Where to stay in Melbourne
21.07.2023 - 08:13
/ roughguides.com
Consistently named among the world’s most liveable cities, Melbourne is full of charming cafés, vibrant ethnic enclaves and landscaped parklands. Here we unearth where to stay in Melbourne.
The most obvious areas with a concentration of accommodation are the CBD and the adjoining suburbs of North Melbourne, Carlton, East Melbourne and Richmond. Some of the cheap accommodation areas on the fringes of the city are fairly dead at night, though they’re within easy reach of the action. To the south of the city, South Yarra, Windsor and St Kilda are handy for both the city centre and the beach, and with lots of good eating options. St Kilda is very lively, if a bit rough around the edges, with a few hostels and a number of motels and apartments.
Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) presents a spectacular modern sky-line; what you’ll notice from close up, however, are the florid 19th-century facades, grandiose survivors of the great days of the gold rush and after. At the centre of the CBD, trams jolt through the busy Bourke Street Mall. A stone’s throw from these central thoroughfares, narrow lanes, squares and arcades with vibrant street art, hole-in-the-wall cafés, small restaurants, shops and boutiques add a cosy and intimate feel to the city.
The most exclusive hotels are found in the CBD, particularly around Collins St and the leisure precincts of Southgate and the Crown Casino, and there’s a collection of revamped hotels around southern Cross Station.
Best for old-fashioned service: Langham
A modern hotel minutes from Fed Square, with dazzling CBD views but old-fashioned service, with the benefits of a health club, spa and sauna.
Best for business travellers: Brady Hotel Central Melbourne
Offers 146 modern apartments and guest rooms located on the vibrant northern edge of the CBD. Facilities include a gym, business centre, swimming pool and sauna, as well as a laundry service.
Melbourne's sparkling Central Business District © Aleksander Todorovic/Shutterstock
It’s in Melbourne’s inner suburbs that you’ll really get a feel for what life in this city is all about. Café society finds its home to the north among the alternative galleries and secondhand shops of Fitzroy, while the Italian cafés on Lygon Street in nearby Carlton fuelled the Beat Generation with espresso, though these days boutiques far outnumber bookshops.
Best for central location: Carlton Lygon Lodge
Good motel in central Carlton with 60 attractive rooms, most with small kitchenette and balcony. Free off-street parking.
Best for historic hostel charm: The Nunnery
Attractive Fitzroy hostel in a former convent and an 1860s two-storey house, with Brunswick St cafés and Melbourne Museum close by. The building retains original stained-glass