Notel is part boutique hotel, part caravan-park, perched upon a Melbourne rooftop amongst the city’s office buildings.

The brainchild of Melbourne-born entrepreneur, James Fry, Notel is accessed through a hidden doorway with no signage. It’s deliberately difficult to find: the clue is that “roller doors don’t always roll”.

Check-in is via an app downloaded to your smartphone which acts as a digital lock. The house concierge is an iPad loaded with suggestions for bars, restaurants and places to find good coffee.

The six 9.5m vintage Airstream trailers imported from the US were bought by Fry for around $70,000 each and have been kitted out with mod-cons and luxury fittings courtesy of architects Edwards Moore.

The AstroTurf is red, the trailers chrome and the space is dwarfed by tall buildings. Palms and cacti complete a Palm Springs-style oasis among the concrete high-rises. The backdrop is by the artist Ash Keating.

Each trailer has its own little terrace constructed out of palettes. The interiors pay homage to the ’50s golden age of caravanning with hues of bright pink, grey and white, but are modern interpretations of the small space movement.