The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne

This is a brilliant hotel. It occupies a mixed use building, with floors 64-80 belonging to the Ritz. In other words, even if you get a ‘low’ floor, you are still getting a great view of the city. There are separate elevators to the reception on the 80the floor and then between the room floors, so there’s basically no waiting time for an elevator when going between the reception/spa/room. We thought the rooms and facilities were both excellent. Well thought out, high quality and delivering a sense of serenity and peace. Personally I liked the sauna and pool very much. The jacuzzi wasn’t great, but I don’t care for those so wasn’t an issue. The staff were very polite and attentive, which we enjoyed. I really can’t saw enough good things how our time at this hotel made us feel.

Beautiful hotel. But you pay for that beauty. Staff were kind and friendly, definitely high end entry. Pool area and gym are really nice. Beds incredibly comfortable and rooms are modern with a fantastic view. Now what pulled my rating down, hotel isn't great for couples who may have wish to sit together in the steam room or Jacuzzi. Unfortunately these are in the bathrooms, so unless you're in a same sex couple you won't be enjoying it together. Pool area while beautiful, there wasn't staff cleaning up the used towels. Had to move used towels, not acceptable for the price. As you'd expect the restaurant and bar are very expensive too and no complimentary drinks on arrival.

We stayed for 2 nights in a Ritz-Carlton Club Room. The rooms were modern and very well-appointed (I loved the Dyson hairdryer with the numerous attachments while my husband loved the big table in the room, which was perfect for doing work). Amazing view of the city from our room, when the clouds weren’t in the way! The Club Lounge, managed by Lucas, was great - very high quality food and drinks. Lucas came to personally great all guests in the Club Lounge. The Club Lounge team was professional and attentive, though it did look to us like there could be more staff in the lounge at times (especially during dedicated meal times). We appreciated the Club Lounge team for surprising us in the room with a bottle of sparkling wine and the rose petals. Also, fantastic gym by the way!

The hotel itself is stunning, luxurious, and beautifully designed, but the location left a lot to be desired. It’s surrounded by a rough area with a noticeable presence of homeless individuals and drug users, which made walking back at night feel unsafe. Another downside was the inconvenient elevator system. Having to take one up to the lobby and another down to the rooms was frustrating. The staff didn’t do much to make our stay feel special, and the concierge was often unavailable when needed. A nice property, but the overall experience didn’t match expectations.

Beautiful hotel. Interior design of the rooms, pool area, lobby and reception are wonderful. Good bell staff. Elegant breakfast setup but average food. Biggest issue is with probity - several times, the hotel has rendered a service then wanted to charge an arbitrary amount without asking beforehand or being honest. The womens’ vitality area was suddenly closed for the second half of my trip, no explanation, no apology or comment. I am still trying to get to the bottom of some charges now (seems like they have charged double tax but no one can explain). Whilst these aren’t the biggest amounts, transparency & honesty are table-stakes. With a little staff training, this could be a 5* property

Good: I absolutely love the location of this hotel. It’s conveniently located near Southern cross station and near a lot of shops and restaurants (at least 5 Korean BBQ restaurants in walking distance). I got a room with a panoramic view of the bay and I could see the Marvel Stadium every night. Room was big and nicely decorated. I booked the room with breakfast everyday. Although the buffet selection was small, I loved cook-to-order breakfast. After 3 months traveling, I was sick and tired of “cold buffet items.” The stunning view from the 80th floor was always nice to see in the morning. The swimming pool had a great view. All the staff were friendly and helpful (sometimes the help was kind of late but at least they tried.) Bad: The entrance driveway was tricky for taxi/uber drivers, even for pedestrians to walk on it. It’s very narrow and hard to see. The jacuzzi was a “death trap” for old people due to the horrible designed stairs to go in and out of it. I hurt my knees several times, I just stopped going after using it once. Overall: I still recommended it.

My partner and I chose to celebrate our anniversary at the Ritz on the weekend. Upon arrival, we were greeted with an extremely rude concierge as he was unprofessional with his body language and expression. We were aware of the reputation of the ritz and expected to see vehicles of high prices, although we drive a regular Mazda, we were not aware of how judgmental concierges were here. Once we drove in, the concierge smirked at us and gave a foul expression as if our car was worth nothing. We may not drive a super expensive car like others but we have the money to book a stay here. We came expecting a great weekend with fantastic service but having a judgmental concierge greet us first thing is appalling. He made us feel as if we shouldn't be there and the Ritz was far too great for us. We're glad that we didn't have to bump into this rude worker again during our stay but the other concierges were extremely nice and respectful. One thing I can say for sure is don't come to this hotel unless you're prepared to get judged by what car you drive. After this experience our thoughts of the Ritz has changed. Absolutely disgusting.

Its a beautiful hotel no doubts. Impressive reception at 80th floor. Well designed beautiful rooms. 3 stars for this hotel may sounds too hard but for an hotel of this outstanding brand cannot be taken slightly. We had a room with a strong bad smell in the toilet, we ask 3 times to clean, they did but still smells very bad. Room service very limited. cleaning person moved some underwear we left drying… some better training should be done. We been in several Ritz, from Tokyo , Singapur or Hong Kong among others, it seems this one has a much to improve still.