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Fondue, Raclette and a Chalet Room: Melbourne’s Most Indulgent Winter Night Is Back
Fondue Chalet returns to Fed Square with private timber chalets, molten cheese, mulled wine and fire pits, now with the option to turn dinner into a full city sleepover.
In partnership with Fondue Chalet, we invite you into Melbourne’s most indulgent winter escape, where fondue, raclette, mulled wine, and a chalet-inspired DoubleTree stay make the city feel deliciously elsewhere.
Melbourne winter has a way of making the city more delicious after dark. Coats come out, wine gets richer, and dinner suddenly deserves a little ceremony. This season, Fed Square is going full après-ski, with melted French cheese, timber chalets and a decision worth gathering friends over: fondue or raclette?
Fondue Chalet returns to Federation Square this May, bringing its French Alpine cheese ritual back to the middle of Melbourne. For seven weeks, 18 private wooden chalets will turn Fed Square into a winter village of mulled wine, charcuterie, fire pits and the scent of Alpine cheese melting into the evening air.
The real draw this year is the choice. Before stepping inside your chalet, you choose your path. Fondue is the bubbling pot at the centre of the table, made for dipping bread and charcuterie into molten French cheese. Raclette is the more tactile affair: melted cheese scraped over potatoes, pickles and cured meats, all comfort and ceremony. Either way, the evening is designed for sharing, with chalets seating groups of six or eight and the whole table taking part in the same Alpine tradition.
It begins, as any good winter escape should, with mulled wine in hand. From there, the table fills with a generous charcuterie board before the main event arrives, ready to be passed, dipped, scraped and devoured. Inside each chalet, a wine fridge stocked with French Alpine wines keeps the mood going at your own pace, while outside, fire pits invite a post-dinner moment with roasted marshmallows and seasonal fruit. Those with heroic appetites can add chocolate fondue to finish.
This year, the night also stretches beyond dinner. In partnership with Fondue Chalet, DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne – Flinders Street has transformed its loft room into a Winter Chalet Loft Room, decked out with faux furs, golden lighting, Alpine-inspired details and a hot chocolate station on arrival. Guests who book the room also receive 15% off their Fondue Chalet experience, turning a cheese-filled dinner into a full winter city escape.
The location does its bit, too. DoubleTree by Hilton sits opposite Flinders Street Station and just a short walk from Fed Square, so the night can move from chalet to hotel room without having to step back into ordinary life too soon. One moment you are scraping raclette over potatoes under the city lights, the next you are upstairs with hot chocolate, soft textures and the smug little pleasure of not having to go home.
To close the meal in true Alpine style, presenting sponsor Casa Spirits will be pouring a selection of traditional after-dinner digestifs, including Cinnamon Whisky, Butterscotch, Peach Liqueur and Pink Gin. It is a neat final flourish: sweet, spirited and made for the end of a long winter table.
For families, the 5pm sitting keeps things easy and early. For dinner groups, 7pm catches the full glow of the evening. For friends making a night of it, the 8:30pm session brings the most indulgent after-dark mood, with wine, cheese and the lights of the city just beyond the chalet door.
Melbourne does winter well when it commits to the mood. Fondue Chalet gives it timber walls, French cheese, mulled wine and a very good reason to gather six or eight of your favourite people around the table. Add the DoubleTree Winter Chalet Loft Room, and Fed Square stops feeling like somewhere you pass through. For one cheese-soaked night, it becomes the start of a mini Alpine holiday.
Need to Know
What: Fondue Chalet Melbourne
Where: Fed Square, Melbourne CBD
When: From Friday 15th May to Saturday 27th June 2026
Cost: From $79 per person for six or eight people per chalet
Good to know: Children under six eat free
Add-on: Chocolate fondue from $59 for six people or $79 for eight people
Hotel package: Book the Winter Chalet Loft Room at DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne – Flinders Street and receive 15% off your Fondue Chalet experience
Book : Book your private chalet via Fondue Chalet
This is winter escapism with all the trimmings: a private timber chalet at Fed Square, French Alpine cheese on the table, Casa Spirits digestifs to finish, and the option to carry the mood upstairs to the Winter Chalet Loft Room at DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne – Flinders Street. No flights, no frostbite, just one very delicious reason to make a night of it. Book your private chalet and give Melbourne winter the Alpine treatment.
