Location, location, location
Bev Fearis finds herself in the perfect spot for her return visit to Melbourne.
It was my first visit to Melbourne for more than 10 years and, wow, has it changed. Although it hasn’t lost any of its charm, it’s definitely bigger, and higher, and busier, largely down to the development of the Docklands, west of the city. When it’s complete it will apparently have 20,000 residents – the same size at the central business district – plus thousands of workers and visitors.
The waterside development has injected even more vibrancy in to Victoria’s capital city and, I would imagine, has also helped boost bookings for the Quality Hotel Batman’s Hill, perfectly positioned between the Docklands and the CBD. In fact, it’s well located for most of the city, right opposite one of its main rail stations – Southern Cross – and within a short walk of the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex and Melbourne Aquarium, Southgate, the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre, and the Etihad Stadium. No surprise, then, that the hotel has a good mix of business and leisure guests – domestic, Asian and, like me, all the way from Europe.
The hotel, which is part of the Choice Hotels franchise chain, has 190 rooms and apartments, ranging from 3.5 Star Standard Rooms to 4 Star Club Rooms and Apartments. We had a two-bed apartment, which was perfect for us with our four-year-old son. It meant that when he was in bed, we could slide a screen door across, keep the telly on and not have to creep around in fear of keeping him awake. 
In the central living area was a sofa and an enormous desk and ergonomic chair. Guests get a free hour’s wi-fi a day but any more than that you have to pay for. I made do with the free hour and it was fast enough for me to check emails and catch up on Facebook and Twitter.
The only disappointment was the bathroom, which was disproportionately small for such a large apartment. It was a case of one in one out at teeth brushing time, and the sink was poorly designed so that however carefully you tried, you always ended up splashing water all over the floor.
The kitchen was well equipped with a gas hotplate, a huge fridge/freezer, ample cupboard space and worktops and, for Asian guests, a wok and rice cooker.
Rice featured heavily at breakfast too, but I stuck to the European-style buffet of cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, cheeses, and pancakes, while the other half tucked into the full English.
The bar on the ground floor is the focus of the hotel, while unusually the reception is on the first floor up a sweeping staircase. Just by the lift there was a table with a choice of free glossy magazines – Vogue and Marie Claire – which I thought was a nice little touch. The bar is clearly a popular spot for non-guests too and I’m guessing many were rail commuters stopping for a quick drink before heading home. With so much to explore right on our doorstep, we also only stayed for one drink before heading into the bright lights of Melbourne which, a century on, is still one of my favourite cities.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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