United Places Hotel Botanic Gardens — Hotel in Melbourne

Lots of positives and a few negatives too. But let's start with the positives. The building and room layouts are on point, with some epic pieces of furniture and a very cool plaster moulded feature wall in the entry hall. The rooms have a dishwasher, laundry and cooktop. The staff, we saw three different women at the desk during our 24-hour stay, were all friendly and attentive. The real hero of United Places is the South Yarra location though. Two-hatted restaurant Matilda 159 is located conveniently downstairs (and the food is delish and the wine list spectacular), the Royal Botanic Gardens is just across the road and the NGV is a delightful 30-minute stroll through the gardens.

Now for the negatives - Unlike The Ace Hotel or Paramount Hotel in Sydney or any other boutique hotel in the world, there is zero vibe. It's more like a serviced apartment than a hotel. The front desk is not regularly manned. There is no valet or parking. Upon arrival, we parked in a two-hour zone as directed but were told we were likely to get a ticket on Domain Street and to move the car 500m - 1km away. We ended up scoring a park about half a k away and having to walk back to the motel, only to have to set our alarm for 6:30am to get up and move our car again if we wanted to avoid getting a ticket (there were parking inspectors everywhere, we saw three during our 24-hour stay). I don't know why the building has not been granted resident parking passes like all of the other surrounding dwellings.

As an architect and designer we were so keen to check out the fixtures and finishes, and whilst the rooms were great with some beautiful furniture, a few cheaper finishes like fake brass signage in common areas or cheap plastic or chrome fixtures in the bathroom and toilet just took the edge off it feeling like a true design focused hotel. The light switches are needlessly complicated. The towel rack in the toilet fell off the wall when I bumped it accidentally with my elbow. Of course, all of the above is totally fine and these things happen, but the fact the rooms here are $650 or $1050 per night - we left feeling it was just a touch overpriced for the offering.

We'd stay again for the restaurant downstairs, the location and the friendly staff, but only if we...

We stayed here for three nights as a family of four during our stay in Melbourne. The room was spacious, with a sophisticated interior and functionality, and the view from the large window overlooking the Botanic Gardens was truly luxurious. It was clean down to the last detail, and the furnishings and amenities were of high quality.

Even before our stay, we had polite email correspondence, and we received immediate and heartfelt replies to our minor concerns, such as restaurant reservations, parking information, and access to the hotel, so we were able to depart with peace of mind.

During our stay, the hospitality of the staff was truly wonderful, and even though we are not fluent in English, they always treated us with a smile and consideration, so we didn't feel any language barrier at all.

What particularly impressed me was that they prepared breakfast in our room in advance in time for our early morning departure. They also perfectly arranged a taxi to carry our family's luggage, including four large suitcases, to suit our desired time.

The location is excellent, and although it is in a lush environment, it is also easily accessible to the city center by tram.

We were able to spend a truly relaxing time in a quiet and calm atmosphere.

This is a hotel I would definitely like to visit again. Thank you so much for a...

Its clear from the moment you arrive at United Places this is no ordinary stay|I was greeted by chic friendly staff followed by thoughtful touches like an artisanal cookie and fruit infused water after check in, which made a lovely way to start the experience||every morning a beautifully packaged breakfast bag arrives at the door with assorted pastries, a baguette, and high quality jams, this was followed by a personalized delivery of granola with milk of choice, custom coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, its the kind of attention to detail that sets this place apart! ||the decor is nothing short of exquisite, you can sense every detail from the luxurious bedding to the high end culinary ware is carefully considered |then theres the shower itself is a spa like experience with two massive rainwater shower heads running simultaneously, everything here is of the highest quality |then the in room kitchen is another unexpected delight that makes for a relaxing night of cooking but back to the staff, any request is a can do response and this is simply the standard room||located across from the Royal Botanic Gardens and just a few tram stops from the CBD United Places is a sanctuary seamlessly blending boutique luxury with home like comfort.. I absolutely loved...