HOTEL REVIEW: Grand Hyatt Melbourne – first visit since 2016

I’ve just spent three nights in Melbourne at the Grand Hyatt. This used to be my preferred hotel, and I have stayed there many times. The check-in staff told me my last stay was in 2016.

The hotel went through a major refurbish in 2011, so this is 13 years later. It was also a COVID-19 hotel during the Australian Tennis Open back early in the pandemic, so it got a bit of wear and tear from tennis guests. I remember lots of social media posts with athletes preparing in their rooms. I’m talking about hitting tennis balls and bouncing them off the walls. I naturally wondered how it was holding up.

Hotel Information

Stay: 20 to 23 June, 2024
Stars: 5
Room: 2706 King Deluxe (corner room)
Size: 36 sqm (388 sqf)
Bed: King
Per Night Average: ~AU$410
Address: 123 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Phone: +61 3 9657 1234
Web: www.hyatt.com/grand-hyatt/en-US/melbo-grand-hyatt-melbourne

State of the rooms

Surprisingly well is the answer, except for some of the furniture. The carpets are good; the walls look OK, although one of our walls had the dings and paint darkening of over a decade’s use.

The furniture had some chips, etc., consistent with its age, but far less than I would have expected. The upholstery had taken the major blows. The banquet/lounge had lost the spring out of its foam seating, and the bucket chair seat cushioning and webbing had just collapsed. You know – when you sit in it, you can feel the wooden/metal bar at the front through the upholstery as your bum sinks below that level.

Both of those things are fixable, although it is still a major project in this hotel with 548 rooms.

Bedroom

To give you an idea of how the rooms have changed, here is a badly taken photo of the bedroom of a suite at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne prior to the refurbishment in 2011.

Here is a view of that bedroom setup in 2024:

The bedrooms are sleeker, simpler and more modern.

Bathroom

The bathrooms have updated fittings, although they retain the previous (Calcutta?) marble tiles. The floor, bench, sinks, and taps/faucets are new. I think the mirror was also updated.

As with most hotel chains, there has been a move away from individual amenities to bulk containers to reduce plastic waste. Toiletries are branded Balmain. The body lotion dispenser in the bathroom was annoyingly empty, and given our stay was in winter, it was a necessity for our delicate, dry skins. We advised, and it was replenished the following day.

Overall, the room was in pretty good shape, and the slightly larger floorplan and windows on both sides made the outlook pleasant and the room comfortable.

Wardrobe

There is one double wardrobe that has a good amount of hanging space and drawers for storage. Hangers are plain, cloth and with clips. It houses the ironing board,

Mini Bar

The Credenza below the TV screen houses the usual kettle, glassware, fridge and other room amenities, along with the safe. They are well set up lined drawers, and there is also list of amenities you can order for the room, indicating whether they are complimentary of charged for.

Hotel Breakfast

I love a 5-star hotel breakfast. It really sets you up for the day. The Hyatt Melbourne Collin’s Kitchen does not disappoint. Although charges vary between AU$46 and AU$56 per person depending on the day, it’s not cheap. But you can certainly get value for money.

Collins Kitchen is arranged as a series of stations, some staffed, and some not. Pictured here are the pastry station, the egg station, and the fruit, cereal and yoghurt station and fridges.

Breakfast buffet behaviour

It covers a large area and requires some reconnoitring. In fact, that is my advice for all hotel guests at such a breakfast buffet. First, walk around all the stations to assess the available range and options. Next, make your decision away from the buffet, and then hone in on what you want and get it. Above all, do not dither about attempting to make a decision. That kind of behaviour is just annoying to both other guests and staff. You have been warned.

Other hotel amenities

We had a full program in Melbourne, so we had no time to venture into many of the hotel’s other facilities. They do have a fine pool, gym area, and a great bar. We did have time to grab a pre-dinner drink at the Ro-co Bar. Cocktails were good, but the two-by-two seating in rows down the centre is a little odd. Cocktails are lounge bar prices, which means expensive (~AU$23/cocktail), but they are beautifully presented with a bowl of nuts/snacks. Strangely absent were napkins and coasters.

The gym is large and runs as a member’s and pay-per-visit gym. It’s probably one of the best hotel gyms in Australia. There is plenty of equipment and access to an indoor pool, sauna, etc., and it is open 24 hours a day.

Value for Money

Every hotel after COVID seems expensive to me. At a little over AU$400 per night, this is on the cheap side of five-star, central city hotels in Melbourne. Our preference was to stay at the Westin, which is comparable but smaller and more intimate. From memory, this was more than AU$50 extra per night. Le Meridien would have been a little cheaper, but not quite the same level of service and facilities.

If the Hyatt is in your price range and you want the convenience of the Paris end of Collins Street (close to shopping, theatres and great restaurants), then this is still a very good option.

2PAXfly Takeout

The Grand Hyatt in Melbourne has always been a great hotel, even just for its location. Refurbished more than 10 years ago, it still stands up as one of Melbourne’s great hotels.

If they did a little more maintenance on those soft furnishings, particularly the webbing on those bucket chairs, and maybe reupholstered some of the lounges, the interiors would be almost as fresh as they were after the refurbishment more than a decade and a half ago.

It runs smoothly, and staff are well trained and know what service is about. Physically its interiors are well maintained and standing the test of time. Collins Kitchen for breakfast is one of the best hotel options available in Melbourne at the price.

This hotel, post-COVID, is definitely back on my list of desirable stays in Melbourne.