
I’ll go ahead and make this the most anti-climatic review EVAR: I loved the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne.
We came here off the heels of the InterContinental in Sydney and directly before an awesome Etihad flight that left us in the UAE, which was challenging for me, and a brief stay at the Park Inn Yas Island before heading back to the US of A, which closed our epic RTW trip that started in Fiji. Whew, that was a long sentence.
Anyway, side note, do NOT take a taxi from the airport. MEL is really far from downtown Melbourne, and a taxi was about $70USD. My eyes almost popped out of my head once we got there and I saw the price. Landing at the airport feels like you’ve arrived in the middle of the outback… and driving into the city takes a solid 45 minutes. I recommend the airport bus – it’s so much cheaper and takes just a little longer.
The Grand Hyatt is located right in downtown Melbourne, in the middle of numerous destinations, close to the water, the arts district, museums, trains, everything really…
It was a great home base for a few days in Melbourne, and as a Hyatt Category 3 property for only 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points per night, it is a total steal. One of those hidden gems in the system that is so worth taking advantage of.
However, since it was so centrally located, I went ahead and redeemed for a Club King room – I knew I could pop in and out of the Club Lounge for snacks and drinks throughout the day, and I wanted that breakfast! I often receive outsized value from the Club rooms, as I know I get my money’s (or points’) worth in drinks alone – especially when it is so easy to come and all day.
After paying the taxi driver, we headed into the Grand Hyatt. Checking in was a breeze. They were pleasant and helpful, and offered up details about the area, but weren’t overly long about it.
We learned that we could have breakfast in the restaurant instead of the Club Lounge for a small co-pay (I think about $20 extra), so we went ahead and added that to our room to start off with… pics will be below.