It’s no secret that I love Melbourne so we go back as frequently as possible. On this last visit we began and ended our Australia trip in Melbourne at the Grand Hyatt and I was absolutely not disappointed. The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is a great hotel and we were lucky enough to get a corner room both times, making the stay even better.

In the past we’ve stayed in one of those apartment hotels, with kitchenettes and sitting rooms near where we used to live, but this time we wanted a little bit of a change. We debated a lot on where to stay, but ultimately using points for the Grand Hyatt Melbourne won out and I’m so glad we chose it. It was kind of weird for me staying in the city since we lived in St. Kilda, but in a way that only made it more fun because it was a completely different experience.

Grand Hyatt Melbourne Overall

In this review I’ll touch on what I thought of the room, its location, the hotel facilities and finally if I think its worth the price.

One thing I want to note that doesn’t come into these categories are the staff. I was really pleased with the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff and for me that can make a huge difference to a hotel stay. In fact, when I checked in at the end our trip, they remembered me from when we checked in at the beginning over a week earlier. This kind of service is what really makes hotels stand apart from the crowd.

The Room

As I mentioned, we were lucky enough to get a corner room, meaning we had excellent views of the city. It certainly felt spacious enough, however, I’m not sure what a standard room would feel like as we ended up in a corner room both visits.

I loved the seating area because it was a great place to sit and have coffee in the morning or do some work. There actually was an outlet right next to the seating area, which was great because I could work on my laptop and charge it at the same time.

My biggest pet peeve with hotels is lack of outlets or outlets in places where you may want them. Unfortunately, only one side of the bed had an outlet and I was stuck with the side that didn’t. I understand these hotels are older buildings and weren’t built at a time when people had smartphones, iPads, laptops and such, but it’s still a small thing that if done right can make a huge difference.

I loved the bed here because it was so comfortable and everything from the sheets to the comforter felt luxurious. I really liked the lighting in the room, as it wasn’t too bright but wasn’t too dark. Some hotels don’t do lighting well, so I was happy the Grand Hyatt Melbourne did. There were nice spotlight lamps for reading in bed, the lights above the bed, hallway lights and other lamps around as well. It just gave a lot of different lighting options but without having a million switches so I could actually figure out what went with what.

The room comes with a kettle and instant coffee. If you know me, you know coffee is an absolute must and hotels that don’t serve anything are basically my version of hell. While instant doesn’t exactly scream luxury, it’s certainly better than nothing so I’m not about to complain.

However, you do get lots of tea options so I appreciated that.

I find taking a bath so relaxing, especially after a long flight or journey, so hotels that come with both a bath and shower are my favorite. The bathtub at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne was really nice and quite deep, but we found the water pressure was weirdly light. It took so long to fill up the bathtub it almost wasn’t worth it.

I also found the hot water wasn’t particularly hot, meaning I had to run pretty much just hot into the tub in order for it to be warm enough. Both of those were a little bit of a let down.

The shower was separate from the bathtub and the shower didn’t have the same temperature or water pressure problems, thankfully.

One thing a lot of hotels get wrong are the towels. Even luxury hotels seem to skimp on having nice, fluffy towels, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the Grand Hyatt Melbourne didn’t cut corners here. You even get a bathrobe and slippers, two things that equal luxury for me. I was also happy to discover that the bathrobe didn’t totally dwarf me like some others.

The sink counter had tons of counter space, which always makes me happy because there’s nothing I hate more than not having enough room for my toiletries when getting ready for bed or getting ready to go out in the morning.

A nice touch were the toothbrush cups on the sink. I’ve never actually seen a hotel provide you with cups solely for this purpose and I always end up having to use a regular glass from the room so this showed excellent attention to detail.

The room may have had a few drawbacks, but it was incredibly comfortable with some great features and I felt pampered, which is always the best way to feel at a hotel.

The Facilities

The Grand Hyatt Melbourne comes with a 24-hour gym and indoor swimming pool. We were actually there in the winter so having the pool inside was beneficial, but I did think it was odd since Melbourne is warm a good portion of the year.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of the gym or the pool because I completely forgot to bring my phone or my camera down with me when we went for a swim. While I enjoyed having the option, the pool was kind of small and the jacuzzi was even smaller.

The biggest issue I found with the pool was lack of seating around it. There were only a handful of chairs so it’s certainly not somewhere you go to just relax. It felt more like an extension of the gym than anything.

The Location

What really makes the Grand Hyatt Melbourne such a great hotel, apart from it’s deliciously comfortable bed and beautiful views, is its location. Situated on one of the main roads in the CBD, Collins St., you’re within walking distance of all major sites.

It’s just a few minutes down to the Yarra River, easily walkable to Flinders Street Station and Federation Square and then just across the river you’ve got the Botanic Gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance.

The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is also located within the free tram zone so you can travel within the CBD totally for free. The location of the hotel was easily one of the best things about it.

The Rates

While I thought the Grand Hyatt Melbourne was lovely, I’m not sure I would have paid full price for it. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, we used points so we didn’t actually spend money on the hotel. Realistically, you’d be looking at spending about AU$450/night here if you were to pay cash.

The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is a five star hotel, it’s very comfortable and comes with incredible views, but in my opinion I could never stomach that kind of price for a hotel that doesn’t provide anything exceptional.

If you were to use points like we did, it’s 15,000 an not terrible value all things considered.

Would I return?

Despite all of the things I’ve said about the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, I would stay here again if I were using points, but I don’t think I would ever stay here and pay full price.

The views and the location are what really got me and the bed was so comfortable it was like sleeping on a cloud. As I mentioned at the beginning, the staff were fantastic and willing to help you out with anything you needed, so that to me speaks volumes as well.

However, the small things like poor water pressure and a smaller indoor pool took away from the luxurious atmosphere, but not enough to make a substantial difference in what I thought about it.

Ultimately, I’m not a hard person to please and I still was happy with our stay, there were just some things that made it less than ideal.

If we were to visit Melbourne again (which I’m almost certain we will) I’d probably look elsewhere to see what else was out there, but if given the chance to stay again on points, I certainly would.

My rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆