Grand Hyatt or Sofitel

[Neverlate]

Traveling to Melbourne in early January, have mostly always stayed at the Grand Hyatt,club room. I thought I might try the Sofitel club room.

Have any members stayed at both hotels to give me a comparison .


NL

 

[mella2007]

I've stayed at both. Depending on which club access room at the Sofitel you get (Junior Suite upwards are very good rooms, Prestige Suite and Level 50 suites fantastic).
Grand Hyatt is very small for my liking and not a fan of the location, especially with the Spice Temple nightclub on weekends which is very noisy.
In terms of food offering, good selection in lounge at Sofitel with made to order breakfasts and good selection of evening drinks and canapes, In house restaurant is fantastic. Grand Hyatt good buffet breakfast and room service food very good.
For views alone...Sofitel win hands down for me.

 

[zig]

These are my 2 main hotels for Melbourne stays, so have stayed many times at both, in club rooms. Neither is 100% to my liking and if I could combine elements from each it would create for me, the perfect Melbourne hotel. I now just book on price, with Sofitel usually coming out on top. For my next visit in Jan I am staying 1 night at each hotel, that is how difficult I find it to choose between them.
Mella has already commented that Grand Hyatt has smallish rooms, as you have stayed there previously you know this, the rooms at the Sofitel are a bit larger. The bathroom at GH suits me better as it has a seperate shower and tub, at the Sofitel in the Club rooms the shower is over the tub (suites have shower and tub).
I personally prefer the view from GH and the one large window which frames it, as opposed to the smaller windows in the Sofitel.
GH has a better TV set up, however Sofitel has DVD players in the room, and DVDs available from the Club Lounge.
Both beds are very comfortable, with good linen and pillow menus. I have found that noise from other rooms is more noticeable at GH.
Sofitel wins for food offerings in the club lounge, providing breakfast cooked to order, lunch, afternoon tea, evening canapes etc. GH is a bit light on, with very limited food available between breakfast and evening canapes, however I think their canapes are better than the Sofitel. Views from both club lounges are great, but probably Sofitel wins out for the stunning Yarra views.
My list goes on, but it is hard to split them. If you normally stay at GH I would certainly recommend that you try the Sofitel for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

 

[RWJ777]

The Soffy can be very hit and miss I find; sometimes they really look after you and other times you can get a nasty little room. The food is generally, and consistently, good. As an alternative, I was recently impressed with the new Hilton but is a bit difficult to get into town should the traffic be heavy.

 

[mella2007]

The Soffy can be very hit and miss I find; sometimes they really look after you and other times you can get a nasty little room. The food is generally, and consistently, good. As an alternative, I was recently impressed with the new Hilton but is a bit difficult to get into town should the traffic be heavy.

The new Hilton? I would hardly call South Wharf new

 

[Jobu]

Grand Hyatt wins.

Sofitel has shower in the bath tub

Sofitel has 5 minute wait for the lift

Sofitel has fake french accents

Grand Hyatt has a basketball court!

Park Hyatt is just up the road as well, if big rooms are your thing.

 

[Pollywaffle]

The Soffy can be very hit and miss I find; sometimes they really look after you and other times you can get a nasty little room.

Yes. I am in a non-club room at the Sofitel as I write this. It's been an eventful evening after having to move from my junior suite to another room because the air con stopped working. The move was quick and painless but I am now stuck in a one bedroom suite with a shower over the bath and 2 tvs both with poor reception.

I realise neither of these are real dealbreakers but when you don't get these issues elsewhere, it makes you start questioning the entire experience.

I have avoided the Sofitel for several years and this trip was about giving them another go. And it doesn't help that in my first room I had a view of some apartment building with a rooftop pool - an amenity I really would have liked in the heat this weekend - LOL.

**sigh**

 

[Pvcmenace]

Only ever went to Grand hyatt before renovations but have stayed at the Westin, Crown Towers, Park Hyatt etc. But for some reason even without a pool and having shower over bath I end up back at the Sofitel, after 13 years frequenting the hotel its like a second home. (Back in 2001 Le Restaurant which is now the club lounge used to have Gary Mehigan as executive and George Colombaris as sous chef, so food is always a pleasure.)

 

[Sprucegoose]

The new Hilton? I would hardly call South Wharf new

Yes how time flies.....lets settle for the newer Hilton !

 

[Neverlate]

We ended up staying in the GH again, fabulous service and the the grand king suite was fantastic. Not wanting to return, home stayed an extra night at the Hilton South Wharf, we were blessed to receive the relaxation suite, what a great view down the yarra at night, the comfort of the beds at the Hilton for me, are the best.

Thankyou for all that contributed to this thread.

NL

 

[zig]

Glad to hear that you had a good stay Neverlate. Sometime in the future you should wander further up Collins St and give the Sofitel a try.