Great girls weekend!
by TripAdvisor Member cashome
We stayed here for a girls weekend in November having stayed here once before in March after a wedding in the city. Great place to stay. Ok, so its not 5 star luxury, but it so close to near by attractions, and really good value for money. Hotel is nice and creaky in a good way! Old world chic with a modern twist to the decor, simple furnishings and very basic at times, but more than adequate.
For the girls weekend we stayed in 2 of the metro rooms which are twin bedded rooms. Comfy, well equipped and perfectly adequate for the purpose, as we were out most of the night and only came back to sleep. We got a package which included parking and breakfast (nice buffet breakfast). We tried to contact conceirge after booking rooms to ask for a few extras and get interconnecting rooms. After 2 emails over 2 weeks no response I called to be told there must be a problem with the internet website, and they had never received my emails, and they didnt have interconnecting rooms as they were now fully booked. They offered us a down grade to the metro rooms, which they placed beside each other so we could be close by. I was concerned about the down grade in room, but they threw in 2 bottles of sparkling, so who am I to argue with that!! As it turned out the rooms were perfectly adequate, clean and fresh and the champers went down a treat as it was chilling in the room shortly after check in.
The deluxe room we stayed in as a couple was a little nicer in furnishing, and was still a great deal price wise compared to other hotels. We got in house meals late at night and we impressed with the food and price. We also got in room breakfast which was ok, but still better to go downstairs I think.
Service was nice and prompt, could not fault it really. Had a little mix up on check in when the keys did not work and I had to walk back to the reception twice to try to sort it out, but apart from that, no issues. It was busy weekend in town with lots on, and they managed to cope very well, car waiting with valet at check out after only letting them know 5 mins before, best time for valet parking I have ever had.
In short, great getaway hotel, but just dont expect grand luxury. The suites might be a different story, but the basic rooms are just that, but better than other hotels in this price range easily. Nice foyer, looks impressive, no pool, but great for accesssing all of Melbourne's best spots.
Great location!
by TripAdvisor Member travellers_from_oz
I stayed at the Rendezvous (formerly the Duxton) for four nights in December while on a shopping trip with my mother and sister.
Good points:
* Fantastic location. It is on Flinders Street, just a couple of blocks down from Flinders Street Station, the Swanston street tram station, and Federation square.
It was only a short walk for us to get to Southbank, and into the main shopping areas of the city centre, and a short walk to the Swanston street tram station, where you can catch trams to St Kilda, Carlton (Lygon st), and Toorak (Chapel St), and not too far to Collins st tram station to get to Fitzroy.
*The current interior is lovely and very old fashioned, around reception and in the bar upstairs.
*They are undergoing renovations however, giving it a very sleek and modern makeover. Both old and new interiors are very different but both very attractive, so I'm sure it will still look fantastic when they are finished. So far it seems the lower floors and the restaurant downstairs have been renovated.
*We didn't go to the restaurant but did have drinks and food at the bar upstairs, all were excellent and the bar staff were great and very friendly.
*Rooms are an ok size- not huge, but we still managed to get around even with a foldaway bed in the room.
*Reception staff were a bit all-or-none: one girl was very sullen and difficult, BUT everyone else I dealt with were all fantastic, very friendly and helpful, and nothing was too much trouble.
Not so good points:
*The bathroom (we were in an unrenovated room) was a bit difficult, quite small and the shower-bath setup was often hard to work, it was a lot more fiddly and sensitive than ones in other hotel's I've stayed in.
*Our tea and milk were often not restocked, so in the end we went down to 7-11 and bought our own, just so we'd know there'd definitely be some when we got back at the end of the day.
Overall we had a great stay, there is a lovely atmosphere at the hotel and the location was wonderful. I would recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to stay somewhere in Melbourne with good access to sites, shopping and transport.
Great Location
by TripAdvisor Member Jen1985
We stayed here for 6 nights at the beginning of February for a week of shopping. Being a travel agent I am very picky as to where I stay and the facilities but this hotel was great.
The hotel was in a great location, directly opposite Flinders St train station, and within a minutes walk to the trams. You could walk to the centre of town (Bourke St Mall) within 15 minutes and it was a flat, easy walk.
Rooms were small, but as we were really only sleeping there this didnt cause too much of a problem. We stayed in the lead in room category - Metro Room. This room had two single beds, with a TV cabinet, HUGE wardrobe and clean bathroom facilities including a bath. Hotel is currently undergoing a refurb, and from what we saw the new rooms look stunning!
I would not hesitate in recommending this property - it proved to be a great base for our Melbourne shopping experience!
B.A.D. Bad
by TripAdvisor Member misstissy
The hotel was booked for a business trip - where I was travelling with a collegue. That's why we requested a Twin room - which in every other hotel means 2 double beds!
When we arrived at our room, we were greeted with a small room with, wait for it, a massive king size bed and a tiny single bed - that were so close together,because the room was so small, that it was one massive bed!
I mean you work with someone all day, the least you expect is to be able to sleep in your own bed!!
Unhappy with this arrangement we returned to reception to address the problem.
The hotel was totally booked - because of the Swimming Championships, so they really couldn't do anything to help us.
The staff were quite smug about the fact that we had no choice but to accept their terms - one staff member even commented that we'd regret giving up the room we had!
So the compromise we made was another room with 2 single beds - which means the just "unzip" the massive king size one they originally offered us!
We did a bit of shopping while they fixed up the beds - didn't get back to the hotel till late - when I noticed that the bedding was, get this, a king size matress protector folded into thirds, a sheet over the top to sleep on (with a tear in it), a sheet on top of that with an old blanket with another sheet over the top.
Maybe suitable bedding if you are in the army!!
If I could have found a room anywhere else I would have gone in a New York minute!
After reading other reviews, it is apparent that they have been renovating for quite a while. Unlucky for us that we got an "un-renovated room" or did we?????
Rude staff
by TripAdvisor Member penandgrem
I booked to stay at the Rendezvous as a friend in Melbourne said it was being renovated. Usually I stay at the Vic but I tried this because of the location - don't bother! I booked back in January and reconfimed a week before arrival (plus emailed the porters as the website says they can hook you up with local services - Mother's Day was my aim!) Got there to be stuffed around at front desk and asked to sit in either the foyer or the bar while a room was made available. Meanwhile, other customers in queue after us were serviced with room keys. I asked the staff member at the desk what the hold up was and she said our room was being arranged and we would have a slight delay. When I asked what her definition of slight delay was, she wouldn't or couldn't answer and simply reiterated for us take a seat in the lobby or bar. Eventually an Ass. Manager came out and addressed my mum asking if she was the card holder (credit details). She said no so the Ass. Manager proceeeded to fill her in anyway. It turned out (after I eventually joined the conversation) that the room had been double booked - not that we were informed by the rude staff member behind the counter - and we could have a room with a double and single if we were happy with that rather than the twin we had booked. The Ass. Manager got quite snakey with us and only calmed down when we said that we hadn't been offered any complimentary drinks in the bar (as she had assumed we had been) and that no explanation had been made for the delay. We were provided with 2 bottles of wine as an apology and all would have been well except that when I checked the next morning that the room we were ' happy to have' wasn't being charged at a higher rate (on account of their mistake) I was replied with ' No! Of course not!' From there it just went downhill. Couldn't refill the kettle without using a glass, not enough sugar or tea, dirty shower and being charged for something from the mini bar that I didn't use. The Rendezvous is NOT a 4.5 star establishment and the staff that I had dealings with (over 2 days) did NOT display a ' Can Do Attitude.' Pretty crap all round. I won't be recommending this hotel to anyone.
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