Melbourne Australia hotels - Please recommend

[kelley182]

Hi ladies,

Do you have any hotel recommendations for Melbourne?  What is the best area to stay in?

TIA!

[frlcb]

We stayed at the Park Hyatt, and it was great. It overlooks St Patrick's Cathedral and Fitzroy Gardens and is a short walk to the city center, as well as the free tram that goes around the city.

[shell24]

I stayed at the Novotel in Melbourne and it was very nice.

[dorothyinAus]

I've stayed at the Sofitel, the Windsor, and the Victoria Hotel. The only thing the Victoria Hotel has in its favor is the location. The Sofitel is great and is my choice of where to stay in the city. The Windsor is a nice old hotel, classy but from a different era, you know? Service is great, but the location is not my favorite.

I've also stayed at the Park Royal at the airport. For seeing the sites, this is not the hotel to chose. But if you need a place to stay before an early flight the location can't be beat, and the hotel restaurant is actually really good.

[wise_rita]

kelley182, are you looking for things to do in Melbourne?

I recommend emailing The Project and trying to get tickets to their live show one night (http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/audience).

It's a really interesting news-tainment show that will teach you a lot about what's going on in Australia. It's broadcast live every weeknight at 7 p.m., and you need to be there about 6 p.m. to get signed in and set up, so a 2 hour time commitment. Sometimes they have stars in studio, but even if they don't it's interesting to see how a live taping works, and what's going on in Australia.

I went in October when I was in Melbourne and am so glad I did it! I emailed well in advance, but didn't hear back from them until about a month prior to my selected date, I guess that's how far in advance they start planning their audiences.