Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Help Needed in Choosing Melbourne Hotel

I will staying (as part of my honeymoon) in Melbourne for 3 nights later this month and was wondering if any one can help me decide from the following hotels:



Hotel Windsor Melbourne $ 465
InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto $ 502
Adelphi Hotel Melbourne $ 525
Como Hotel Melboure $ 538
The Grand Hotel Melbourne - Member of the MGallery Collection $ 540
The Lyall Hotel & Spa Melbourne $ 554
Quay West Suites Melbourne $ 560
The Langham Melbourne $ 582
Grand Hyatt Melbourne $ 649
Sofitel Melbourne On Collins $ 679
The Westin Melbourne $ 680
Park Hyatt Hotel Melbourne $ 686

Above prices in US $ and are inclusive of taxes for 3 nights.

We are looking for a hotel that is closeby to shopping/restaurants/etc. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Piyush

Most of the hotels in your list are in the CDB with the exception of the Como which is loctated in South Yarra, about 10 mins away from Flinders St by train. The hotels with the best locations for shopping and entertainment would be the Westin on Swanston, Grand Hyatt and Sofitel on Collins and the Langham for Southbank and Crown Casino complex. The Park Hyatt is a little further away and in a more quiet area on the edge of the CBD. That's the only hotel I've stayed in Melbourne so I wouldn't recommend it if you want to be in the heart of the city. The Como is in a very nice area of South Yarra with lots of shopping and entertainment on the doorstep.

Don't know much about the other hotels.

I stayed @ the Langham when it was still a Sheraton. Nice hotel, close to crown etc, but cant remember how close to the rest of town.

I assumed someone else might give a detailed rundown but I can comment a bit on some of them.


Hotel Windsor Melbourne $ 465


Never stayed here. The location is on the edge of the CBD. Very nice park nearby. Some great restaurants nearby but probably not much shopping.


Quay West Suites Melbourne $ 560
The Langham Melbourne $ 582


Both of these are across the river in Southbank. A colleague spent a month in the Quay West Suites and enjoyed it. I stayed at the Langham and enjoyed it. Southbank has lots of restaurants. Possible to have an amazing view of the city. The shopping in Southbank leaves a lot to be desired. Nice walk along the river to the casino and across the river to the CBD. Price seems low for the Langham.


Grand Hyatt Melbourne $ 649


I've stayed here and generally like the hotel. Nice lounge for Hyatt Diamonds. In the CBD and some high end shopping around.


Sofitel Melbourne On Collins $ 679


On top of a shopping mall. Great movie theater in the mall. Some good restaurants in the area. Not far from the Windsor.


The Westin Melbourne $ 680


Excellent location. In the middle of everything. Never stayed there.

For your honeymoon I'd probably for for the Westin. I'd be surprised if you can't get a better rate.

Grand Hyatt, Westin or Sofitel (in that order) would get my vote. Crown Towers is absent from your list - has its advantages and disadvantages along with other hotels you have mentioned - and you may like to consider it.

Unless you smoke (all rooms non-smoking), Westin would be my pick, great hotel in a great location.

From a locals point of view, the Grand Hyatt and the Sofitel are my favourites, the Westin is also great, in an ideal locality close to shopping malls and arcades, I noticed you are SPG gold. GH is offering 5000 bonus points and the Sofitel has the finest club lounge. What I love about the Sofitel is the food court downstairs, and for those afternoons or nights, a superb arthouse theatre. IMO either of these three will not disappoint, enjoy your stay in our city. Our peso/dollar has collapsed, so you will have incredible buying power, regards bkkrop

The Windsor is the unique hotel in the mix -- it is an old historic Victorian hotel that has been partially remodeled (how appropriate for Victoria!). A bit like the Palace in SF, for example. Expect quirky features which can be either charming or annoying, but in any case squeaky wooden floors, etc. It used to be owned by Oberoi (probably still is, I haven't checked) which is both good and bad. Location is actually quite good despite being by parliament and on the fringe of the CBD. But the Westin is pretty much the best hotel in Melbourne these days (and charges accordingly).

Sofitel, no contest.

I recently stayed at the Grand Hyatt to try something different - meh.

If the Sofitel had a pool (and pole dancers) it would be the perfect hotel. Best Sofitel outside Europe.

Thank you for all the tips! Looks like I might be able to get a good deal on the Marriott through priceline.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Piyush

Thank you for all the tips! Looks like I might be able to get a good deal on the Marriott through priceline.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Piyush

I can't comment on the inside of the Marriott, but as someone who used to work in the telco building across the street I can say that even though our windows were tinted and you couldn't see in, we could certainly see out, and right into the Marriott. A number of guests at the Marriott didn't seem to realise this, and there were some, err, interesting sights to say the least, some good :o, and some very very bad, that no-one should have to see :eek:!! So take care if you stay there!

Thank you for all the tips! Looks like I might be able to get a good deal on the Marriott through priceline.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Piyush

If you want a specific hotel, check out their prices on wotif.com first http://tinyurl.com/d672lb.

I can only do a current comparison between IC and Westin (as these are the only ones I have stayed at in the last 6 months), but here are my thoughts.

Westin is pretty nice, and in a terrific location, but I decided that I prefer IC Melbourne. IC's location isn't as good as Westin (further towards Southern Cross station on Collins Street than Westin), but the IC here gave me a very large, lovely room (I'm an Amb with IC) that I think used to be called 'junior suite' when it was a Le Meridien.

The room is ergonomically better set up generally (adjustable 'office' type chair at the desk, for instance, and having a desk mat so you don't need to use a mouse mat even though it's a glass desk), in my view (important for me as I work in the room as well as go out). I also don't like free standing wardrobes (which Westin had).

Toiletry items are better at IC where they give you generous bottles of Elemis products whereas at Westin you get generic Westin ones. I took the risk of testing the hair products on my hair and Elemis ones were far better.

The staff and services were also better than Westin, and being a newly opened hotel, you get very nice, fluffy towels :D

It's amazing to see the Park Hyatt at US$686 for three nights with tax. Wow.