2018 – Part 18 – Novotel Melbourne St. Kilda

We were both exhausted by the time we arrived at the hotel.  We had found a way to travel 1,500 km in less than 48 hours from Canberra to Melbourne, versus the direct route of 700km.  The hotel is easy to find, it’s situated just off the main road facing the ocean.

Novotel Melbourne St. Kilda Hotel Review

This hotel was selected due to its proximity to Melbourne, without being in the downtown (CBD) area and that the hotel had a decent deal that included breakfast.

Check-in

We parked the car out front and walked up the half dozen steps to the main level to check-in.  Given the late hour it was a quick and easy process.  Parking is available, and we were easily able to get parking spot on the lower level right by the entrance into the lower level of the hotel.

The Room

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of the room.  This is due to the fact that the room felt small compared to the hotels we had stayed in over the past week.  In reality this is a typical urban style hotel room.  Upon entering the sink & mirror was off to the left, with the door into the rest of the bathroom, where the bathtub and toilet was located.  The room itself had a countertop that ran almost the whole length of the room.  This proved handy as we could unpack our luggage without having to use the bed.  Unlike the hotel we had just left the night before, our room definitely had not been renovated recently.

Breakfast

We had the buffet breakfast both mornings as it was part of the rate I had selected.  The selection was decent, however it was busy so I chickened out and didn’t take any pictures up close of the buffet selection.

The main buffet area for hot & cold breakfast items.  Then beverages were split into two separate areas.  To the right of the cultery stand was the tea & coffee:

And then behind where we sat the first morning, was juice & water:

Amenities

There were many things available.  The lower level is the spot for their conference rooms and restaurant used for breakfast.  Given the incline of the road, there was a terrace from the restaurant facing the street towards the ocean.  Other amenities included a dedicated room for Etihad crew (there was a blackboard sandwich board beside the door), a gym and an outdoor pool.  The most important amenity to us this stay was the self-serve laundry.  One set of washer and dryer was in a room that had been carved out of a housekeeping storage room.  This was great for us, as we started laundry as we headed to breakfast and I put in the second pile of laundry after we finished breakfast.  Fortunately nobody else was waiting to use the machine, my guess is because it was Saturday morning!

With Amber napping after breakfast, I used the time between washing cycles to workout.  The gym appeared recently renovated and had equipment that appeared new as none of it looked used.  I got a quick workout in, and returned to our room with all of our laundry cleaned, and me flush from working out.

Check-out

When we checked out on Sunday, after breakfast, the process was quick and easy.  If you have a vehicle in the parking garage, the staff provide you with a card in order to exit.  Now, after spending a week in Australia we had collectively let our luggage expand a wee bit.  We brought a cooler bag specifically for snacks during our days on the road, and a few bags had appeared after trips to the grocery store.  We had so much that a trolley was required to move everything in one go.

Overall

The hotel is in a good location.  It’s just far enough from downtown Melbourne you feel in a seaside town.  Breakfast was plentiful, and the equipment in the gym was brand new.  Rooms though need to be updated, as hallway carpets on both our floor, and the floor where the laundry was located, and in the elevators were worn out.  Who has carpeting in elevators?

Read more about our trip by clicking here.