NeilS

We've been lucky enough to be accepted for STNI in Victoria and hope to make the actual move around August time this year - I know it's the winter but who cares! We were wondering about staying somewhere nice like a 4* or even 5* apartment or hotel (to give us a good early impression of Melbourne) initially, while we search for rented accommodation.

Has anyone had any BAD experiences of staying anywhere in Melbourne, for example; food, service, rude staff, dirty rooms/linen, bad decor, noisy rooms etc.

Many thanks in advance.

Pumblechook

Neil,

You sound like a bit of a "glass half empty" kind of guy. Would you like to know about any GOOD places to stay in Melbourne - there's lots of them.

Cheers, Pumblechook

NeilS

Pumblechook,
OK, maybe I do get a bit cynical at times, I was trying to be a bit different as I hadn't really found much of use from replies to people asking about good accommodation.
That said, if people have any recommendations about GOOD places, that would be brilliant and I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks again.
Neil

lizF

Ok Neil, where are you from, give us a yard stick to go by.
There have been many, many comments on places to stay that are good, bad & ugly and a search will turn that up for you.
If you are from say Birmingham then I would say that anywhere in Melbourne should fit the bill, likewise a few other places I could name. However if you are after the Dorchester then we will have to rethink our answers. Also does our answer have to match the price? You won't get answers to open ended questions.

alice13

Please - what is STNI?

Judy_in_Calgary

STNI stands for "state and territory nominated independent scheme."

Through this program, Australian states and territories sponsor skilled migrants who are willing to settle in areas where their skills are in demand.

People who are granted entry to Australia through the STNI scheme are those who are regarded as having a sound chance of finding employment in the relevant state or territory within a short time of their arrival.

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello Neil,

Here is a website that shows some serviced apartments in Melbourne:

http://www.moveandstay.com/melbourne...apartments.asp

In January 2000, we stayed in a 3 bedroomed apartment in the Walpole Gardens complex at 104 - 106 Walpole St, Kew.

We found it to be very comfortable and well equipped. There was underground parking and all the usual mod cons (TV, VCR, fully equipped kitchen including microwave oven, laundry with washer and dryer). There was even a small deck with a propane barbeque and a small, private garden.

It was within easy walking distance of many shops (supermarket, pharmacy, restaurants and anything else one could have needed). Equally importantly, it was within easy walking distance of the tram line that provided convenient transportation to the central business district.

While Kew is a pleasant and relatively close-in suburb of Melbourne, I don't know if it would be best for you. It suited us, because it was quite close to the house we'd occupied in Canterbury for 2.5 years. We stayed in the serviced apartments when our furniture had been packed up and shipped back to Canada, but we still had 3 weeks or so to go in Australia. Our teenagers wanted to be close to their friends in Canterbury, and my husband and I also needed to go back to our vacant house to tie up some loose ends before it was occupied by the people who were going to move in after us.

You may want to use the same serviced apartment company or a similar one, but you might want to be closer still to the central business district.

If you look up Fodors' recommended hotels for Melbourne, all the neighbourhoods mentioned there are close to the central business district. The slight exception in the Fodors list of districts is Kew which, while it is relatively close in, is not as close in as the rest.

We loved our 2.5 years in Melbourne, and I hope you'll enjoy your time there too.

LN

We loved our time in Melbourne and stayed at one of the Oxford apartments. It was not far from their Parliament buildings. I have nothing but GOOD things to say about our stay in Melbourne from the accommodations, to the staff, to the restaurants, to the pleasant people we encountered. When I asked for an apartment on a higher floor I was given a smile and "of course, let me find it now"

Actually I can't wait to return to again to such a wondrous country with such pleasant people.

Judy_in_Calgary

LN, I'm glad you liked Melbourne so much. I loved my 2.5 years there. My husband and I really took advantage of our time there, and went on a lot of Saturday or Sunday outings. You could go back many times, do different things every time, and STILL not exhaust what Melbourne has to offer.

Judy_in_Calgary

Neil, having moved amongst various English-speaking countries, please let me warn you of something (if you haven't done this exercise before).

The apparent similarity of the language can lull one into a false sense of security, and one can naively imagine that two English-speaking countries are more similar than they actually are. Trust me. There are differences.

Also, if you've been to a place on vacation and subsequently move there, do not for one minute imagine that living there is the same as vacationing (or holidaying ) there.

I loved Australia, but it's worth being conscious of what I've just said regardless of where one is moving.