When to Visit Melbourne, Australia
When you're planning your visit to Melbourne, it's important to remember that the seasons are the opposite of what you'll experience in the states. Summer in Melbourne is from December to February with typical highs in the mid to upper 70s. Crowds swell during these months, and hotel prices soar.
Melbourne experiences a quieter shoulder season from March to May, which serves as the city's autumn. Daytime highs are in the mid-60s to mid-70s. In March the city plays host to the Melbourne Fashion Festival and Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
June through August is winter, with cold temperatures and small crowds. However, if you don't mind highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid-40s, you'll find plenty to do. The Melbourne International Film Festival takes place from July to August. Taste of Melbourne happens in August, and the Melbourne Writers' Festival runs in August and September.
September through November is another smart shoulder season for budget-minded travelers. Temperatures rise into the 60s and 70s again, but a notable lack of tourists lends to low hotel prices.
Below is a chart of the current pricing seasonality of hotels and motels in Melbourne, Australia:
Melbourne, Australia: Prices by Star Rating Class
Below are 3 charts illustrating avg. nightly cost trends by star rating class in Melbourne, Australia. Browse these illustrations to calculate the best seasons to book a room in Melbourne for upcoming travels.
Luxury Hotels in Melbourne, Australia
4 Star Average Prices: $107.85
If you're after a luxury stay, the guest rooms and suites at the Park Hyatt Melbourne are the largest in the city. Rooms feature elegant marble baths, deep soaking tubs, and walk-in showers. A minibar and coffee maker keep your favorite beverages at hand. Venture beyond your room for high tea at the Lounge and Garden, or enjoy the distinctive global sharing style menu at radii restaurant and bar. The Park Club Health and Day Spa offers added indulgences such as massage, facial, body, and salon services.
The Hilton Melbourne South Wharf is an ideal choice for business travelers who want a touch of opulence during their stay. The hotel connects to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre so you can easily reach major events. The spacious executive lounge offers its own terrace, and six meeting rooms provide added options for business events.
Minifridges and minibars make it easy to enjoy snacks and beverages right in your room at the Hilton Melbourne South Wharf, but you'll want to venture downstairs to check out the on-site dining options, as well. Caffe Cino serves fresh local produce, steaming espressos, and hot bakery treats. Dock 37 Bar and Kitchen explores where sea meets land with a menu featuring delicacies such as air-dried wagyu beef, King George whiting, grass-fed Victoria beef, and New Zealand king salmon.
Enjoy all the conveniences of a central location at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, situated right in the center of the city. Fifteen event spaces provide the ideal setting for any occasion, whether you're looking for a wedding venue or a conference location. Standard rooms include Egyptian linens, complimentary bottles of mineral water, a minibar, iPod docking station, bathrobes, slippers, and June Jacobs bath amenities. When you're not lounging with an icy drink in your room, you can head down to the Ru-Co bar, Bistro Bar, Lobby Lounge, Grand Club Lounge, or Collins Kitchen.
The InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto is an elegant pick housed in a Venetian Gothic-style building. Classic rooms offer rain showers, Agraria bath amenities, robes, and slippers for a spa-like experience. The hotel spa offers added pampering in the form of massages, facials, and beauty treatments. The Rialto extends its perks to everyone in the family. Children's activities are available to entertain even the youngest guests, while baby-sitting services allow parents to enjoy a well-deserved night out.
Affordable Hotel Options in Melbourne, Australia
Affordable accommodations abound in Melbourne. If you're looking for the lowest prices in the city, you'll invariably find them in the form of the many local hostels. If you're not quite up for the chummy accommodations and laid-back style of hostel life, you can find more traditional hotels in Melbourne offering private rooms that won't drain your wallet.
The City Centre Budget Hotel is ideal for budget travelers who are hoping to get around the city at minimal cost. The City Circle Tram, Tourist Bus, and Parliament train station are all at your doorstep. All rooms include a refrigerator, 32-inch LCD television, and free wireless internet. Studio rooms feature en suite bathrooms, while other rooms have access to shared bathrooms. Public kitchen and laundry facilities offer added convenience.
Hotel Sophia is an affordable pick that helps you pad your budget with its complimentary breakfast buffet. The City Circle tram picks up just a block from the hotel, so convenient transportation is always close at hand. Rooms feature on-demand videos and broadband access for easy entertainment, and most have spacious king-size beds.
If picturesque views are high on your hotel wish list, Bayview on the Park is a prime choice for your visit, located by Albert Park Lake and Albert Park Golf Course. The hotel's outdoor pool and poolside cocktail bar offer a relaxing option for sunny afternoons. Breakfast and dinner are available on-site at Sails Brasserie, while the Atrium offers a glass-ceilinged dining area for private parties and special events.
Best Discounts in Melbourne, Australia
If you're shopping for convenient hotel deals, start with your favorite chains. If you have loyalty points accumulated with a particular brand, you'll find nearly every major chain has a presence in Melbourne. If you're a member of Hilton's HHonors Points club, you can earn double points and other special bonuses staying at participating Hilton locations in Melbourne. This chain also offers discounts for AAA and AARP members.
The Park Hyatt Melbourne and Grand Hyatt Melbourne offer 10 percent discounts for loyalty club members. Special packages offer carefully curated experiences, such as the Pamper at the Park package with a full breakfast, spa credit, and late checkout.
If you're looking for special packages built around your travel needs, check out the offerings at the Stamford Plaza Melbourne Hotel. Enjoy a relaxing stay centered around your plush room with the Lazy Daze package featuring a massage, movies, popcorn, and beverages. The Romance and Seduction package comes with thoughtful perks such as chilled Champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, a luxurious bath, and rose petals on the bed, all awaiting your arrival.
Best Value Options in Melbourne, Australia
You'll find great hotel value in destinations that feature mid-range prices and outstanding amenities. Your dollar will go far at these hotels.
Hotel Lindrum is a chic boutique hotel with refined accommodations. Refurbished rooms feature sleek contemporary lines and soothing neutral color palettes. Amenities in each guest room include a minibar, bathrobes, slippers, and Appelles Apothecary bath products. Guests have a DVD player in their room, as well, and access to the hotel's DVD library for a relaxing movie night in.
The Royce Hotel Melbourne is a designer boutique hotel that's brimming with style. Located on St. Kilda Road, this destination puts you just steps from top shopping and dining districts such as Toorak Road and Chapel Street. Rooms offer designer furnishings, Italian marble bathrooms, and 42-inch plasma televisions. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available at Dish, where you'll find a continuously evolving menu that always reflects the latest Australian culinary trends. Additional on-site perks include the Amberoom bar, gymnasium, lobby book library, and convenient bike hire.
At the Hotel Pullman Melbourne Albert Park, you can book a room overlooking Albert Park. Entertainment options include Bose docking stations and high-definition televisions in every room. Your minibar offers a handy nightcap, while blackout curtains and comfortable platform beds provide a restful night's sleep. Wake to a rainfall shower with C.O. Bigelow bath amenities.
Getting Around Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne has several public transportation options. The first thing you should do on arrival is buy a Myki smartcard, which will serve as your ticket to trams, buses, and trains. You can load the card with money at machines throughout the city. The Visitor Value Pack is ideal for tourists, as it comes with a protective souvenir wallet, discount offers at top regional attractions, and enough preloaded fares for a day's travels in Zones 1 and 2.
The City Circle Tram is a tourist favorite, as it offers free daily transportation to the city's most popular visitor destinations. The Melbourne Visitor Shuttle is a hop-on, hop-off option that visits the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium and Docklands, Queen Victoria Market, and more. You can use the shuttle an unlimited number of times for $10 a day.
Whether you're looking for a small boutique hotel or a luxury behemoth, Melbourne has something to help you create the perfect vacation down under.
A visit to Melbourne Recapped
Melbourne may perhaps be the most European among the cities of Australia, and while it lacks the mammoth ventures like the Sydney Opera or a stunning natural setting, the city's subtle charms just grows on you. Dwelling in the city may make you forget you're actually in the Land Down Under, as trams drive past bookshops and cozy cafes, with people strutting through the promenade as if it were a Parisian winter. Melbourne houses the third largest Greek concentration in the world, along with postwar immigrants from Turkey, Lebanon, and Vietnam. The blend of immigrants make Melbourne's cuisine a hybrid of countercultures. Guests love the Melbourne International Arts Festival, and the more upbeat Fringe Festival. Small town wonders easily make up for the lack of big attractions, with Melbourne's streets surrounded with gardens and shops. Visit the Queen Victoria Market, Federation Square, immigration Museum, the Old Melbourne Gaol, and the rest of the developments by the Yarra River, and agree that subtle charms like these pass as tourist attractions on their own.
'People who put themselves on the line and sacrifice their own safety for the greater good and for others, and anyone in any profession whose concern is the welfare for other people instead of the individual, are inspiring and important.
Chris Hemsworth, actor best known for his portrayal of Nordic God Thor in Marvel Movies, is one among hundreds of celebrities and influential people who were born in or call Melbourne their home. This quote from Mr Hemsworth is well worth pondering over, and allows us a sneak peek into the selfless nature that Melbourne, and indeed all of Australia, was built through by hardworking people who, more often than not, had to live all their lives away from their true homeland.
Melbourne is often voted to be the best city in the world to grow up in, to retire in and in general, to live in. It has a very high standard of living and is often called as the New York of the East. However, the similarities between Melbourne and NYC are limited to skyscrapers and party points. At its heart, Melbourne is a city that loves calm more than it cherishes the commotion. True Melbournians are known to be averse to much hassle in life, and one can easily notice this from the quiet way in which the city moves through day and night, without any worry in the world.
If you are traveling to Melbourne, finding accommodation should be your first concern, as hotels in Melbourne, tend to be overflowing with guests from around the world pretty much all year round.
Stay in Melbourne for a Bargain
Being one of the most expensive cities in the world as well, it will be a real task for first time travelers to find really cheap hotels in or around Melbourne. The fact of the matter is, there are no cheap hotels here in Melbourne, in the strictest sense of the word, as even the most affordable ones stand out head and shoulders above mean prices in the rest of the world.
That said, it is not entirely reasonable, given the high standard of living and impeccable infrastructure available in the city.
Getting The Most Out of Your Stay
Looking at the other end of the chart, it won't come as a surprise that Melbourne is littered with luxury and high end establishments that can, at times, charge their guests north of $900 per night!
Crown Tower, Park Hyatt and the Westin are three of the costliest luxury Melbourne hotels that, if you decided to stay at them, can set you back by thousands of dollars. However, it is not entirely undue because these are often shortlisted among the best establishments in the entire world, and not without due, justifiable reasons.
A typical suite in a luxury hotel like the ones mentioned above will get you your own kitchenette, mini bar, enviable views of Melbourne skyline at night and free private car rides with chauffeurs. After all, if you are paying high cash, you deserve all these amenities.
Melbourne in The Eyes of a Tourist
There are umpteen number of things to do, places to visit and sights to see in Melbourne. The only thing you need to be sure of, before embarking on Melbourne trip, is to have enough time on your hands. If you don't plan things accordingly, you might not be able to cover all the things that Melbourne has to offer you.
The very first venue on your itinerary should be the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The MCG is the largest cricket ground and stadium in the world, and can host over 120,000 people at its full capacity. It has a special significance in the cricketing history of the world, as many memorable games of cricket have been played here, cheered on by knowledgeable crowds. If you happen to be in Melbourne for Christmas, do make it a point to attend the Boxing Day Test Match that starts on the 26th of December every year at the MCG, marking the beginning of the season of cricket in Australia.
The Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne is also a crowd puller. Housing hundreds of plant species that are native to Australia and Oceania, the Garden attracts over 500,000 tourists every year, and is definitely not a place you would want to give a miss when in Melbourne.
For art and culture lovers, the National Gallery of Victoria holds many great artworks and pieces that you are likely to find interesting. The section that covers Australian native art history is especially worth investing time in.
Lastly, Melbourne Museum that houses some impressive fossils, animal species, interesting artefacts and items important in Australian history should be visited with at least a day in hand, as it's a pretty extensive museum, requiring you to devote time to it, in order to truly enjoy it.
What Should I Know Before Sightseeing in Melbourne
Before sightseeing in Melbourne, you should be aware of the fact that private transport is very costly in Melbourne. If you want to get from one place to another, you are best advised to either hire a car with a driver for a period of time, or just use public transport. The good news is, public transport in Melbourne is really easy and convenient. Their tram service “ reminders of the years gone by “ is something that is both convenient in use and nostalgic in outlook.
Best Time to Travel to Melbourne
The best time to travel to Melbourne is the summer time “ from December to April. During these months, you might find that most Melbourne hotels are overflowing with tourists. Quite predictably, summer time also becomes more expensive to travel to Melbourne.
During winter months, the rush of tourists wane down to a certain degree. However, cold weather means that you won't be able to enjoy your trip to the fullest “ especially as the Royal Botanic Garden and Melbourne Zoo are closed to tourists when it snows. On the plus side, however, hotels in Melbourne drop their prices down during these months.