Property: W Melbourne
Status: Platinum
Dates: 5-7 May 2022
Booked: Mega (50sqm) King
Rate: 80,000 Points + $220 for 2 nights
Received: Fantastic (65sqm) Suite, and then paid $100 extra p/n to upgrade to Marvelous (72sqm) Corner Suite.
Visited Melbourne for my b'day and a couple of boys nights out. Hotel had upgraded me to the Fantastic Suite, 2 days out from the stay, and I used the app's chat feature to ask about moving to a preferred corner suite for the rate difference p/n of $100 between the two suite types on the day. They were good with this and locked it in. There was some confusion about my arrangement at check-in, but seems it was more to do with the fact it was points + cash, and the reservation was only showing to the front desk the hotel revenue value overall, so they couldn't figure out what was actually owed by me, vs covered with the already deducted points. Didn't take too long to sort out, and I was off to the suite.
I was given the Marvelous Suite on the 5th floor, which I was initially a tad annoyed about as I knew there were 15 floors in the W... but even the 5th felt relatively high up, as Market St is on the hill heading down toward Flinders St & the Yarra, and so it was actually fine. Didn't quite have the river in my view, but could see parts of Southbank, and looked into the old Port Authority. Watching the trams come around from Market onto Flinders Lane there was nice too. Room was spacious without feeling oversized, and with lots of W design and features. Full sized (100ml) Momo & Skin Regimen toiletries are provided & restocked in the large suite bathroom.
The hotel had noted my birthday from the booking notes, and left me some treats for the occasion - a cake and a cheese plate with accompaniments. While a nice touch, neither were appealing for this birthday boy, and they remained under glass until I checked out. I wonder if there's a way in your profile to say 'if you want to gift me something, gift me beer or champagne!'?
I know some other programs have that.
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Breakfast was in Lollo restaurant, and was very nice. It's a la carte, and as a Platinum or higher, you are credited $36 per guest, per day for b'fast. The 'Lollo breakfast' was $36, with extra sides and coffees on top. The credit was pretty close to covering it, and again - a very nice breakfast, and I'd say worth a small premium above the credit if you need to.
Hotel was well located for what we needed, which was to be close enough to all the brewpubs and taprooms that 5-10 mins in an Uber would cover it... and to be able to walk back from Southbank or the Crown precinct, which is inevitably where we find ourselves at the end of the night, in Melbourne.
Late checkout to 2PM was requested, and early indications were that this wasn't possible... but they'd managed to sort something out by the time I got back from my 2nd night out, and confirmed 2PM was fine.
Very nice stay - a new Melbourne favourite, for me.
Cheers,
Matt.