A report on the Crown Metropol (sorry this is long)
Last weekend the GF and I managed to sneak down into Melbourne for a lovely weekend. It was by no means an essential trip but for the GF it was a necessary evil where she had to start her QF WP chase for 2010-11 and earn some qualifying QF segments, thus we flew the more expensive QF option.
On our 2 – 4 trips down to Melbourne each year, we usually head straight to the Westin Melbourne but last weekend they wanted more than $700 just for the two nights so we clearly were not willing to pay this extreme amount.
So we searched for other properties more in our budget, the $200 per night range, and before we knew it we came across the new Crown Metropol.
I was a bit reluctant to book this hotel purely because of its location, which was on the south side of the YarraRiver. Yes it is adjacent to the Crown Entertainment Complex and has direct internal walkways to get there but we don’t really go down to Melbourne for things in the Crown Complex.
But when I did a search for more information on the CM, early reviews gave this hotel top marks. Even TripAdvisor pushed its ranking straight to 13th and then 5th in the matter of two weeks. Ok so I was sold!
Firstly, I booked through Lastminute (dot) com and it was not one of those ‘secret’ hotel options. The cost was $202 per night plus $5.50 service fee (so $407.50 for the weekend) and we reserved a Luxe King room with a request for a high floor.
We arrived at the CM via the Airport Express shuttle service. Waiting at the entrance were around 5 porters and assistance all smartly dressed in black suits who looked more like bouncers to a night club than a traditional hotel – however none offered to assist with baggage but I guess we were only carrying hand luggage / weekend bags. We entered the relatively small but impressive lobby and lined up in queue to be checked in, it was a few minutes wait but understandable because it was the official check-out time of 11am.
We were greeted by a welcoming agent. I asked if a room would be ready given we had arrived early and she said it would all be fine. After the usual ID and credit card check, I was offered a non-smoking room on the 25th floor (the hotel has a total of 28) which I accepted. I enquired about the hotel and she advised of the grand opening date in 4 nights time and then pointed out the Maze Restaurant and the must visit pool / gym on Level 27. Without much more to say, I took the room key and wondered around the elevator lobby.
The elevator lobby was darkened and had minimal lighting – cool – and that the carpet had swirls of multi-colours - very sensual to the eyes I would say. The elevator were standard types, no fancy pants LCD TVs on the floor (like the W Hong Kong) or the ceilings (like the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas) nor was there any music in the background to tickle the ear lobes. It was a plain standard elevator, which required the room key to access your destination floor.
The hallway to the room was again darkened during the day and seemed more lit up during the evenings, maybe it was just an illusion? Or maybe it was just my eyes?
We arrived at our room – inserted the key – and entered the brand new (well if less than two weeks old is brand new) room. I won’t post photos but I will say that the room is identical to the promotional photos that are being circulated through the media and online. There is no trick photography and “what you see, is what you get”.
Near the entrance and to my left was a large space for bags, a clothes wardrobe, electronic safe, more storage space, a mini-bar, snacks and nibbles for purchase and a nicely presented tray of wine glasses, champagne flutes and ice bucket ‘ready for usage’.
The bathroom, like the photos, was large and functional. A separate shower, enclosed toilet, but no strangely it did not have a bath tub. I would have liked a bathtub (even though I rarely use them) and it would have been nice to create a double ‘his & her’ sink, rather than the standard single sink. Bathroom amenities were non-branded which was a bit of a shame but the smell was of lemon-citrus, which although popular, works well.
The main room consisted of the large king bed, with a floating full length wooden shelf as part of the bed head – against the black wall. There was a 42 inch full HD television fixed to the wall opposite (which was a contrasting white wall) and there was also an ipod dock / alarm next to the bed. A large comfortable chaise lounge adjacent to the full length floor to ceiling windows, which gave a full 180 degree mesmerising view of the city – though I would think on lower floors you may see a bit more of the Crown Casino rooftop car park and be a bit annoyed with it. Other reviews will say the view of the bay, that is the non-city view rooms, would be a better choice. Either view I think, you couldn’t go wrong.
Now, here is the disappointment – the king bed was pretty firm in my opinion. No fancy pants ‘pillow top’ mattress – as I do regularly experience in a Sheraton, Westin or W – and the pillows were limp and soft that had absolutely no support around my neck. To be honest, it was much comfortable resting on the chaise lounge.
Now to be fussy, for such a new and funky design hotel, the light controls and electronics in the room were just out-dated. No switches were labelled and at all times, I had to ‘trial & error’ to see which switch did what. Also the full length curtains should have been made electrically operated (like they do at the W Hong Kong & Le Meridien Bangkok for example) rather than the self-pull the curtains along its rails action.
Let’s move on now, all the staff were friendly and courteous, and would say Hi or Hi, how are you? And seemed happy to be there (that’s a gimme I suppose given the newness of the hotel).
The Level 27 pool / gym area is pretty much amazing. The pool area is as like the photos. Although the hotel is actually 28 levels the pool area is a large enclosed space covering two floors with floor to rooftop glass and with views as far as the eyes can see. There is an amazing lighting fixtures via gigantic drop lights which are cleverly located above the sundeck chairs and multiple ‘couples’ lounge chaises. The infinity pool is approx. 20-25 metres long and great for laps but for relaxation, you can use the large hot tub – just water @ 38 degrees with no jets – to savour in the views of the city below.
The fully equipped gym with brand new Life Fitness equipment again has panoramic views directly west, straight towards the EurekaTower and beyond. A variety of weight-loading machines, free weights, mats and exercise balls – all with natural lighting.
There is a day spa for a fee on the same level but I did not try that out. I also did not try the only restaurant in the hotel, which is the ‘Maze – by Gordon Ramsey’. I did not eat there but did walk past it multiple times – as it adjoins the internal walkway to get through to the Crown Casino. It’s a chic restaurant and on both nights, most patrons wore very smart casual attire. Looked like a great place to just relax by the bar or lounges and have a coughtail or two with a few close friends.
Overall a very enjoyable stay except the bed, and the location was just a bit out of the way – from the regular cafes and laneways that Melbourne is famous for.
). We like that side of the creek.
