Booked a room at this hotel partly because of the high ratings on Trip Advisor. Booked direct with the hotel for a studio 'river view' room, at $189 a night. Pretty disappointing place, hard to believe that it is rated so highly here as one of the best Melbourne hotels. First of all there was no river view. I was on level 5 and it should be more accurately called a train view room because that is what you you will see- and hear- all day and night, trains thundering past in both directions almost every minute. It was pretty hard for me to get to sleep with that noise all the time. The king bed was actually just 2 single beds pushed together. The mattress was quite worn and rather thin. The room itself was cramped and much smaller than expected. The bathroom was small and drab looking. The wash basin was located outside of the bathroom. On the positive side, the room was clean and quite modern. There was an adequate kitchenette for the basics. The hotel is not located immediately close to anything much. The closest major attraction would be the casino/southbank precinct a 5-10 minute walk away. It is located between Flinders St and Southern Cross stations, but both are a brisk 10-12 minute walk away. Most restaurants and take away outlets are a good 10 minute plus walk away. There is a grocery store a couple of blocks away. I didn't use any of the hotel facilities so can't comment on them. There are much better value apartment style places in Melbourne that are more conveniently located. This hotel was a disappointment.

Our family of 4 booked a 1 bedroom King Riverview room for a great price on wotif.com as it came with a pull-out sofa and a free rollaway to accomodate our 2 small children. To our surprise we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite on the 17th floor with a fantastic view across the river. The kitchen was very handy, with small children you can't always wait to get them dressed and out the door for breakfast. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Room was quiet and clean. (The train was right next to us and no issue) The only minor issue we had was on the first night there was often quite a wait for the elevator. The other 2 nights this was not an issue.

Just across the river is the Crown Casino complex. The food court had lots of tasty options to suit the smallest members of the family. The aquarium is also just around the corner. We had a lovely fall getaway and we would definitely return.

We stayed in a two bedroom suite in Clarion Gateway. We booked the hotel by calling them directly.. they offered us good price than what was listed on web-site.

The suite was on 17th floor facing the Yarra River. The view was excellent. Every hour in evening to mid-night, there is a fire-ball show across Yarra river which we enjoyed from our balcony.

The hotel staff was very good and helpful. This is no grocery store next to it.. probably 1-2 blocks away. When we needed milk for our child.. hotel staff would send those little packs. And, before returning to hotel we pick groceries from on the way shop.

I travel a lot and have stayed at many different Hotels. I have stayed at the Gateway over 80 times for both business and pleasure and have always enjoyed the experience.