Every now and again, you’ll stay in the sort of hotel for which you, as a person, are just not classy enough. Such was the nature of my stay at Melbourne’s Pullman on the Park. I don’t mean that as a slight on the hotel, far from it. If anything, I was letting them down by being so thoroughly, relentlessly middle-class in their beautiful establishment.
Located on the corner of Wellington Pde and Clarendon St, and only 20 metres from the Jolimont train station and tram stop, the hotel is ideally placed for those who need to come and go from the city regularly (but make sure your Myki is topped up because it is only just outside of the Free Tram Zone which, honest to god, is probably the worst thing I’ll have to say about the place in this review).
The room I was provided with was one of the hotel’s highest-tier Superior Suites. Located on the 17th floor, and at the far end of an ornate corridor, the suite was easily one of the nicest I’ve ever stayed in. You’re greeted with a small living room area with a pair of astounding views of the city – north to Thornbury and Preston overlooking the incredible Fitzroy Gardens, and west overlooking the CBD (which looked particularly amazing sunset so hang about for that). Inside the living room was a comfortable corner couch, a desk for writing and working with a large office chair and a wall-mounted widescreen television above it.
On either side of this wall are a pair of sliding doors that take you into the bedroom and bathroom. A soft king-size bed awaits with a number of light controls for you to adjust the dimmers to your liking. There’s plenty of storage space for those who are staying for a while and all of the usual ironing facilities are found in one place.
The bedroom is connected to an expansive ensuite bathroom with shower, toilet, bathtub, full length mirror and a long bar with large mirrors and a pair of sinks to allow couples to get ready in a hurry without needing to jostle for basin priority.
There were a number of small bonuses afforded to me during my stay at the Pullman, a part of the room package, that saw a very nice man bring me a tray of confection with some lovely chocolate calligraphy and a KeepCup coffee cup with two free coffees redeemable at the restaurant downstairs. I was later treated to two bottles of Coke Zero on the house as well. Room service, too, was on point with a lead time of around thirty minutes between my placing an order and having it arrive at my door (a beef burger that was as delicious as it was inappropriate for my luxurious setting – like I said, I am grotesquely middle-class).
The room also comes with access to a number of exclusive services like admittance to the Executive Lounge on the 18th floor. Essentially a high-rise restaurant, the Executive Lounge is a reasonably sized rectangular room filled with comfortable lounges and tables for two along its south-facing windows, all of which look directly over the Melbourne Cricket Ground. There’s finger food and canapes but you can order a drink and a meal from the bar if you’d like. It’s quiet, calm and the perfect place for a journalist to retreat to when they want to get some work done, but grab a cheeky scotch at the same time.
Pullman on the Park has all of the features and facilities you would expect from a five-star establishment like this. The ground floor features a well-stocked bar, and an in-house restaurant available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The second floor is home to a large pool and scrupulously maintained gym for those who want to maintain a fitness regimen during their stay. Six elevators help to keep foot traffic moving at peak times for check-in and check-out.
I also want to take a second to give the Pullman staff a special shout out. Every last one of them I met – and I spoke to quite a few of them while compiling notes for this review – was warm, courteous and endlessly helpful. They were all happy to strike up a conversation and find out a bit about you. The only times interactions were ever weird or awkward was because I made them weird by being too middle class to function, usually whenever someone would bring nice things to my door.
If a luxury stay in one of Australia’s greatest capital cities is on your dance card, I would definitely suggest booking a stay at Pullman on the Park Melbourne.
For more information on Pullman on the Park Melbourne, you can visit their website and make a booking here.
The author was provided a complimentary one-night stay in a Superior Suite courtesy Accor Hotels.
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