a heritage cannery building on the northern edge of Melbourne's CBD, with construction under way years behind the project's original 2023 target.

Announced · TBC
So/ Melbourne

Accor is bringing its So/ brand to Australia for the first time at 388 William Street, on the northern edge of Melbourne's CBD, retaining the heritage facade of a Second World War-era cannery. Originally targeted for 2023, the roughly 289-room hotel is still under construction with no new opening date confirmed.

The essentials

Group
Accor · So/
Opening
TBC
Rooms & suites
289 rooms
Segment
Luxury lifestyle
Designer
Elenberg Fraser
Entry rate
NC

The place

So/ Melbourne occupies 388 William Street, on the corner of William and Franklin Streets at the northern edge of the CBD, directly across the road from Flagstaff Gardens and a short walk from Queen Victoria Market.

The concept

First announced in 2020, So/ Melbourne will be the So/ brand's first Australian property, developed by MIT Group Holdings and designed by Elenberg Fraser around the heritage facade of the former Dominion Can Company building, a cannery that packed rations during the Second World War. The original 2023 opening target has lapsed; heritage demolition and site works to prepare the block for construction were under way by 2023, and the developer's own project materials describe demolition as under way, with the build tracked as in progress as of 2026. No new opening date has been confirmed.

Dining & wellness

No restaurant, bar or wellness operator has been announced for the property.

Other hotels in Melbourne

Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton

Melbourne, Victoria

Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton

IHG's Crowne Plaza brand has landed in Carlton for the first time, opening a 107-room hotel overlooking Lincoln Square's fig trees — the inner-north suburb's first internationally branded stay, anchored by an Italian share-plates restaurant named after the square's own trees.

Upscale (Crowne Plaza) · 107 rooms

Open · April 7, 2026
Hannah St Hotel

Melbourne, Victoria

Hannah St Hotel

A triangular new boutique hotel has slotted into the podium of Southbank's Queensbridge Building, pairing Flack Studio interiors with a 25-metre glass-roofed pool and a European bistro from The Mulberry Group — Collection by TFE Hotels' most design-driven debut yet.

Upscale / design-led boutique · 188 rooms

Open · December 2025
Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins

Melbourne, Victoria

Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins

IHG's boutique Hotel Indigo brand has opened its second Melbourne address behind four preserved heritage facades on Little Collins Street, part of the group's first dual-branded Australian development, paired with a separate Holiday Inn a block away.

Upscale boutique lifestyle (Hotel Indigo) · 179 rooms

Open · September 11, 2025
Hyatt House South Melbourne

Melbourne, Victoria

Hyatt House South Melbourne

Hyatt House South Melbourne opened on 1 July 2025 as the Hyatt House brand's debut property in Australia and the Pacific, occupying a new 19-storey tower on Palmerston Crescent.

Upscale

Open · July 2025
1 Hotel Melbourne

Melbourne, Victoria

1 Hotel Melbourne

1 Hotel Melbourne opened on June 19, 2025, marking SH Hotels & Resorts' first Australian property and the nature-forward 1 Hotels brand's debut in the Asia-Pacific region.

Luxury

Open · June 2025
Hyde Melbourne Place

Melbourne, Victoria

Hyde Melbourne Place

Ennismore's Hyde brand debuts in Australia inside the reimagined Melbourne Place, in the heart of the CBD

Lifestyle · 191 rooms

Open · May 2025
Lanson Place Parliament Gardens

Melbourne, Victoria

Lanson Place Parliament Gardens

Hong Kong's Lanson Place chose a 1901 Salvation Army printing works on the edge of East Melbourne for its first Australian hotel, restoring the heritage-listed building into a 137-key property with more than 450 commissioned artworks tracing the site's printing-press history.

Luxury · 137 rooms

Open · September 20, 2024
The Standard Melbourne (Fitzroy)

Melbourne, Victoria

The Standard Melbourne (Fitzroy)

Standard International brought its rebellious lifestyle-hotel playbook to Australia for the first time in August 2024, opening The StandardX Melbourne on Fitzroy's Rose Street after a rocky, multi-year path to launch.

Lifestyle · 125 rooms

Open · 2024
The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne

Melbourne, Victoria

The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne

Occupies Australia's tallest hotel tower

Luxury · 257 rooms

Open · 2023