- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Posts
- 1,800
Last weekend I tested a new, simple place to stay in Melbourne: Lyf Collingwood Melbourne. It's a part of Ascott Limited which has multiple brands globally, best known in Australia would be Quest Serviced Apartments.
I stayed for one night only in their 'One of a Kind Plus' room. It's a very basic room with a queen bed. Works as a crash pad but looks like 2-3 nights would be more than enough here, presuming you are out a lot during the days.
You can easily reach this by tram. It's a 5 min walk from lines 12/109 and just 2 mins from line 86. Both about 10 mins to Collins St / Bourke St.
What worked for me:
+ 24/7 reception and old-fashioned key card. You can also use their mobile app as your key.
+ The room was clean. The minimalist approach makes it also a calm place.
+ The bed was soft and - for once - the pillow offered adequate support.
+ The shared kitchen was well equipped with proper stoves, ovens, microwaves, toasters, etc, including a Kitchenaid type of a mixer. They also have a little herb garden where you can get some fresh garnish for your cooking.
+ Powerpoints & light switches on the bedside. No need to get up when you want to turn the lights off.
+ The bedside was large. Fits your tablet, phone, Kindle, eye glasses, etc all together.
+ Good storage space for luggage under the bed frame.
+ A quiet location.
Challenges:
- It'd be difficult to get in/out of bed if you have mobility challenges. They do also have accessible rooms but how they are different is unknown to me.
- The blinds are behind the bed = you need to climb on bed to reach them.
- The bathroom is narrow. The door clearly is intended to open inwards, blocking half of the bathroom off. Though you can also open the door outwards, making it a lot easier.
- Showering will water also half of the floor in front of the sink & bathroom entrance. The bathmat is put into good use here.
- The room has a proper table but only one chair. If there are two of you, one needs to sit on the bed frame or bed.
- Zero shelves, drawers, or anything for your clothing, etc. You are living out of your suitcase here.
- The bathroom sink has very small space around it. You could fit a water glass there and that's it. Though, there is a little shelf above the sink (but the shelf overshadows the sink making it hard to wash your face, shave, etc there without dripping water outside of the sink).
Result:
from me. Cheap and cheerful, simple. Works best for solo travellers for max 3 nights if you have an active life outside of the hotel and come here only to wash & sleep.
I stayed for one night only in their 'One of a Kind Plus' room. It's a very basic room with a queen bed. Works as a crash pad but looks like 2-3 nights would be more than enough here, presuming you are out a lot during the days.
You can easily reach this by tram. It's a 5 min walk from lines 12/109 and just 2 mins from line 86. Both about 10 mins to Collins St / Bourke St.
What worked for me:
+ 24/7 reception and old-fashioned key card. You can also use their mobile app as your key.
+ The room was clean. The minimalist approach makes it also a calm place.
+ The bed was soft and - for once - the pillow offered adequate support.
+ The shared kitchen was well equipped with proper stoves, ovens, microwaves, toasters, etc, including a Kitchenaid type of a mixer. They also have a little herb garden where you can get some fresh garnish for your cooking.
+ Powerpoints & light switches on the bedside. No need to get up when you want to turn the lights off.
+ The bedside was large. Fits your tablet, phone, Kindle, eye glasses, etc all together.
+ Good storage space for luggage under the bed frame.
+ A quiet location.
Challenges:
- It'd be difficult to get in/out of bed if you have mobility challenges. They do also have accessible rooms but how they are different is unknown to me.
- The blinds are behind the bed = you need to climb on bed to reach them.
- The bathroom is narrow. The door clearly is intended to open inwards, blocking half of the bathroom off. Though you can also open the door outwards, making it a lot easier.
- Showering will water also half of the floor in front of the sink & bathroom entrance. The bathmat is put into good use here.
- The room has a proper table but only one chair. If there are two of you, one needs to sit on the bed frame or bed.
- Zero shelves, drawers, or anything for your clothing, etc. You are living out of your suitcase here.
- The bathroom sink has very small space around it. You could fit a water glass there and that's it. Though, there is a little shelf above the sink (but the shelf overshadows the sink making it hard to wash your face, shave, etc there without dripping water outside of the sink).
Result:
from me. Cheap and cheerful, simple. Works best for solo travellers for max 3 nights if you have an active life outside of the hotel and come here only to wash & sleep.
