As one who absolutely loves travel and staying in hotels, I was surprised when I realised I had only stayed in a hotel in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia once and many years ago.
It was by chance that I was the Marriott Bonvoy app on my phone when I came across the AC Hotel Southbank and thought ‘Let’s try it!’
As a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Member, I’m always looking for exciting ways to gain more points and nights as well as hotels and resorts to spend my points.
So, 27,000 points later, I had booked 1 night from 31st December to 1st January at AC Hotel Southbank.
The communication with Marriott Bonvoy hotels is always excellent so the day before I received an email from them giving me the option to check in. There was also the chat feature which I always use on the Marriott Bonvoy App as an efficient way to contact the hotel.
I requested early check in and late check out (which is never guaranteed but I always like to try) plus a room with full city views so we could see the full New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display from our room.
I woke up on the 31st December morning with confirmation from the hotel that I had secured late check out of 4pm the next day as well as an upgrade to a Premium King Room! Yay!!! New Year’s Day with a sleep in and time to relax and enjoy the room and hotel facilities.
We arrived at the hotel at 2:00pm on 31st December. Reception is on Level 7 so as you get out of the lift, reception is tucked away on the left side then it opens to the beautiful AC Lounge Area with the Bar and Restaurant adjacent to the lounge.
On arrival, as we were waiting for our room keys, we were given a Welcome Drink – Earl Grey Iced Tea with Bianco Martini or the non-alcoholic option of an Earl Grey Iced Tea – very refreshing!
Check-in was swift, the staff very friendly and soon enough we were on our way to our room.
Our room was on the 11th floor. The rooms are absolutely immaculate.
The entrance way takes you into a very well designed room, spacious, with modern and elegant furnishings. A king size bed with plush pillows, a day bed style sofa to lounge on, a circular table with matching chair, tv on one side and opposite is the bathroom – open plan design with the basin, mirror and all the amenities with a door to the toilet and large shower with the options of the hand held shower on the wall and the large rain shower head above.
On the table was a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc White Wine, a box of chocolates, a vase of flowers and a postcard of the hotel with a note from the manager thanking me for being a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum member – always a lovely touch and I always appreciate this.
But the beauty of this hotel are the views. The floor to ceiling windows are perfect especially as we staying there for New Year’s Eve to view the Fireworks.
The views of Melbourne’s City Centre, the buildings, city skyline and surrounding suburbs are perfect for the New Year’s Eve celebrations and this is exactly what I wanted.
I was staying there with my 3 year old daughter so this was the perfect way to ring in the New Year.
For those who wanted to party, the hotel also had a New Year’s Eve event at their bar/ restaurant on the 6th floor. (I could hear the music from my room, but the selection of music was great – I love 90s music haha!) and the music finished soon after the fireworks so it did not disturb my sleep.
In the evening, we had room service dinner. I ordered the entrée of smoked hommus dip with carrots and cucumber sticks and pita breads and the main course Vegetarian burger with fries. Surprisingly it was delivered to our room within 25 minutes (even on an extremely busy NYE!) The food was delicious! Compliments to the chef!
At 8:30pm, we got dressed up and went downstairs to the hotel’s AC Lounge on Level 7 (next to reception) where we had a soft drink and waited for the ‘kids fireworks display’. (Melbourne puts on a kid friendly fireworks display every New Year’s Eve at 9:30pm. My daughter was given an Activity Pack with stickers, a colouring-in book and pencils to enjoy while we were waiting for the fireworks to start.
We could view the Fireworks from the left side of the AC Lounge (great as they have floor to ceiling windows in the lounge).
After the fireworks finished, we went back to our room and my daughter went to sleep.
I enjoyed a nice glass of the Sauvignon Blanc I was given by the hotel and chilled out until midnight.
At midnight, from my room with the floor to ceiling windows, I watched as the city skyline lit up and erupted in front of me. It felt like it was just me and the fireworks.
This hotel was truly the best hotel to view the New Year’s Eve Fireworks from Melbourne.
I sat there, mesmerised and just enjoyed the fireworks display until the end.
And the best part – when it all finished, I turned off the lights and climbed into bed. No need to worry about trying to get an uber or finding my way home. I was already super comfortable in my hotel room.
I had a very quiet night and peaceful sleep (I expected it to be loud but it wasn’t).
We went downstairs for our full buffet breakfast at 9:30am and this was the only part of the stay that didn’t go according to plan. As the hotel was at full occupancy, and as most people slept in after NYE celebrations, the restaurant could not cope with almost the entire hotel having breakfast at the same time, so the restaurant was full and people were spilling out into the AC Lounge area, the meeting rooms and wherever they could find a table or a seat to prop their food up on.
I waited until 10:30am when there was less of a queue to have our breakfast. When we finally got it, the full buffet breakfast was fantastic (with a full hot selection, fresh fruit platter, continental and bakery selection, cakes and muffins, tea, coffee and juices).
After breakfast we went to check out the rest of the hotel’s facilities. Thanks to being a Platinum member, we had a late checkout of 4pm so we could enjoy the afternoon in the hotel. They have a fully equipped gym, with free weights, machines, yoga mats and stretch equipment to enjoy a full workout.
We spent part of the afternoon in the hotel’s infinity pool – located on level 5. Heated to 28 degrees Celsius, this pool was such a fun way to enjoy to rest of the afternoon at the hotel before checking out.
We checked out at 4pm and drove home. (If you are coming by car there is limited street parking but there is a car park one block away where you can get a discounted rate through the hotel).
I highly recommend staying at the AC by Marriott Hotel Southbank Melbourne on any day but especially on New Year’s Eve in Melbourne.
Such a well-designed, modern and elegant hotel with perfect city views and facilities that will make you feel like you’ve had the perfect staycation.
Once again, Marriott Bonvoy hotels done so right. See you next New Year’s Eve!
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Lia
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