Finding an affordable hotel in Melbourne was one of my dilemmas when I was planning our travel itinerary for the
Australian Tourist Visa application. I am aware that the price is expensive since Australia is a first-world country but I was hoping that I could find a room with a kitchenette, just like our
accommodation in Sydney, Australia.
I found some rooms with kitchenette but the price was over my budget so I gave up and looked for hotels that are good for 3 adults. I also asked helped from my husband, I told him, nastress na ko maghanap ng hotel, magsearch ka na rin. Hehehe!
He searched too and discovered Best Western Hotel. There are a few Best Western Hotels in Melbourne and we were down to two choices which are Best Western Melbourne City and Best Western Queen Victoria Hotel.
Best Western Melbourne City is much cheaper and has a good location but because of the online reviews, we did not choose this. We booked at Best Western Queen Victoria Hotel because it is new and has good reviews.
To get a Member’s Rate and earn points, my husband signed up (Free) before booking a room. He booked 1 Queen and 1 Single room for 7 days. I checked the breakdown of the rate and every day is different. For one week of stay, we paid a non-refundable AUD1386 = PHP54,790.15. We booked two months before our trip.
Best Western Queen Victoria Market Hotel is a brand new 4-star hotel but it only has four levels. It is a 5-minute walk to Queen Victoria Market. The nearest tourist spots are Melbourne Museum, The Princess Theatre, Docklands, Marvel Stadium, Flagstaff Gardens, and Flemington Racetrack. There are bus and tram services near the area.
0.19 kilometer(s) from Victoria Street & Peel Street Bus Stop
0.12 kilometer(s) from Peel Street & Victoria Street Tram Stop. Free tram from Peel Street into Central Business District (CBD).
Best Western Queen Victoria Market Hotel has no email address on its website. I wanted to ask "how to get to their hotel from Southern Cross Station Bus Terminal". So we relied on Google Maps and I was so shocked when I learned that we needed to walk for 28 minutes. The distance from Southern Cross Station to Best Western Queen Victoria Market is 1598 meters. Mas malayo pa ito sa
Generator Stockholm Hotel namin in Sweden. Waah!
So with luggage in tow, we walked from Southern Cross Station to our hotel and temperature at that time was 7 degrees Celsius. Brrr… I monitored our walking time and it is really 28 minutes, may konting stop pa ito kasi napagod na ko pagdating namin sa Flagstaff Garden.
We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 AM and as expected, the room was not available yet because check-in time is 2PM. We paid AUD50 for Security Deposit and left our luggage in their storage room. Then off we went to Queen Victoria Market.
Check-in Time: 2:00 PM
Check-out Time: 10:00 AM
After few hours, we went back to the hotel and we decided to wait there kasi pagod na talaga kami maglakad sa market. I think around 12:30 PM, the staff informed us that our room was already available. Finally, we could rest.
Best Western Queen Victoria Market Hotel
This is our room, it looks new and clean. We had 1 Queen and 1 Single Bed, Desk, TV, mini fridge, hanging rack, and coffee and tea facilities.
The bathroom is also small, the complimentary toiletries are lotion, shampoo, body wash, and soap.
If you need laundry bags, iron, iron boards, and emergency toiletries, it is available upon request but I brought my own laundry bag and slippers so I did not ask for this stuff.
Breakfast meals are not included in our room package but the hotel has breakfast packs for AUD18.90. I have no idea if it is good for sharing or not. I also don’t know what is included in that pack since we bought our own breakfast from the grocery or we will eat at the market.
The reception is not available 24/7 so the hotel is always locked and you need a key card to enter the hotel and use the elevator. So do not forget to contact the hotel if arriving outside of office hours:
Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Saturday 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Sunday and Public Holidays 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
We had no problems when we checked in since the office was already open but for check out, we asked the staff about it. The staff informed us to drop our key card with the paper sleeves so they would know what is our room number. We left before 6AM so we dropped our key in their Key Card Return Box.
Overall, we had no problems with our stay at Best Western Queen Victoria Market, the staff always made up our room and replenished toiletries, and coffee and tea. Our room is on the second level but we did not hear any noise from the street. The only noise we heard was from the elevator since, our room is near the elevator so if guests are talking while waiting for the elevator, we can hear them. But it is not an everyday scenario since we were always out.
My only concern is, that it is far from Southern Cross Station so it is really a long walk, lalo na kapag tapos na yung tour namin. Pagod na pagod ka na pero ang layo pa ng lalakarin. Four out of our 7 Days trip, yung need namin maglakad from Southern Cross Station to hotel and vice versa. 3 kms na agad yan na balikan.
Best Western Queen Victoria Market Hotel
77 - 79 Capel Street, West Melbourne 3003
Toll Free (US & Canada) Worldwide Numbers: 1(800) 780-7234
Hotel Direct Number: +61 3 91017898
