HollyGlen

Sorry @bgriff, a bit late as I haven't been on FT for a while. Nonetheless, I hope an updated report may be useful to other readers.

I was here on 23 Dec for a night, taking two rooms for the family. Construction noise was a non-factor, despite me being on the third floor. However, the trams can get rather noisy at night.

Standard rooms at Westin are indeed bigger than at the Sheraton, and the bathrooms are of an obscene size. Fitness facilities are also far better at Westin, as you would expect, as is the breakfast. My SNAs cleared for a Spa Suite, with a seriously ginormous bathroom large enough for you to put in a rollaway bed. Staff are also friendlier here, and there are free ice-creams for the kids in the lobby after 2pm which was a very nice touch during the Australian summer.

All in all, I think the Westin is a superior property to the Sheraton in terms of hardware and software, not to mention its proximity to Flinders Street Station and "the action". And it was a relative bargain at AUD 259 per night.

Edited to add: The only real downside during my stay was being denied my "guaranteed" 4pm late checkout on Christmas Eve, because "we are chock-a-block". I don't recall seeing that exception in the Bonvoy T&Cs I suspect it is far more likely that they couldn't get enough housekeepers to work after 5pm on Christmas Eve to get the rooms in order for the new guests, but anyway.

bgriff

Thanks for the update. My SNA ended up clearing at the Sheraton and I stayed there, and shared my thoughts about it on that thread. For me it came down to wanting a proper multi-room suite, which the Sheraton was able to deliver and the Westin doesn't offer with SNAs (and I was very unlikely to get a rare Regent Suite upgrade at check-in, given that I was staying over NYE). If not for that I agree it sounds like the Westin is probably the better hotel for other areas like location and breakfast, though I found the Sheraton reasonably good on these dimensions as well. If the Westin had "proper" suites available on SNAs there never would have been any question of where I was going to stay, but alas.

777 global mile hound

How was breathing the air? The news said if you are there now its equivalent to smoking 36 cigarettes a day!

bgriff

Not great! During our first stop in MEL it wasn’t too bad until our last day in town on the 3rd. We were then in NZ and just got back to MEL to pick up our flight back to the States in a few days and it’s still pretty bad, though I think it was worse while we were away. All of the snow-capped mountains on the South Island were streaked with brown soot from the fires

Honestly saying it’s like smoking 36 cigarettes somehow seems less scary ... I mean people do that and it’s not great but it doesn’t kill you instantly. But walking around constantly smelling and breathing smoke feels like it should be even more dire.

We’re staying at the Crown Towers for this quick stop in Melbourne and I might have to swing by the smoking section of the casino for some fresh air.

Annalisa12

Huge amount of noisy construction going on around The Westin.

m0hamed

The long term effects are still unknown... https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...06-p53p87.html

Dpetryszyn

Hello!

Any recent stays that can report what the Platinum breakfast benefit is currently at this property?

I will be visiting Melbourne for the first time in May and debating between this property and the W.

I will be using points so wondering if the 10k per night difference is worth staying at the W over the Westin.

lewin85

It's a nice buffet breakfast.

W is a daily $36 credit to be used on an ala carte menu.

I stayed at both last week - W in a Fantastic Suite and Westin in a Deluxe Spa Room both via SNA. I didn't think W is any special and for a first timer in Melbourne perhaps Westin has a slightly better location.

flyerbjorn

I'm a breakfast person and really liked the breakfast at the Westin last time I stayed there. Dinner was good too.

I haven't stayed at the W, so I cannot compare.

Dpetryszyn

Thanks for the replies!

I am a newly minted Platinum member and never used SNAs or breakfast benefit.

I plan on having 2 rooms at either property. 4 people total. Will all 4 members be able to enjoy breakfast buffet at the Westin?
Will I get $36x4 if I stay at the W?

My initial research says it's property dependent so any insight is appreciated.

littlevoices

Thought I'd post some brief recent thoughts having done two stays here using points, including one over new years eve. One stay was in a spa studio (50m2) and was a base room points stay plus using SNA, the second stay was a basic room on points and the hotel upgraded us to a Delux room (40-44m2), which also had a great view of the fireworks over the city in the evening, which was appreciated (as we have kids so weren't able to be about at midnight).

Overall thoughts: Property is a great location as a tourist, it is well maintained and on brand-standard, with a reasonably sized TV that also did screen sharing easily. However there are points where it is showing its age - i.e. too few chargers (one alarm with a wireless charger, but no USB chargers) and in both rooms we had some problems with the lights that essentially meant turning out some lights disabled some power sockets.
Breakfast was a good selection, and after a few Sheraton grand hotels in Australia (Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane) you could see the premium selection options here, not available there, such as cold pressed juices and even a plant area (that most days included a vegan laksa). We ate at the lobby lounge one evening and thought the quality was very high too - always seemed busy enough with people eating or drinking there.

As a Titanium member I received two drinks vouchers and a free breakfast for two (plus baby), as I don't believe there is a lounge. This was "fine" and nothing special. We had originally intended to stay at the W for the second stay, but switched back to the Westin as it was ~35% cheaper on points and we were happy there and felt that it was slightly better location with slightly bigger rooms.

ElevatorEnthusiast

The Westin Melbourne is a comfortable classic with a generally calm vibe. There are some areas that a refresh could improve, but I would return. Here are my pros, cons, and photos:

Pros:

• Upgraded several days in advance to a Deluxe External View King - no suites or higher room types available online - room was on top guest floor (7) with a view towards St Paul's Cathedral and was ready at 12:15 PM
• The bed was fantastic - smooth and plush mattress, plush covers, plush pillows
• Shower pressure was good, and both the rainfall and wand could be used at the same time
• View towards St Paul's was quite pretty
• No issue with 4 PM late checkout - though, I did have to ask to confirm
• Breakfast is a welcome gift choice and was quite good - enjoyed the hashbrowns, omelets, and chia seed pancakes

Neutral:

• Given a voucher for beer or wine - didn't use as I don't like beer or wine
• Welcome gift was a bowl of salty trail mix and two Italian beers - the exact opposite of my profile

Cons:

• Not enough accessible outlets throughout the room
• Music from Federation Square outside was quite noticable - had to turn on white noise on my phone
• Breakfast staff except for the host seemed to be in training and was somewhat non-communicative and aloof - while I got my omelet that I ordered, the waffle I also ordered never showed up
• Hotel WiFi would not stay connected on iOS after locking the device and had to be manually reconnected on each unlock (this did not occur with Android)

Overall, I would return - the bed was great.

Photos:

jja34-1

Interesting new name for these rooms. I suppose they have the best views from the hotel until the train works are completed on the other side.

Even if higher categories of rooms were available, in my experience this hotel does not provide upgrades for any number of arbitrary reasons.

Condition One

The Westin has a great location, but there is a massive amount of construction noise on Flinders Lane due to Metro construction. The rooms don't seem to be well soundproofed against regular street noise either. I'll probably stay at another quieter property in the future.