Hotel Review: W Melbourne (WOW Suite)
- Mario Ng
- 16 hours ago
- 13 min read
When we were planning our Australian road trip, we wanted to end our journey with a big bang. We wanted to stay a night in one of the best rooms in one of the nicest hotels in Melbourne. That was a tall order as there were plenty of beautiful and luxurious hotels in Melbourne, and it was tough to find The One. I did some research and tried to find newer hotels as a way to eliminate certain hotels and tighten our shortlist. Ultimately, we decided on the W Melbourne. It was newly built, having opened to the public only in February 2021. This makes W Melbourne slightly older than Sofitel Adelaide. After we read up on this luxurious option, it was a no-brainer.
We made a booking for W Melbourne’s Marvelous Suite, which measures 72 square metres. We thought it was a wow-ed enough suite for our final hotel stay in Australia. Out of five tiers of suites, the Marvelous Suite is the third tier, which was perfect for us. We were looking forward to our stay in the Marvelous Suite and enjoying the spacious setting this suite had to offer. To our big surprise, we were upgraded to the WOW Suite during our check-in. We were absolutely floored! Only second to their Extreme WOW Suite, the WOW Suite measures between 105 and 127 square metres, depending on the exact suite you are given during check-in. Boy, was it an amazing stay!
TL:DR
W-centric beauty
WOW Suite that was WOW
Delicious dining options
Stunning architecture
Service:
Service was top-notch and worthy of a brand-new five-star hotel like W Melbourne. The service standards were impeccable, and every staff member was professional and courteous. Every single interaction we had with staff members was fantastic.
Their fantastic service standards started even before we arrived. A few days before our stay, the hotel sent an email containing valuable information that might be of interest. As W Melbourne has plenty of F&B options, they helpfully created the complete list of restaurants within the hotel, along with the opening hours, who they are suitable for (e.g., adults above 18 only), as well as the type of crowd you can expect to have within their restaurants. For example, they highlighted that Curious, W Melbourne’s bar, is “the place to see and be seen in with a design as impressive as the cocktail list”. Warabi, on the other hand, is “a specialty Japanese restaurant, showing a nine-course $245 degustation menu”. We were thoroughly impressed! Within the same email, W Melbourne also highlighted the valet parking option, which was chargeable at A$70 per day. This was helpful information for us as it provided guests with a viable option with transparent fees stated upfront, so they could make an informed decision beforehand.
When we first arrived at the hotel lobby, we were enthusiastically greeted by W Melbourne’s manager, who was in the lobby with guests. She appeared very friendly and sincere in welcoming us, and we were floored by her warmth. We were then offered champagne, which we, of course, accepted while we waited for the check-in to be processed. The entire welcome was so amazing that it was the perfect way to start the conclusion of our Australian road trip.
Hotel Facilities:
W Melbourne has a 24-hour indoor swimming pool, known as WET. Located on level 14, the swimming pool offers stunning views of the Melbourne skyline. For those focused on swimming, you can rely on the lap pool, which should cater to your cardio needs. However, we figure that you will most likely do some lounging on the beautiful lounge beds and read a book instead. Do be warned, though, that come evening, WET becomes an adults-only space. True to the style of W, expect music and dancing from 7 pm onwards! Those needing replenishment can rely on WET - Bar, although it has limited opening hours from Fridays to Sundays.
When we checked the swimming pool out on a Friday late night and Saturday morning, we were pleased to find it quiet. Perhaps these are the best times for serious swimmers, as you could swim peacefully and clock a proper workout.
W Melbourne’s gym, also known as FIT, is on the same floor as the swimming pool, WET. The gym is spacious and has all the necessary equipment to clock a proper workout. If you are a gym enthusiast who will not rest even on holidays, FIT at W Melbourne should be sufficient for you. After a workout, you can also grab a complimentary orange as a well-deserved treat on your way out.
We discovered that besides WET and FIT, there is a path on level 14 to an outdoor area. It faces the Yarra River and Southbank, and you can catch an awesome view of the city. We went there at night and the next morning, and it was quite a sight. Melbourne is a beautiful city.
Food:
During our one-night stay at W Melbourne, we wanted to experience as much as we could in this lovely hotel and did not really want to leave. We decided to have our meals at this hotel and ultimately ate dinner and breakfast at Lollo, W Melbourne’s main restaurant.
Dinner:
For our final dinner in Melbourne, we had to have steak. For some reason, we were not too hungry. Perhaps we had been eating too much good food the entire day in the city that our tummies were filling up. Hence, we decided to order a steak to share. However, it was not just any steak. It was a 500g O'Connor's Rib Eye Steak! Our main dish secured, we started looking at the starters. We wanted something light since we were going with a very heavy main dish. We looked at the light dishes and settled on the Aperol Cured Ocean Trout, which was served with crème fraîche, dill, nori and sesame wafer.
Obviously, we needed some greens as well, and we easily settled on the grilled flat beans. For desserts, this posed a bit of a headache since there were two of us and more than two options. In the end, we settled on Lollo’s famous Tiramisu and the Bombe Alaska, also known as the Baked Alaska.
The starter was a great way to start our dinner. The fresh taste of the trout was both refreshing and delicious. The creme fraiche blended well with the raw fish, while the sesame wafer was always a delight to both the young and not-so-young. We cleared that dish very quickly and waited eagerly for our main course to arrive.
Soon, the 500g steak arrived, along with the grilled flat beans. It was a sight to behold. It was indeed a massive piece of steak, and it was cut into slices for us. This made it much easier for us to share, and we loved how juicy the steak was. I have always loved a steak with some fat, and this was a great steak. The sauce went great with the steak, but I, as usual, prefer to eat the steak on its own. My friend enjoyed the sauce, though. The flat beans were all right and relatively standard and went some way to fill up our greens quota for the day.
Soon, it was time for desserts. We tackled the tiramisu first, and it was a delight. The tiramisu was not too heavy, just the perfect light and fluffy texture when you took a bite. The thin chocolate wafers were a nice touch, while the ice cream was the cherry on top of the icing on the cake! As a chocolate lover, this dessert has my vote! Soon, we were finished with this delicious tiramisu. The Bombe Alaska was next, and it was similarly divine. If you are aware of the dessert’s origin, you will know that the name came from the dessert’s resemblance to a snow-capped mountain and the contrast between the torched meringue and the still-frozen ice cream within. The version served by Lollo has the Bombe Alaska shaped like a mountain, is white, and has some red powder sprinkled over the “mountain”. It was a great version of the classic Bombe Alaska. Taste-wise, it was scrumptious. I loved it, and it was a nice change from the richer tiramisu taste. It was a great way to end the evening with a lighter dessert, completing our dinner perfectly.
Breakfast:
Breakfast at W Melbourne’s Lollo is quite unique because there is no buffet. Rather, the restaurant offers an à la carte dining experience where you can choose from a variety of sweet and savoury options. Our room rate also did not come with a complimentary breakfast, so we charged our breakfast to the room.
The sweet options included dishes like organic yoghurt Bircher muesli, limoncello and sweet ricotta toast, gianduja waffles, and quinoa and black rice porridge. None of these shouted out to us, so we considered the savoury options instead.
We then looked at those, which included five options. Lollo Breakfast comprised a seasonal fruit bowl, granola, organic yoghurt, fruit juice, a pastry, eggs your way, and two options from the sides menu. We thought this might be too overwhelming, even though it sounded like a great value at A$36. We still had a full day ahead of us before flying back, and we wanted to try more food in the city. Four other savoury options included a simple Eggs on Toast (too little for us), Avocado on Rye Toast (still too little for us), Continental Bundle comprising a fruit bowl, granola, yoghurt, smashed avocado, toast, and pastry (sounded a little too heavy on the flour options), and finally, the Crab Egg Benedict. Just like how Goldilocks finally found the perfect bowl of porridge after multiple tries, we found The Breakfast to have.
There were also other sides we could select. The options include La Boqueria Chorizo, Adelaide Hills bacon, Petuna smoked ocean trout, meredith goat cheese, grilled haloumi, smashed avocado, smoked ham, and other vegetarian items. We easily opted for an additional side of the Petuna smoked ocean trout, which has been touted as the Wagyu of the Sea, a premium product from the West Coast of Tasmania. Obviously, we had to try this out. We also added another side of field mushrooms to get some vital vitamins into our bodies.
The Crab Egg Benedict was heavenly. The English muffins were perfectly toasted. On the muffin was a crab sweetcorn fritter, a much more luxurious version of the McDonald’s Big Breakfast sausage patty. Huge chunky pieces of crab meat were placed on top of the fritter, while a perfectly poached egg was delicately placed on top of it. Then, miso hollandaise sauce was coated over the entire dish. Our sides of Petuna smoked ocean trout and field mushrooms were elegantly placed between the muffins.
We were mostly silent during breakfast because we were too busy enjoying the dish. At most, we made approving noises between bites and more slurping sounds while enjoying our hot lattes. Besides that, we had no time to talk! Overall, it was a delicious breakfast. I loved how every ingredient balanced each other, creating a perfect dish. This was worthy of being the last breakfast of our Australian road trip!
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meals at Lollo. It was a great introduction to the quality of the restaurants at W Melbourne. The next time we are back in Melbourne, we will definitely try the other restaurants at this five-star luxurious hotel!
Room:
As described earlier, we originally booked a night’s stay in a Marvelous Suite. However, the incredibly kind people at W Melbourne upgraded us to a WOW Suite, guaranteeing a grand finale to our time in Australia.
Firstly, the WOW Suite is so big that it has a 180-degree view of Collins Street. This means that our suite spans the entire breadth of the hotel. Don’t believe it? Check out the pictures we took, which essentially show three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows. Besides Collins Street, you will also be able to see William Street and Market Street from your suite. This is how huge and how wow the WOW Suite is.
Our suite is essentially split into four distinct areas. The four comprise the dining area, living area, bedroom, and bathroom. You first enter the suite, meeting the dining area, which consists of a lounge area and a dining area. The lounge area had a complete bar with various alcoholic options. At a glance, it had vodka, gin, wine, and whisky, all stocked up in full bottles. Bottled still and sparkling water are also provided. It is clear that the suite is suited for great parties, with a long kitchen top ready for food to be placed on it. Unfortunately, there were only the two of us, and we spent most of our time in W Melbourne’s restaurants. The only food on the kitchen top was the complimentary mini afternoon tea set provided by the kind people at W Melbourne as a welcome gesture. We loved all the sweet and savoury bites! A small bathroom is in the corner when you first enter the suite, which is perfect for guests. They do not need to head to the main bathroom in the bedroom and can use the one in the living area instead.
The huge dining table seats six, but if you are a workaholic, you can technically place your laptop on the table. There is also a separate bar area complete with high chairs, so you can be in the mood when sipping the gin & tonic. The snacks and unique merchandise, known as the W Mixbar, are also placed on this high table. It had quite a few distinctive options for guests to enjoy. Besides some premium-looking salted maple peanuts roasted in duck fat, there were popcorn, organic chocolate strawberries, nuts, and chocolates. Non-food items like a straw set, intimacy sets, and a nanoblock set are also available. Caffeine options are provided via Nespresso capsules and six teabags. Mugs and a kettle are provided, so you only need to fill up on water. Simply put, all the products are provided in the suite, so you do not need to leave your suite!
The living area is an expansive space with a mounted television at the end of the room. Space is a luxury in the WOW Suite, and it is evident from the vast spaces around the entire suite. A lounge chair and ottoman sit opposite the L-shaped sofa, and lots of natural light can pour in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. A cool gadget that this suite has is the tablet that can be removed from the wall, and you can bring it with you around the suite. Equipped with a stylus pen, you can adjust the lighting and blinds, act as a television control, and toggle between the living room and the bedroom. This is definitely one cool gadget that I don’t mind having in my own home!
Just before the bedroom, there is a walk-in wardrobe that should fit all your clothes and luggage. An iron and an ironing board are provided so you can look your best. Helpfully, there is a nice quote on the wall stating, “In a world where everyone is over exposed, the coolest thing you can do is maintain your mystery”. Very true, very cool.
The bathroom is a huge space that definitely did not feel claustrophobic. Complete with two vanity sinks, a huge mirror is at the back so you can do your entire skincare routine here. The bathroom is very brightly lit, and I love such bathrooms. Bathrobes are hung behind the vanity sinks, and you can use the W-branded bathrobes when you head up to WET. There is a separate standing shower and bathtub, so you and your partner can technically shower at the same time. Toiletries are provided by Davines, which is W’s go-to brand for all things toiletries. Through a collaboration between the two organisations, every W’s guest room is provided with six products: shampoo, conditioner, and body wash from the Momo collection, as well as a facial wash, body lotion, and vegetable soap from the Skin Regimen collection.
A hairdryer and a hair straightener are provided for guests so you can look your best before leaving your suite. The bathroom is also equipped with one of the best toilets in town. A Toto toilet is provided in the main bathroom, and it has a cool gadget with all the options you can think of. It even has memory settings available for two people, so you do not need to remember your preferred pressure and position. A Japanese would be proud to use this toilet.
The final part of the suite is the bedroom. Situated on the other side of the suite, it features a Super King bed facing Collins Street. An oversized chair sits in a corner of the bedroom facing the bed, so you can admire your partner while he or she is still sleeping. The lower angle of the oversized chair makes it less creepy if you were doing that.
Because the entire suite has floor-to-ceiling windows, and almost every furniture faces the view, it was a little tricky to have wall-mounted televisions. Hence, the architects of W Melbourne had the television mounted on a pole instead, which arguably still looks aesthetically pleasing. In fact, the angle at which the television was mounted in the bedroom was perfect for catching a movie while lying on the bed. Wall sockets with USB-A ports are available on either side of the bed, complete with lighting controls. If you prefer, you could bring the suite’s tablet to the bedroom so you could control all the electronics from your fingertips.
I must say that the bed was extremely comfortable. That night, after dinner, we retreated to our suite for a well-deserved rest and the final night of our Australian road trip. I wanted to catch a movie on TV and prepared myself after a good shower. I was watching Apollo 13, but the bed basically forced me to turn off the television. The next thing I knew, it was the final day of our trip. At least I had a well-rested night!
Views:
W Melbourne is so beautiful that it was easy to take stunning pictures of this hotel. We walked around the hotel during our final night in Australia and managed to capture some incredible shots of W Melbourne. Check them out!
Overall, we had a blast staying at the exceptional W Melbourne. The architecture and design of the hotel were amazing, and we spent some time wandering around the hotel capturing those sleek designs. The service was top-notch, and every staff member we encountered was pleasant and professional. The food options were great, and we enjoyed every dish at every meal we had at W Melbourne. The facilities were another highlight, and while the swimming pool was amazing, the views from the 14th floor were even better. Finally, we loved the WOW Suite, which indeed made us go WOW. It was fun staying in such a huge suite, and it opened our eyes to the great work the designers of W Melbourne have accomplished. Once I have finished saving up for another epic Australian road trip, I will definitely be back at W Melbourne again!
Click here to find out more about W Melbourne and book a stay today!
Cost of Marvelous Suite: A$974.44 a night - stayed over a weekend in August 2022 (Note: This consisted of a complimentary upgrade to a WOW Suite); valet parking chargeable at A$70.00 a night.
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