overnight in Melbourne
 

Hi, we'll be travelling to Australia in April/May and need to find a reasonably priced hotel in Melbourne for one night when we turn in our campervan and fly to Darwin. We found the Castlereagh in Sydney through this site and are hoping to find a similar boutique hotel in Melbourne. Also any tips on obtaining the best rate?

Try www.wotif.com.au.

Enjoy your trip :)

Thanks! I've looked at wotif and seen a couple of interesting prospects. The Cosmo looks nice, but seems to be a little out of the way. The Ibis has good prices, I'm wondering if it's a clean, modern hotel. Our travel agent suggested the Quality Batman's Hill but it looks pretty basic, nothing stands about about it.

IBIS is the budget end of the Accor chain. It'll be clean, small & boring (LOL) Think tourist buses. Both of the IBIS Melbourne properties, & the Quality on Batman's Hill are a few blocks from the CBD centre & none of them in what I'd describe as a particularly pretty area of town.

I'd prefer the Cosmo; St.Kilda is only a short tram ride from the CBD and has a great atmosphere. It's one of the trendy areas & has lots of fabulous European cafes and restaurants. Interesting shops and the walk along the Esplanade & beach is lovely.

Your trip to the airport will probably be faster/cheaper than from the CBD because you can bypass the city & use the LinkRoad from St.Kilda.

Well not a boutique hotel, but I noticed in the weekend paper that a Formulae1 hotel is opening in Melbourne on 12 February. The advertised rate is $79 (Aus) per room, which sleep up to 4 people.
The position could not be better as it is in the heart of the CBD on the corner of Collins and Flinders Streets. Public transport at your doorstep, shops, bars, restaurants, theatre etc a few steps away.

OOPs correction. It is on the corner of Collins and Elizabeth streets

Thanks! This is really helpful.