This past weekend I was lucky enough to have tickets to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, held at Albert Park in Melbourne. We had booked a 7.30am flight from Sydney and we landed in Melbourne at 8.45am bleary eyed but exited. The hotel is about 25 minutes way by coach from Melbourne's main airport, Tullamarine, and we pulled in at Southern Crossbus station which was a short 5 minute stroll to the hotel. It was too early to expect to get into our room at the Ibis but we were hoping they'd keep our luggage safe for is so we could get off to the track. When we arrived we explained
what our plan was for the day and the receptionist was very helpful and accommodating, giving us a couple of options for luggage storage and checking us in so that we would have no hassle when we returned that evening. We went off and had a great day, not having to worry about if our room would be kept for us or any of that stuff. We returned to the hotel just after six and were given our room cards and directions upto the second floor. The room was quite small but tastefully decorated, much like the Ibis's I've stayed in in England. As I was with my friend we did opted for a twin bedded room and I thought this might have caused a problem as I remember staying in an Ibis in Manchester once where they said they only did double beds. Anyway, no such problems on this occasion.
The beds were firm and clean and I wasted no time in collapsing on mine as I'd been standing up all day and was knackered. The room had all the things we needed, tea and coffee, a fridge with some milk in, a hairdryer and an iron. There was some shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom and two small bars of soap. I was quite impressed with this as I wasn't expecting it from the Ibis based on passed experiences in the UK. The in room TV was a LCD flat screen and while is was quite small, maybe 21" it was a nice touch. There was a table and two chairs at one end and although the room was on the small side it provided us with a very comfortable base for the evening and a good nights sleep.
We didn't have anything to eat during our stay but there was a comprehensive menu in the room, prices where on the steep side $25 AUD (10 GBP) for burger and chips or something like that but I guess you expect to pay a bit more in a city centre hotel. The other in room menu was for massages; there was any number of treatments you could have in the room ranging from 1 hr to 2hrs. There were no prices on the menu but I'm guessing they wouldn't be cheap, the going rate for a 1 hr massage here is about $100 AUD and I wouldn't be surprised if the Ibis would cost quite a bit more. They sounded tempting though and the menu was professionally presented.
The Ibis on Little Bourke is a three star hotel and has 121 rooms, it has a bar in the foyer (which was closed) and a buffet style restaurant for breakfast, which I didn't try. There is a gym, dry cleaning facilities, currency conversion facilities, internet in the foyer at a cost of $5 for half an hour as well as broadband in the rooms. The three room types are Twin, Double and King. All rooms have cable tv and in room movies at an extra charge. All rooms are air conditioned.
The location of this hotel is suberb, short walking distance to the main Flinders and Collins streets, and about a 15 minute walk to Federation Square. The service we received in the short time we were there was great. As well as the lady who helped us check in so easily we also had a lady on Monday morning who helped us get on to the Neighbours Tour without a booking (I know, I'm a sad case!), I was just desperate to visit Ramsey street and she really did a good job for us trying to get us picked up from the hotel and in the end much to my delight we did get on.
In terms of the cost of staying here we didn't get a very good deal, the usual price for this hotel would be around the $80 mark for our twin room that about 30GBP which would have been excellent value. However, it was Grand Prix weekend and there the Swimming World Championships on as well as the Melbourne Air show and of course it was St Patrick's day on the Saturday so we were never going to get a bargain. My friend booked the hotel online from England and she paid 95 GBP or $250 AUD which really is a lot of money for an Ibis. Having said that there are no complaints, we were probably lucky to get a room at all considering we only booked it about 4 weeks in advance.
I'd recommend this hotel wholeheartedly for anyone spending a few nights in Melbourne on a budget and looking to be in the thick of the action.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
very helpful by (89%):
helpful by (11%):
