Rialto Hotel on Collins

lovely fluffy pillows....

The Rialto Hotel – Melbourne

We stayed at the Rialto for three days after staying at the Sir Stamford Hotel in Collins Street. The hotel is situated at the bottom end of Collins Street next door to the famous Rialto Towers the tallest office building offering an observation deck with views of Melbourne.

The hotel is within walking distance to shops and Southbank. The hotel is a converted wool factory with a beautiful façade that is classified as a National Trust building. The hotel offers 24hours reception and security, beauty salon and a newsagency. There are three bars Café Rialto, Rialto bar and lounge and Francs on Collins.

Our room 526 was spacious and comfortable with king size bed and huge fluffy pillows. A large wardrobe with hanging space plus mini bar, TV, and CD player. There is a working desk and elegant curtains. The bathroom is modern and large with two overhead showers and a bath.

Unique Quality: PROS: Located in a good position close to Southbank and the major CBD area. The rooms are large and extremely comfortable. Breakfast included a good selection of continental and English food. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

CONS: The building reminded me of a prison!! Which I didn’t like although heritage listed it lacked any real atmosphere. The pool area really needs a renovation and restructuring; the sun deck is pathetic and very mundane with frayed deck chair covers. The tiles look like they need replacing and cleaned. The room was dark and one needed to put lights on in the daytime. The bar area very unexciting and small, the restaurant lacked atmosphere or character. The Rialto café was also very ordinary and needs to be modernized

OVERALL: If looking for a comfortable room then the Rialto is excellent. The hotel lacks interior elegance and atmosphere. The Intercontinental has now taken over the hotel, so maybe we will see major changes which are certainly needed. I still enjoyed my stay here even with its faults.