La Trobe Tower

We stayed four nights, booked through Air Bnb, and found it good value. The location is fantastic, central to almost everything or a short Uber ride away. Check-in was fine. Our apartment had what we needed for a short stay: full kitchen, small dishwasher, microwave, oven, four burner gas stove, washing machine and dryer, hair dryer, vacuum, hangers, drying rack and TV. There was plenty of hot water, toiletries and towels, with extra bedding and blankets in the closets. The interior felt a bit dated, the walls were thin, and street noise could be loud at night on the lower floors. The A/C didn’t work, but it was cold so we didn’t need it. Our two bedroom unit had just one bathroom.

The location is excellent, and the place is cheap and modern. We were in town for OASIS during the Melbourne Cup, so there weren’t many options. Our room was noisy, right by the office, where I could hear music and guests coming and going. The garbage chute was just outside the door, and we could hear water rushing through the service pipes in the walls. The apartment and building felt personality free, with rules and fines everywhere. The kitchen had very few utensils, which made cooking difficult, and the place wasn’t especially clean. There was a lot of heavy dust above eye level. My biggest issue was the lack of duvet covers. The fold over sheet method around a shared duvet always comes undone, leaving you against an unwashed duvet, which feels like a hygiene problem. I sweat too, so I feel sorry for the next guest. Without housekeeping, making the bed properly each day is impossible unless you’ve been shown how. For that reason alone I wouldn’t come back. I want a proper duvet cover to protect you. Some places say they wash the duvet every time, but that isn’t true.

The service was extremely unhelpful and unreasonable. Be careful not to enter anything incorrectly in their system, as they wouldn’t cancel a booking even though it was 4 months away. I sent a refund request 1 minute after booking because I’d entered the wrong dates, 4 months ahead. Agoda customer service contacted both me and the owner and was willing to approve a full refund. The owner chose not to refund me. Completely unreasonable.

The location was great, and the place was clean and tidy. Check-in and check-out were quick and easy, with good customer service. Staff were really friendly. I also loved having a dishwasher and washing machine to use.