Jen and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne during our trip to Australia. The hotel was magnificent offering a blend of historic design with touches of modern luxury. Jen and I were able to use one of my Hyatt Suite Upgrade certificates to get into a suite which was truly remarkable. This hotel offers a whopping 546 rooms and suites, along with one of the best fitness facilities. Here is the full review!
Location
Located in Downtown Melbourne, commonly referred to as the CBD (Central Business District) the surrounding area was vibrant offering a blend of historic architecture, modern shopping venues, and upscale luxury stores. The downtown area is filled with popular landmarks such as Flinders Street Station and Federation square along with an abundance of dining options including Lune Croissanterie a popular pastry shop right next door. Additionally, Chinatown and a plethora of large shopping centers were located minutes away by foot. For those who want to check out a local market, Queen Victoria Market is about 15 minutes walking as well.
CBD also offers free train service within the area. If you hop onto a train here, you can exist at another CBD stop free of charge but trains do go beyond the “free zone” so keep that in mind in case you plan to venture further out. There are fare agents that periodically roams trains right outside the “free zone”.
Booking
The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is a category 4 hotel in Hyatt’s award chart with room rates starting at 12,000 points per night up to 18,000 points per night. During our visit, rates were going for the standard rate of 15,000 points per night. You could also redeem any of your Hyatt Category 1-4 certificates at this property. I also applied a suite upgrade certificate to my reservation and was booked into a Grand Suite King for a total of 45,000 points.
The hotel’s main entrance can be a bit hard to find if you’re taking public transit.
The Room
The Grand Suite King was splendid offer plenty of space at a whopping 861 sq ft. The suite had a large living room with a small washroom and a complete bedroom with a larger bathroom with a rain fall shower and a large soaking tub. Both the small washroom and the larger bathroom were fitted with luxury marble. There was also a Nespresso machine. The entire fixings of the room screamed traditional and elegant luxury.
Our room had a great view of the tower skyscrapers of Melbourne’s business district.
Food
As a Hyatt Globalist, I recieved complimentary breakfast daily at the Grand Hyatt Club Lounge located on the 31st floor. At many other Hyatt properties that offer a club lounge, Globalist are also offered complimentary breakfast at the onsite restaurant. At the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, this was not the case. Globalist members get a 40 percent discount to the Collins Kitchen breakfast buffet.
With Collin Kitchen coming out to be relatively expensive, Jen and I opted to eat the full breakfast out of the lounge which was very solid!
Breakfast at the Grand Club Lounge was very good offering a selection of typical hot items such as sausages, bacon, and pancakes. You could also order eggs or choose from good selection of charcuterie. There was also a wide selection of fruits and pastries. While not as vast a spread as a typical restaurant breakfast buffest, the selection in the Grand Club Lounge was very good. There was also a business Nespresso Machine to make espressos and lattes.
Happy Hour was also served in the Grand Club lounge and had premium offerings such as smoked brisket, arancini along with various alcohol options.
Amenities
In addition to a wonderful club lounge to relax and grab a few drinks, the hotel also offers one of the best fitness facilities offering a full gym that is also open to the public. The fitness center is a full gym that offers a large indoor swimming pool, an abundance of cardio machines, and a complete set free weight area including several power racks, barbell bench presses and more. The fully decked out gym also had an outdoor basketball court, tennis court, and small golf area. All in all, this had to be one of my favorite hotels gyms due to the basketball hoop and power lifting area.
Overall Thoughts
The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is one of the best value redemptions in Hyatt’s portfolio. For only 15,000 points per night and a suite upgrade certificate, Jen and I were able to stay in a fantastic suite and take advantage of some fantastic amenities. This hotel has one of the best fitness centers offering a full service gym and roof top tennis and basketball courts. If you’re someone who loves urban exploration, this property is centrally located in Melbourne’s CBD with easy access to many major attractions and eateries. This was easily one of my favorite award redemptions of all time.
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