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Westin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [Master Thread]

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Westin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [Master Thread]

Old Jun 6, 2003, 11:35 pm
  #1  
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Arrow Westin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [Master Thread]

The best hotel in Australia (and one of the best Westin's in the world) is the Westin Melbourne. Better than the Westin Sydney (which is an excellent hotel). The Melbourne hotel is not well known -- it is a stealth hotel, with few signs and sharing a building with luxury apartments. My taxi driver from the airport knew the hotel existed but didn't know exactly where it was or had ever taken a fare there. Perhaps because of this lack of recognition this Westin tries harder -- and succeeds in being far better than average.
The rooms have high quality furnishings (fabrics, drapes, furniture and a very cool remote control lighting system). Rather surprising as it is comparable to the St. Regis in NY and better than any Westin in the US has -- why are the Australian starwoods run to a much higher standard than the US hotels? the Westin Melbourne has higher quality toilertries than the Southgate! They use Aveda toiletries(same as the W in Sydney) and not the standard Westin toiletries (used by the Westin Sydney and every Westin in the US that I have stayed in).
The staff at the Westin is excellent and the Westin has a fantastic concierge. He can arrange anything and do it with aplomb.

My Platinum upgrade was to a huge corner room (with spa and a bathroom that was the size of some hotel rooms). While not a suite it had a separate hallway (with door) and was about 600 square feet with at least 10 windows. It was nicer than most suites that I have seen with a large functional desk and a sitting area with comfortable seating. I didn't expect the Westin Melbourne to be good, much less exceptional (it doesn't get a lot of press). Now I know that it is worth seeking out as the finest hotel in Melbourne and Australia (the Observatory in Sydney is close behind).
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Old Jun 7, 2003, 6:44 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
The best hotel in Australia (and one of the best Westin's in the world) is the Westin Melbourne. </font>
Don't know if I'd go that far. In the past I've had long waits for luggage delivery (worst: 5 calls, 2 hours before it showed up), horrible "Service Express" experiences (room service delays, laundry missing, etc.), and personal problems w/the hotel decor (allergic reactions to the potpourri in the rooms), to which the hotel was unsympathetic (requests to have the potpourri removed prior to arrival ignored or not acted on).

B/c of my schedule, I did stay there again this last trip, to qualify the Westin portion of my 5 stay/50K points. While the stay wasn't as bad, it still wasn't "Wow". I wasn't that impressed with a studio suite upgrade; they seem virtually the same as regular rooms. Disliked the bathroom - floor to ceiling windows, with see-through shades, make me uncomfortable, regardless of assurances on the window tinting. Extremely slow service in the foyer for a casual business meeting over coffee, but that's probably just whinging.

While overall this stay was much better than previous experiences, it wasn't enough to convert me. Particularly when subsequent stays in Sydney *wood properties were individually and collectively far more impressive.

BTW - for best hotel in Australia, I suggest you try Rae's on Wategos... IMHO.
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Old Jun 7, 2003, 8:03 am
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I agree the Wow fraction. I loved the Westin Melbourne. Had a Corner Room as well. Very nice, perfect location, excellent bathroom and nice staff (and wonderful breakfast). Really the nicest Westin I have ever been.
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Old Jun 7, 2003, 8:53 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jrk1998:
Disliked the bathroom - floor to ceiling windows, with see-through shades, make me uncomfortable, regardless of assurances on the window tinting.</font>
This is why hotel reviews vary so much -- I love the floor to ceiling bay windows in the bathroom with translucent shades (definitely not see through). The service during my stay was very fast, efficient and thorough; while you had the opposite experience. We stayed at most a month apart, so I doubt the hotel has changed much. All of the Starwoods in Australia are excellent and based on one stay I will be coming back to the Westin (in the past I've stayed at the Park Hyatt so this is a win for Starwood).
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Old Jun 7, 2003, 2:56 pm
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MEL is the city of great hotels. The competition is so good, each hotel has to outdo the other. MEL has the best Grand Hyatt, one of the best Park Hyatt's, the best Sofitel, one of the best Sheraton's, and yes, the best Westin. I stayed there during the opening month when many hotels are still figuring things out. This hotel was perfect!
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Old Jun 11, 2003, 3:52 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by stimpy:
MEL is the city of great hotels.</font>
Why is that? Why isn't it NY or SF? I'v been to 7 different Starwoods in Australia/NZ and each one would be "best of breed" in the US. And they have lots of competition. The prices are not cheap, but you leave feeling you got your money's worth and a great stay. While in many hotels I leave wondering whether I should stay there again.
I wish Starwood would propagate the Australian standards to the rest of the Starwood properties around the world. Most would benefit from the improvement.

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Old Jun 11, 2003, 5:34 pm
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I agree about the standards at the Melbourne Westin, and received a similar corner room with huge spa bath, etc. My take on why these properties are far better than US and Canadian counterparts is because they cater to an experienced traveller who for the most part was weined on the standards found in major Asian cities. I think the staff at these hotels in Australia -- and I would include the Hyatts and other chains too -- use this standard. It is a bench mark that is unknown to staff working NAmerican hotels, and the vast majority of their customers never have either. So with low expectations, NAmerican properties have little to strive for. If you are looking for similar standards in our part of the world, these will be found at Four Seasons and RitzCarltons, along with St.Regis and InterContinental and similar top tier properties in major cities. In this, most Westins in NAmerica are not the place these top tier travellers stay.

I was struck by this reality in the 80s when I started to travel extensively throughout the Pacific rim. Staying at hotels in NAmerica was a let down ever since.
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Old Jun 11, 2003, 5:39 pm
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I stayed at the Westin Melbourne about 18 months ago for around a week. It is a good hotel. No question. That said, it was a somewhat surreal experience for a number of reasons.

First, it was a week before the season began and a few weeks before the Australian Open tennis event. I would describe this as the calm before the storm where everyone is charged up but no one has arrived, yet! Second, I spent most of the time either working with the Concierge to get on Royal Melbourne or playing said course along side Kingston Heath (both are absolute musts!). Third, hanging out around St. Kilda. Fourth, let's not talk about Brunswick street.

The infrastructure for the hotel itself is rather bland. I'd say this is exactly because the hotel shares its premises with luxury apartments. No hotel 'buzz' just a lot of subdued activities of normal life intermingled with hotel life such as sharing the elevator after checking in with someone carrying groceries home for the evening.

One thing is certain. The staff are excellent as are all the staff at every SPG property I've visited in Australia. But each property is also unique, which may or may not be to your personal taste.
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Old Jun 12, 2003, 8:27 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by michswiss:
One thing is certain. The staff are excellent...</font>
I think we have different definitions of excellent.

At reception, I had to update my check-in information - some of it was 2 years old, some of it 5 years old. I asked if he could just update it with the current info held by SPG; he said he didn't know how. Another clerk managed to pull down current address info, but the entire record was beyond the both of them. In the end, I pulled out the red pen, and started editing.

While I don't classify this as bad service, it does fall into the "decidely average" category, in my book.

Excellent would be having it right before I arrived. Or, at the very least, knowing how to do it.

[This message has been edited by jrk1998 (edited 06-12-2003).]
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Old Aug 9, 2003, 10:48 am
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Does the Westin MEL have an exec Lounge like the Westin in SYD? Just wondering if we are able to get a nice breakfast like what SYD Westin has to offer.

Thanks
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Old Aug 9, 2003, 7:30 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by cxn:
Does the Westin MEL have an exec Lounge like the Westin in SYD? Just wondering if we are able to get a nice breakfast like what SYD Westin has to offer.
</font>
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Still, it's a wonderful property.

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Old Dec 3, 2003, 11:01 am
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Westin Melbourne Australia [Master Thread]

Edited by author

Last edited by vigneron; Feb 16, 2012 at 3:32 pm
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Old Dec 3, 2003, 11:05 am
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Edited by author

Last edited by vigneron; Feb 16, 2012 at 3:33 pm
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Old Dec 3, 2003, 11:32 am
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Thanks for the trip report, vigneron. If it were me, I would report your experiences at this hotel - especially with the PA Nazi - to Hotel Customer Service. Maybe the management will administer a much-needed attitude adjustment when they hear about it? 1-800-328-6242 or email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

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Old Dec 3, 2003, 10:26 pm
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Thanks for your report.

As I will be going to MEL later this month I'm still deciding whether to stay at the Westin or Park Hyatt and your report does make me feel a bit negative about the westin.

btw, does anyone know how different are the, Westin, City view and Superior room?

[This message has been edited by Cathay Pacific (edited Dec 03, 2003).]
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