The Westin hotel in Melbourne is a luxury hotel by the Starwood group. The Westin brand has been long associated with luxury and class, where guests can expect to be pampered with the best. With the Starwood group running nine hotel chains and the Westin brand having a global presence with 219 Westin hotels all across the world and 33 set to open in coming years, it is safe to assume that you will experience top of the class service and a wonderful experience staying at a Westin hotel. Throughout my stay, I noticed that this is absolutely true, except for one noticeable flaw which came to my attention. Otherwise, guests can expect only the best from The Westin Melbourne.
Address:
- 205 Collins St
- Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Location review
The hotel is located at the prime CBD area of Melbourne on Collins Street, boasting proximity and convenient access to numerous corporate and government offices in the district. Just eight corporate offices surround the hotel and all are within 300 metres from the hotel.
Furthermore, there are various international banks are located around the hotel, such as ANZ, Westpac and Commonwealth bank, making the hotel a popular choice for bankers. The Westin hotel is also a good choice of accommodation for tourists who wish to explore the places of attraction in one of the world’s most liveable cities. With numerous attractions surrounding the hotel, guests do not have to worry about having nothing to do.
The Royal Botanical Gardens, Fitzroy Gardens and well-known Etihad stadium are all within walking distance from the hotel. Many guests would also appreciate the various entertainment options in the vicinity, such as Crown Casino Centre and Regent Theatre. Also, the Flinders Street Station is only 100 metres away from the hotel grounds, making travelling to other places of interest or offices a breeze for guests.
However, the location is not the most desirable one for those looking to go on a shopping spree, as the only shopping mall close by is Bourke Street Mall, which offers shoppers a choice of two department stalls and a limited selection of popular brands. Nonetheless, it is fortunate that the hotel is very close to the train station, so guests are not limited to the shopping options around the hotel.
Room review:
I was greeted by a spacious and cosily furnished room, which looked clean and comfortable – just as you would expect from a 5 star hotel. By far, this is one of the more spacious hotel rooms that I have stayed in.
However, the painting of the room, the flooring and the general design of the room does seem rather aged and boring, as it does not sand out in any way from other hotel rooms.
This would be the major flaw of the room aforementioned. I liked the use of floor to ceiling windows, with a mirrored wardrobe facing the windows directly. This interesting design not only introduces a generous amount of natural lighting into the room, thus reducing the need for excessive lighting, but also effectively brightens up the room and makes it feel more spacious.
The only qualm I had was that the architecture of the wardrobe looked rather dated and I thought that it did not blend in very well with the luxurious setting that the hotel tries to create.
The bed was extremely clean and comfortable. The softness was just right for me and I would assume that most guests would find it to their liking as well.
The hotel was also generous to provide a range of pillows so as to cater for the various preferences of different guests.
This is especially thoughtful of the hotel to offer three different pillows of varying softness and size, as it ensures that most of its guests (whom most of them would be businessmen) would have a good rest at night and be fully recharged for the next day. Needless to say, I did have a good sleep and the comfort level was definitely of a good standard.
I also enjoyed the docking station cum alarm clock that was placed on the bedside table. The Sony speakers did rather well when I tried to play some loud music in the room. However, it is indeed a waste that this feature cannot be enjoyed by all guests as it is only compatible with the iPhone 4 and its predecessors, and the older versions of the iPod. However, with the increasing rate of change in technology, I am sure that the management of the hotel will definitely upgrade their in-room appliances. If not, a call to the reception should be sufficient for staff to loan you an adapter for the docking
station.
A (more than) noteworthy point would be the gargantuan wardrobe, which is definitely the largest and most spacious that I have come across. This is definitely a fine example of not judging a book by its cover, as despite its somewhat old fashioned exterior, the interior is actually amazing. It definitely provides enough room to store clothes for a long trip, and even has numerous drawers for small personal belongings. Hence, guests would not have to ‘destroy’ the beauty of the room by throwing and laying pieces of clothing all over the place.
The pantry area was discretely located within a cupboard, thus eliminating any sign of clutter and effectively creating some extra space in the room.
Not only was I impressed with the layout of the room and the inconspicuous design of the pantry area,
I was also wowed by the sheer quantity of items available in the pantry. There was a wide range of coffees, teas and other hot beverages to choose from, and not forgetting the electric boiler that you would see in any hotel. Open the mini refrigerator and you will be spoilt for choice with the massive array of soft drinks, juices and sparkling water. Of course it is amazing for the mini bar to be so well stocked, but this creates a problem as guests will find themselves unable to stock up or refrigerate their own drinks that they have bought.
Nonetheless, the need to purchase your own drinks is minimized as I am sure there will be something for everyone.
Furthermore, there was a choice of snacks, albeit slightly limited, including potato chips and chocolate bars. All these complement the drinks available and make the stay of each guest extremely comfortable and convenient.
Sadly, the hotel lacked a coffee machine and coffee capsules, which are becoming more and more common nowadays. As such, it would definitely have been better if there was one, as it would then offer the luxury of having freshly brewed coffee at the snap of your fingers for caffeine junkies and busy businessmen who are always on a rush.
What are drinks and snacks if there isn’t a place to relax and enjoy them? Thankfully, the hotel was thoughtful to place a spacious and comfortable sofa beside the tall floor to ceiling windows, complete with a glass top coffee table. This definitely creates a luxurious and comfortable setting for guests.
Sadly there was only one of such a sofa in the room, and it is only able to accommodate one. It would have definitely been better if there was room for two or more.
Unfortunately, there was a lack of splendid views, as my room was situated on a low floor of the hotel. This would be a major setbackespecially for those who take pleasure in relaxing by the windows with a glass of wine while enjoying the scenery outside. At the very least, I had an acceptable of the streets, which were pretty much clean and thus, it still was rather refreshing to be able to observe the happenings along the streets of Melbourne .
For a hotel so conveniently located in the CBD area of a large city, the work desk would be the quintessential of a good hotel. The work desk of The Westin Melbourne wasn’t the best, but it was greatly sufficient for the average businessmen.
Firstly, I liked the design of the work desk, as it features dark toned wooden frame that gives it a hint of class and formality. There was also a lamp which could be adjusted so as to focus light on the specific area that you would require. Some basic stationery was also available, such as a pen and a notepad. The leather chair was also spacious enough to accommodate guests of all sizes and its high comfort level and softness makes long hours of work feel much easier. Furthermore, there was another small chair placed across he work desk, so you are actually able to carry out a small meeting or discussion in the room.
Unfortunately, free Wi-Fi is only available at common areas such as the lobby or the restaurants, and this makes working in the room more inconvenient as modern work revolves heavily around using the internet. It is not unusual for luxury hotels to charge a fee for high speed internet access in the rooms, but for a hotel that attracts numerous businessmen, it would probably be more thoughtful if free Wi-Fi was provided.
Though I was generally pleased with the room, I felt that there should have been something more – something that would have given the Westin Hotel a unique touch and an edge over its ever increasing competition.
Bathroom review:
The bathroom had a certain level of elegance, but it fell short of my expectations. It wasn’t as exquisite as other 5 star hotels and lacked a certain level of grandeur that many other hotels had. Generally, the bathroom was dimmer than I expected and the tiles looked old fashioned. However, it was rather spacious and there were his and hers sinks, so people staying together would not have to wait to use the sink.Guests would also have the choice of using the shower or the bathtub. However, there is little incentive for using the bathtub besides for a relaxing soak, as the bathtub is cornered by three walls and it thus feels rather cramped and enclosed. Also, the lack of windows in the bathroom means that there is limited natural lighting and no scenery to enjoy while soaking in the tub.
However, the shower was not simple to control and adjust. You will be greeted by three strange looking knobs when you step into the shower. There are also no clear instructions on how to operate and use the knobs. My advice would be to avoid being directly sprayed by the water until you have figured out how exactly to control the pressure and temperature of the water.
There was nothing special or spectacular about the toilet amenities as they were very basic and expected of a luxury hotel. Instead, I felt that they could have done better in providing more toiletries and amenities, such as mouthwash or a loofah, as these are becoming more common amenities these days. Furthermore, these additions would then add to the level of luxury of the hotel and provide guests with a more comfortable and convenient stay.
Our Take:
The Weston Melbourne is a good choice of luxury accommodation for those visiting Melbourne. Those with business appointments would also enjoy the fantastic location of the hotel, as it offers them travelling convenience, and several options for relaxation and de-stressing. However, tourists might want to consider another location that is more tailored to their needs, such as hotels that are near to the shopping districts and can allow for easy accessibility to areas that contain Melbourne’s
rich heritage.