This hotel is close to the centre of Melbourne and is part of the Crown Complex which is huge. there is another Hotel with Casino, which needs to be seen to be believed. There are restaurants’, bars, night clubs, leisure facilities and more! The Promenade is quiet in comparison to its sister hotel. We were tempted to upgrade to a corner room which had city views and was well appointed with all mod cons. Wi-Fi was poor and really expensive at $25 per day, per device!!!! Outrageous! it should be free! Breakfast was well presented although at $30 per head, not cheap. Our stay coincided with the Melbourne Cup which was an amazing experience in itself, so much elegance and finery and a contenent that comes to a halt at 3.00pm on race day!

My girlfriends and I have been coming to stay here for the past 3 years. Every year the staff have been very welcoming and friendly. We love that we don't have to leave the Crown Complex to eat , or go out. We all feel very safe staying there and the views are amazing!! This is the first year we have had City views and wow we felt so special!

Sometimes i feel my hotel Duty Manager backroud gives me an edge, in terms of knowing the ins and outs of a hotel and its procedures and sometimes I wish I didnt have the expectations and certain level of standards because this hotel, from arrival to departure was a disgrace! Arrival: bags were taken 'take them to the conference room please' 'oh I cant do that, somebody. . . ' Check In: issues with credit cards even though specifying prior to arrival that all charges to master account, Abhi at the reception desk was rude, unaccommodating and stubborn. So we called our group manager in front of him and sorted it, could he not have rather than being so abrasive to us and the girl checking us in? Housekeeping: to have a shirt pressed at 5pm an delivered no later than 3pm incurrs a 100% surcharge?! Why dont you just say a price, this alone makes you feel uncomfortable! Still wasnt back by 3pm however. . Evans in conferencing is the hotels saviour, without him my next few stays here would be unbareable!

This hotel, for the price - represents a shocking value proposition.

The room is dated and poorly thought out - while it includes the crowd pleasers such as a large TV and cookie cutter art, it is very impractical. For example, a giant shower cubicle with a tiny shower head in one corner, and lighting system that depends on a key card being put in a slot like a 3 star hotel.

The ambiance on Friday and Saturday nights feels like a tacky nightclub - loud and full of drunks stumbling through the lobby. Also, the staff seem to not have been trained to the level that is expected of a 4 star hotel. They are not perceptive or proactive - and have a nasty habit of presenting problems rather than solutions.

For example - my key card had stopped working, and I went to the desk and gave my name and room number. The agent responded "this is under a woman's name" in an accusatory and unhelpful tone - instead of looking further down the reservation and seeing I was a secondary guest, without questioning the guest as anyone with basic customer service training would have done.

The location is mediocre - unless if you like sad attempts at recreating Las Vegas in the Southern Hemisphere. Our room overlooked criss crossing motorways, and it was a trek to get anywhere outside of the casino complex.

Had we not been here for a conference, we never would have stayed - but we regretted not staying elsewhere. There are better, classier hotels in the area. Even with a conference rate you will not get value for money or feel satisfied staying here unless you enjoy casinos and malls.