Overall, I was impressed with the Crown Metropol. Close to the CBD, with easy access to most of Melbourne's local attractions. The room was very modern and stylishly furnished. The one negative part of the experience was when all the elevators in the hotel but one were disabled for maintenance. The wait for an elevator was so long that we almost missed our tour bus.
I stayed in a Luxe (lead in) Twin with 4 friends. Hotel was beautiful and modern could not fault the room however the bathroom style with see-through toilet door and shower was not very convenient for friends sharing. The bathroom walls shift around, so you can see straight through to your bed but you can close it up. Pretty views out to the Harbour. The only thing to sour the stay was that unfortunately, reception staff had difficulties coordinating/serving a group of four and charged my friend for the 1 night twice, even though we had pre paid before we arrived. This was however very soon after the hotel had opened.
I had two nights at the Crown Metropol, checkin was flawless and quick, the room was really nice with distant views of the Bay. The rooms resign was really nice. The large flatscreen TV was stuck on one channel. My request was answered immediately by a service man who managed to reset and make it operate properly again. All together it was a great hotel experience.
My husband and I stayed here during a weekend getaway to Melbourne and absolutely loved it. Very happening in the lobby at check-in time, but our room quite the sanctuary away from all the activity downstairs. Fast lifts, awesome room. Deluxe bedding, unbelievably comfortable bed, beautifully appointed bathroom. Maze Grill on level one quite stunning in every sense of the word. Service at every level was exceptional. Whole look and feel of the hotel was sophisticated minimalism, a far cry from the glitz and excess of the the rest of the Crown complex. Would absolutely stay here again, and recommend it to friends.
My hobby is staying in hotels and this one rates in my top 10!!!!
From the moment we arrived the experience started, friendly and Designer dressed concierge staff assisted us to reception and then we were greeted by reception staff that would do any business proud - the hotel is designed to the extreme but the staff are down to earth, helpful and lovely. We arrived 3 hours before 'official' check-in and were offered our room straight away - AMAZING!!! Hotels (especially high end hotels) are so damn precious about checking you into your room early but the Crown Metropol were so accommodating without being asked - Loved it!!
Rooms:
We stayed in the Studio Room with floor to ceiling windows encasing the room - Total WOW factor!!
I wished I had stayed here prior to completing building my house because now I want my bedroom to be like the Crown Metropol room we stayed in. The beds are to die for, so comfortable, beautiful linen and great pillows - I have a great bed at home but now it pales in comparison after the Metropol experience. The bathroom is amazing, I loved the open-plan design, the only fault that I could find was the shower head. Water saving design has come a long way and I felt that with such an amazing bathroom the sad water saving shower head let it down a little.
Day bed in the room is divine for relaxing after shopping while reading one of the FREE magazines in the room. Great selection of magazines offered in room - this hotel thought of everything!!
In room dining:
I had BIG expectations of in-room dining as it is offered by the Gordon Ramsay branded Maze Restaurant, I was so excited. We had two desserts delivered to our room and they were lovely. We ordered breakfast (cost = $78.00 for 2 people) and it was DISAPPOINTING! For what we paid, they skimped on the little things that end up being really inconvenient to ring down to get more of. One small container of milk for 2 people having coffee and cereal, not enough butter to have with toast and croissants and a very ordinary bakery basket selection. Maybe my expectations were too high but I have no problems paying for anything as long as it is good quality and served correctly.
In rooming dining staff were fantastic though from ordering on the phone to delivery, they were great and friendly.
Location:
Great! Easy and under-cover access to the Crown Complex (invaluable in Melbourne with the weather) and easy walk into town. Perfect!
Overall:
Can't wait to get back and enjoy another couple of nights of indulgence with Crown Metropol.
We stayed at this hotel for a weekend in Melbourne in May. The hotel is very trendy and modern, the rooms are nicely appointed with nice touches like having the last fashion, food and travel magazines. Whilst the toiletries were hotel-branded, they were beautiful products. We used the hotel facilities like the gym, sauna and pool and all were amazing. The infinity pool at the top floor is one of the best I've seen.
They had a buffet breakfast and the service at the restaurant was absolutely atrocious. I ordered a latte, and when it didn't come for 20 mins, I politely asked a waitress to follow up. Instead of saying sure, as one would expect, the waitress yelled "well, how long have you been waiting? You know the kitchen is backed up!!" What kind of restaurant has this kind of service?!
The queue at check-out was very long and we waited nearly an hour to check-out. To make matters worse, the hotel had this not-so-bright idea to offer free valet parking to people that weekend. What it meant was that there were literally hundreds of people waiting in the lobby and outside the hotel after they've checked out, waiting for their cars, which was parked by the valet staff in the casino parking next door. It was complete chaos.
Whilst the hotel itself is beautiful, I would not recommend it to others due to the atrocious service and the long wait we had to endure to check out and get our car from valet parking.
