Imagine on Southbank Hotel

The location is fantastic: about a 10 minute walk to Flinders St Station, five minutes to Crown Casino, and five minutes to Foodworks. There’s a good restaurant on the premises with room service during opening hours, plus plenty more restaurants within 400m. The staff at reception smile back, and I’m relaxed and smiling too. This is my fourth stay since March 2025, and I’m already deciding whether to return in August or September. On my third visit I had a few room problems, but I was too tired, in too much pain, and too stressed to raise them until checkout. The lovely young lady there documented everything I brought up and even took photos of my photos. When I arrived on Monday, check-in went smoothly, but unfortunately the room wasn’t functional. Rooms were built when people carried fewer electronics. Reception agreed after I called and quickly found me an amazing room, beyond my expectations. The washing machine there had been upgraded, so a wash and dry took 60 minutes instead of five hours in the old ones. My room has a city view, with glimpses of the Yarra and down to the Port. I didn’t throw off the quilt once, despite my overheating problem, and slept soundly. The Wrap does a good job of listening to feedback. Maybe I’ll see you on my next visit. :)

I had specifically asked for a high floor, but we were put on the second floor of a separate building. It had a different elevator and no key required to get to that level, which made me feel very unsafe as I travelled alone with my daughter for six nights for the first time. Getting to the pool was a hassle too: we had to go down to reception and change elevators, and our key often didn’t work, so staff had to activate pool access for us each time. I understand we booked a good-value deal, but the room’s location, lack of secure access, and disconnection from the hotel facilities were very disappointing compared with the booking photos and description. I raised it with reception, but nobody contacted me until the next day. We’d unpacked by then, so I decided not to move. The hotel should clearly disclose that rooms in this building have no key-secured access, aren’t connected to the swimming pool, and require separate elevators. The room also smelled unpleasant, wasn’t clean enough, and let in lots of insects from outside. This is the first negative review I’ve ever written. I definitely won’t return, and would rather pay a little more to stay somewhere safer and more comfortable.

The staff were lovely, and the location was great, close to the city and public transport. But my partner and I were disappointed given what we paid for the studio. The carpet was stained and hadn’t been vacuumed when we arrived, the shower leaked and left a huge puddle in the bathroom, and the room felt run down. The balcony was dirty, with someone’s muddy bare footprints still there.

A fabulous spot, and I’d definitely book again. Check-in and checkout were very slow, so plan for that. The check-in and first room were an unfortunate experience. I used to travel weekly and hadn’t had that happen before, but I won’t say more in case it was a one-off or the computer glitch they mentioned. Once I brought it to their attention, they fixed it immediately. I do wonder what would have happened if I’d said nothing. Otherwise, literally no complaints, since you book a room with no service. I’d still go back, and it’s worth booking. I didn’t really complain, just asked if that was normal because it struck me as odd. They do respond.