if you are attending a conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre, then you will find this hotel very convenient as it is connnected to the Centre.
If you are not attending a conference, you can do better so stay elsewhere. The rooms are very average, and the bathrooms are small. The location is quite good , on the river, but overall this hotel doesnt have much going for it.

This hotel is really great. I just got back from a 3-day stay, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have stayed at 5 star hotels across the world, and this Crowne Plaza is most definitely one of the top hotels I have ever stayed at. It was also quite good value. We booked a standard two double bed room for $185 a night.

We arrived in the late afternoon and drove to the hotel. It is located on the Yarra river. Directly opposite on the other side of the river is the Crown Casino, a huge entertainment complex. The hotel is built on multiple sub-levels, and adjoins both the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and the Melbourne World Trade Centre. We parked the car and went to the door, where the helpful concierge explained the parking options. The car park was not run by the hotel, but the concierge did provide a valet service for $27 day, which is quite good in Melbourne. There was also a self parking option, which cost $13 but you had to pay the $13 each time you entered the car park eg. if you entered and exited the car park two times a day you would have to pay $26. We had to drop off the car at the rental place anyway, but the concierge was very helpful and said we could leave the car in the driveway while we checked in and went up to our room. We went in and walked over to reception. If you are a Priority Club member, you can get a very quick check in. The receptionist was friendly and we were all done in about 30 seconds. They didn't even want a credit card for incidentals! As Platinum Priority Club members, we were upgraded from a basic Standard Room to an Executive Room. Yippee!

As i said before, the hotel is built on different sub-levels. There are two main parts of the hotel. There is the smaller building where the lobby, pool, restaurants etc. are located, and another horseshoe-shaped building which houses all of the rooms. In order to get to the rooms, you must take the escalator (or disabled access lift) to the top of the smaller building, then walk across a short airbridge to the horseshoe building. The lifts are accessed with a room key, which provides safety. Each floor had a central area with a few chairs and windows, with the two arms radiating from it. We were very lucky to get a room with a really good view of the Crown Entertainment Complex, Eureka Tower, Yarra River, the Bay and more. It was definitely the better side of the hotel. The room was extremely good, with two fabulous beds, a large TV, a big workdesk, a large bathroom and one massive window stretching the entire wall (not floor-to-wall though). There was a good selection of drink sachets (coffee, tea and hot chocolate!). There wasn't an executive breakfast, but in the room they had left a complimentary bottle of water and two apples. Quite suprisingly, and uncommon in hotels, they had provided a scented bathbomb! Just a few minutes after we had stepped into the room, another concierge guy came up with a big bottle of wine and a letter. It was a personal letter from the manager on duty, and we were receiving the free wine because of our Platinum Priority Club Status.

The other executive perks were a turndown service, free fruit and a welcome drink. The turndown service was offered at around 5:00pm, except for the last day which was at about 8:00pm. We only used the turndown for one night, but they gave us the choccies anyway! In the central area on the Executive floors, they had a bowl, which they filled with apples in the morning. It wasn't filled on the first day, but afterwards it was.

Other facilities of the hotel include a rooftop pool and a fitness centre. Key cards are needed to access both facilities. A business centre is also available, where they have five computers offering complimentary access 24/7. They also have photocopiers and office stationery in the business centre, all complimentary. Wired internet is available in the room, at $0.55 per minute, or a fixed rate per day. We didn't use the in-room internet, but made use of the business centre.

For dining at the hotel, you can try the Clarendon St. Grill or the Dragon Boat. The Clarendon St. Grill was closed for easter weekend, but breakfast was still offered. The Dragon Boat served Chinese food, but it was very expensive. Banquets were about $60+ per person!!!

Across the river at the Crown Casino complex, there are 40 different restaurants and cafes. Parents! Don't worry about the "Casino" part of the name. Yes it does have gambling, but there is so much in the complex outside of the machines and tables. There is a mix of formal, casual and fast-food dining available. I highly suggest Mesh at the Crown Promenade, where they have a Friday Night Grill for $37.50. It is a seafood buffet with prawns and oysters, plus a side dish of steak, chicken or fish. 3 Drinks (including champagne, wine, soft drinks and beer), dessert and a basket of specially steamed oysters are also included. I also suggest visiting the food court, where they have very filling, delicious, affordable meals. You can also visit Lygon St in Carlton ($12 taxi ride) for a true Italian meal.

Remember that Melbourne isn't London or New York, so you won't find high-value attractions. However, there are still a few things to see, including museums, aquariums, observation decks, big department stores, Chinatown etc. You can easily spend a few days in the city. My best recommendation is to take the free City Circle tram or bus, which is for tourists. It takes you around the city so you can see a few sites. Melbourne is one of few cities in the world where they still have trams. Try them out!

We did two excursions while in Melbourne. The concierge suggested going to Williamstown, so we took the 1hr ferry. It was a pretty village, but it was a $75 return ferry to get there, which was quite expensive. St. Kilda was better. It is just a 15 minute tram ride, and you can visit the beach, theme parks, restaurants, shops, spas etc. You could easily spend a few hours exploring St. Kilda.

On the day of our departure, the Concierge helping with our bags suggested that we take a limousine instead of a taxi. They had one waiting, and it was a flat rate of $50, which is about the same, or less, than the cost of a taxi. The concierge was always very helpful, and provided brochures and other information for us.

All in all, I had a great experience at the Crowne Plaza Melbourne and would most definitely stay again.

PS. In the evening, on the hour every hour, the Crown Casino has a fire show, where massive flames erupt from the stone columns outside. It is really worth your time to have a look.

The hotel has a great location next to the Yara, but the rooms are small and the furnishings feel old/worn. The rooms service meals are cheap (for a hotel) and portions are huge. The gym and the equipment is new, but unfortuntely its squeezed into a corner of the basement. The service is very efficient and you will can get a great coffee from the cafe.

I would not recommend this hotel unless maybe you are desperate to be near the Crowne casino and can't afford to stay there. The location is on the edge of downtown - many other hotels are more centrally located.

The rooms are in dire need of renovation. Our bathroom was dimly lit and straight out of the 80s. The bedside tables were strangely mounted directly to the walls, the lamps screwed into the tables, and the alarm clock mounted inside one of the tables. (Apparently they think their guests are thieves.) In any case, this made the alarm clock impossible to see from the bed, which is super annoying.

High-speed internet costs almost $30/day and even still is slow and spotty. The continental breakfast is pathetic (stale breakfast rolls, canned fruit instead of fresh fruit) and waaay over-priced. The restaurants are nothing worth speaking about.

The only good part of the experience was a helpful concierge who helped us get great tickets to the Australian Open.