Aspire Melbourne

The location is great, and the reception staff are lovely. That was the good part. The room felt like sleeping in a warm greenhouse, so I wouldn’t recommend a summer stay unless you handle heat exceptionally well. There’s aircon in the living room but not the bedroom. The remote was locked at a minimum of 22°C. When we called management, they said they “can’t do anything” and “don’t know anything about it.” Oddly, once we asked to change rooms, they somehow found how it worked, unlocked it, and set it to 16°C. Even then, the remote kept showing the room at 25-26°C the whole time.

The pool was a huge hit with our family of four, and we all enjoyed the stay. The room was comfortable, the location worked well, and the staff were lovely and helpful. A few little issues: the fridge barely kept things cold, we ran out of hot water on our last morning, and the balcony doors were unlocked when we arrived, which felt like a risk with small kids. Even so, we’d happily come back and would recommend the place.

I booked Aspire, managed by Lumina, on 24/09/25 for our Melbourne trip to the AO. Two days before arrival, on 24/01/26, I got a call asking me to accept either a non-working air conditioner or a free cancellation. Neither worked for us: the forecast was 40*C, and with so little notice another place would have cost a lot more. Tim also asked when we’d arrive. I explained our flight landed at 8.30pm, and he said he’d arrange check-in for around 9.15pm. The following day someone else called, and I repeated what I’d already told Tim. After we landed, I saw several missed calls from Lumina. I called back from the Uber and said we were about 20 minutes away. The agent said, “no you won’t, there’s really bad traffic.” We got there exactly 20 minutes later, but nobody was waiting to check us in. The number we called didn’t work after hours. We waited another 30 minutes before someone finally showed up and checked us in. The shower had a serious drainage problem: after only three minutes, water spilled into the bathroom and apartment. We used every towel provided to stop it spreading and reported it straight away. They accused us of using bath bombs and causing the blockage (it was

Catherine at the front desk made a real difference when our washing machine had an error. She came up to reset it and stayed until the cycle finished, which was so thoughtful. We also loved the clean, secure exercise and spa areas. Aspire was convenient for our two weeks around the AO tennis tournament, with lots of food, coffee, bakeries and shops within walking distance. Trams in the large CBD free tram zone were free during the tournament, including trips to and from the AO grounds. We’d stay here again. We came for tennis and sightseeing, and left with a warm impression of the city and its people. Melbourne’s population of 6 million surprised me, yet everyone we met was kind and ready to help. It had a small-town feel, with people willing to lend a hand.