Hotels near The Australian Natural Soap, Southbank

I’d like to share our Villa experience at Crown Towers Melbourne room 3138 from 29th to 31st May 2023. To start, our greeting from Anthony and Sarah was simply delightful with champagne and the ultimate introduction of the room. We couldn’t have asked for anything more on arrival. The housekeeping attention to detail was excellent, though a mop was left in the second lavatory on the 2nd day. Not a big deal for us, however it’s those small touches that could impact other guests impressions. The bed was WOW - the linens, wow wow wow, like a cloud. The Koko Black chocolates were beautiful though the fruit bowl was nothing to be desired, a fruit platter would have made a nicer touch. The ceramics and art work in the Villa were spectacular though please inspect and dust the two ceramic cranes in the bedroom, the dust on them was so thick, I don’t think it had been done for a couple of months. The power plug at the bedroom window was slightly off the wall requiring maintenance and scuff marks on the walls. There was some feedback that we would like to give that would’ve made our stay absolutely incredible and memorable and what we thought would have been included as a ‘butler touch’ but failed to deliver. (Noting that we have stayed at numerous other properties globally that do this) For example, Knowing that it was our anniversary, a romantic bath or rose petals on the bed after we returned from the club room, would’ve been a nice touch Knowing that we were going to stay in, enjoy the room and watch movies, a small gesture of popcorn or movie snacks would’ve been a nice touch. I would have loved if it was offered to have our luggage unpacked. The in-room tablet is a big thing for us. It’s something that influences us to stay at Crown! Knowing that we can order room service at any time from the tablet. This never worked and was never able to be fixed for the duration of stay. This was a big letdown. On our second night the turndown service came approximately 1600. It was the two Butler team, plus two Housekeeper‘s, it would’ve been better if they had of waited until we went to the club room at 1730, so we were not disturbed. Overall, I don’t think you can offer the butler service as a selling point because we were not offered anything different than when we have stayed in the Premier Club suite. If the Butlers are meant to offer you services, then this feedback should definitely be delivered because we were not offered anything above and beyond what we would get in a standard Crown Suite. Though worthy to note that any time we interacted with any of the Butler team, the communication was professional and delightful. I do expect absolute perfection in hotels (and I’m happy to pay the price) but there were just a few imperfections that need attention. I have booked again for my 40th birthday because the room was so beautiful but I will come prepared with a list of requests for the butler team since its more ‘ask and you’ll receive’ rather than ‘we will

Todo perfecto, la atención al cliente fue la mejor. Siempre fueron muy amables conmigo, sobretodo Zuri. Ella hizo la diferencia en mi estancia y sobretodo me dio buenos consejos y estuvo atenta a todo. Zuri hizo que mi estancia en Melbourne fuera imoresionante. El desayuno estuvo delicioso y las habitaciones muy cómodas. Recomiendo este hotel bastante.

Maybe it was once nice but it has got so many issues with it and I highly recommend you look elsewhere. We stayed in a two bedroom one bathroom apartment and it was honestly the worst hotel we have ever stayed at. We were assigned room 2201W. Here are the issues we encountered during our four night stay. 1. Power outage on our last day with no back up generator for the entire building (both east and west). It’s 31 degrees outside so opening the doors is also not a smart option. Started at 9am and is already over 4 hours. As I have breastmilk in the fridge for my 3 month old, this is my worst nightmare. 2. Safe battery is low. Why hasn’t anyone changed it??? 3. Bathroom shower head plate is broken so water sprays at you un-uniformly and overall unpleasant. 4. Water drips out of the shower but the fall doesn’t go to the drain so the floor remains flooded. 5. Due to point number 4, the bottom of the bathroom door has expanded and the door does NOT close. It is so jammed that it feels like you’d break the handle trying to jam the latch in and back out. 6. Stupid placement of the microwave. You can’t open the microwave door more than 45 degrees. How on earth do you put a dinner plate in there??? 7. Missing cups/ mugs and glasses. 3 mugs, two short glasses, two tall glasses and odd numbered cutlery. Just fix it, for crying out loud! The top rack of the dishwasher was also broken making it difficult to pull in and out the middle rack. 8. Upon check in, we didn’t have any cleaning supplies such as dishwashing tablets, hand washing liquid for dishes or laundry powder. 9. Rooms are so tiny. Don’t expect to be able to open your medium sized luggages inside your room. We kept our two in the so called living space instead. 10. Generally upkeep is not there. Walls have visible stains and grime from previous guests. The whole place just overall felt really really filthy. 11. Not family friendly either. There is a flight of stairs at the entry and no ramp. There is a wheelchair elevator to the side which takes way too long to operate with a crying baby. If you’re on your own, be prepared to lift you pram up or hope a Good Samaritan can help you because the hotel staff won’t. Clearly there are issues within management and housekeeping. I sense laziness and lack of hospitality understanding is to blame. STAY ELSEWHERE!!!

The staff were not following COVID protocols. None wore masks. Day manager actually spoke to us with mask on chin and AROUND the safety barrier. One pen used for everything by everyone. Night manager & staff as well as other guests were all maskless. We were not asked to show proof of our vaccination status. Inspired ZERO confidence that they were actually sanitising anything. My partner also felt unsafe as there were a lot of people loitering around the building. The room was clean and tidy. Located excellently for the event we were attending. Hot water worked, loved the choice of flooring. That was all. The room offered only one single bar of soap. No shower gel, shampoo or any extra toiletries as is expected from even the most basic accomodation you can stay in anywhere else. I have stayed in youth hostels in the outback and even they offered more than a tiny bar of soap. There was no indications of any extra services offered or being available. There were no extra pillows or blankets available in the room. One very flat pillow per person and a thin doona only. The pillows were so low that I could not sleep on it and when I asked for another pillow from the night manager I was met with rudeness. He finally gave me an old, dirty pillow with no pillow case (see photos). When I asked for a pillow case he acted like I was being ridiculous. We slept badly as the bed was very hard. Actually went home and slept as we were so tired from the uncomfortable bed. Upon checkout we got stuck in the lift as the door to the G floor would not open. We finally called for help using the phone but even though the front desk manager answered and said he would be with us immediately he was not. We finally left by going back to our floor and using the fire escape to exit via the basement parking. He then told us he couldn’t hear what we were saying on the phone so basically ignored us, and then gave some rubbish excuse about the one elevator being an old one that was not for guests. Basically if we had not exited the way we did we would have been stuck in the elevator for hours being ignored. There was no signage indicating anywhere that one of the two lifts was not for guests, and if the lift was not for guests you would think it would be clearly marked so.

I am interstate for business on a regular basis and have stayed in many well rated accommodation venues however, I struggle to find anything to criticize at this hotel. The staff are amazing - nothing is too much trouble, they do all the little things, over and above what I would expect to make you feel like a special guest. They all seemed to be ”hand-picked” to suit the service culture of the hotel. The quality and cleanliness of the facilities are A1. The rooms are comfortable and quiet. A small table & chairs, couch and huge TV were a welcome feature. The conference facilities worked well. Conference catering, breakfast room and intimate Bistro/cocktail bar offered quality food & drinks. My partner is disabled in a wheelchair and all his needs were well & truly met in a standard room. Only 1 suggestion - it would be great to have magnetic door stoppers installed so the door will stay open while moving through with the wheelchair or bags. Thank you Marriott Team, we will definitely be back :)

Everything about this place says Motel, not 5 Star Hotel. Lack of housekeeping - our room was cleaned twice in 7 days and not well. We eventually got fed up and asked for clean towels. When we were at reception checking in, there were other guests complaining about their dirty rooms. Fifth restaurant - the breakfast buffet was terrible. There was no omelette bar or even a basic pancake machine. No option for included barista-made coffees either, which is a minimum at any “5 star” hotel. Strato restaurant - we booked this for a special occasion. There was zero recognition of this. They put us at a table beside the kitchen door and in a corner with no views despite a good corner table being empty the entire time we were there. We waited 30 mins each for 2 courses and we’re still eating 30 mins after the 2 hour allocation. The ambience was constantly disturbed by the kitchen yelling “service please!” Only upside was the extra bread and free mocktail they offered us, I assume due to the slow service. Slow lifts - we had to allocate an extra 15 mins to our departure whenever leaving the room. Poor service - as per already stated, the service was very poor if you compare it to any other 5 star hotel. It was average if you think you’re at a motel. Additionally, because they were training staff, service at the lobby bar was ridiculously slow. We waited 15 mins for them to serve 2 wines. Reception also ran out of vouchers (part of our package) and told us to come back later and say “we forgot to pick up some of our vouchers” rather than acknowledging their error. Location - we knew this going in but it is a long walk into the CBD and you need a Myki card because the nearest tram stop is outside the free zone. In summary: Avoid this place if you are looking for luxury. We booked this for a special occasion and were sorely disappointed. The only good thing is the views from some parts of the restaurants.

We had a two-bedroom apartment, which was excellently equipped with very comfortable beds and a terrace. The apartment was very clean and the towels were changed after a few days. The location is very good with many restaurants and cafes in a walking area and a direct tram connection to the city centre. We were so enthusiastic that we booked for a further stay right away.

In the suburb of Preston. The rooms are large, apartment-style hotels with open kitchens where you can cook for yourself.

This place is so beautiful it’s difficult to comprehend the history of what was once one of Australia’s most notorious prisons as it’s now been fully renovated into this amazing hotel. Everything about it so aesthetically pleasing. The converted cells that are now suites with all the mod cons. The basement now an incredible pool along with common areas becoming a fabulous wine bars with old cells now booths to have an intimate dining experience. The staff are wonderfull. Big shout of to the lovely Maddi who was our designated host, and also hosted an additional add on called Place of Time, were you sit outside in the old exercise yard and sip red wine, eat yummy cheeses whilst she goes through the history of the prison and the surrounding areas. Food was delicious in the wine bar and cocktails yummy. We had a bit of an accidental overcharge but Natasha on the front desk sorted everything out admirably and promptly. The staff are all so friendly and appear to genuinely love their jobs. We’d definitely love the chance to come back soon. Thank you.

We arrived out of hours and were expecting trouble however it was a simple phone call and we got our key. We got a great deal on our accommodation, which had more than enough for our needs. The facilities (pool etc) were great and everything in our room worked perfectly. the air con was cold and quiet, the TV was a decent size and the bed was comfortable. The only thing I noticed was the walls (toilet) and curtains (main entrance) are a little dirty (probably due to being a specific room for lots of children?) however this is just fussy. I will most definitely stay at Discovery Park again without any hesitation. From check in to check out it was easy, quiet and stress free exactly what I needed