Melbourne was the last destination on our trip through Australia, and I wanted to make sure that our hotel was a memorable experience. I chose this hotel because of its location and its high regard on other travel websites. We were extremely happy with our experience.
The hotel is in an ideal location - close to plenty of dining options (check out Burma Lane directly across the street), Chinatown, shopping, and local attractions such as Federation Square, the National Gallery of Victoria, St Paul's and St Patrick's cathedrals, Fitzroy Gardens, etc. It's tucked away on one of Melbourne's narrow one-lane streets, but there's still plenty of road and foot traffic out front.
We were greeted warmly upon check-in by the reception desk and concierge, and were given warm towels to freshen up after our long day of travel. As I took care of the details, a porter showed up immediately, loaded our bags up, and took them to our room. We took the glass elevator up to the top floor of the west tower, where we found our quiet corner suite ready for us, with the porter following closely behind. He oriented us to the climate control and other features of the suite as well.
We had a spacious 2-bedroom suite with a kitchenette, dining area, and living room. Both bedrooms very quite roomy with a king bed in one room and two twins in the other. The master bath had a double sink and both bathrooms had tubs with jets. It was impeccably clean and the bath amenities were high quality and responsibly-sourced. There were large televisions in both bedrooms and the living room, so I was able to watch as much of the Cricket World Cup as I wanted as the rest of the family sought refuge elsewhere. The views from the windows were just okay, as the city has grown around the hotel, but we could still get a glimpse of the sky. There was a funny little sitting area outside our living room, which was a high-walled concrete enclosure with no view except for up, so we didn't use it. There are other rooms that had windows overlooking the atrium, but I'm not sure I would have chosen those as we could see through some of the open curtains as we rode the elevator.
A breakfast buffet was included in the special family getaway package that we booked, and it was fantastic. The coffee from the automatic machine was better than average, though if you wanted to have barista-prepared coffee there was an option for that, though I believe it comes with a nominal $4 cost. The buffet was well-stocked during the peak hours. We didn't eat at the hotel restaurant during our stay since we were eager to try other restaurants in the city, but the promos in the elevators and lobby were enticing, especially an afternoon high tea option that could be delivered to your room.
We didn't make use of the leisure amenities at this hotel since we wanted to spend most of our time exploring Melbourne. We did stop in to see the indoor rooftop pool, sauna, and exercise room, which were all modern and inviting.
For all of this, the cost of our accommodation was almost shockingly moderate, as we paid a little less than than AUD400 per night. With the prevailing exchange rate, this came to less than US$300 per night, breakfast included. As 5-star rated hotels go, especially one so conveniently located, it's hard to beat. read more