When a hotel is renowned for its awards, you can’t help but wonder what it is that makes it so good or, to put it bluntly, whether it is indeed worthy. One such venue is The Langham Hotel in Melbourne, situated on the famous Southbank Promenade close to some of the city’s finest art, dining and leisure precincts. With an extensive list of accolades under its belt, we were curious to see what all the fuss was about, so we packed our bags and headed to Melbourne for a weekend.
The Awards
Over 50 honours and counting, The Langham has won awards every single year consistently for the last 10 years in a row. The latest from 2021 include the Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Award for being one of the Top 10 Hotels in Australia and New Zealand, and the Travel & Leisure Award after being voted the number one city hotel in all of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Pretty impressive right?
The Real-Life Experience
So how does the experience stack up? Upon arrival, you immediately know you are in for a treat. The overall first impression was a feeling of stepping back in time into old-world luxury. Think the Titanic grand staircase or a mini version of the Château de Versailles.
The grand entrance is quite spectacular. Having been to many hotels throughout our lives, we have never experienced an arrival quite like this. The warm welcome, the remarkable staircase leading up to the reception, the dramatic fountains, and finally the smell; an aroma so enticing that it can only be described as bouquets of luxury.
A Room With a View
We stayed in a Deluxe River King room, and while it was a beautiful and comfortable room, it was the sweeping views of the Yarra River and Melbourne City skyline that stole the show. In fact, one of our favourite things to do was to pull up some chairs, open the curtains, and just watch as the golden hour turned into night with a bottle of wine. The large marble bathroom was another favourite featuring both a shower and bath for ultimate relaxation. Lastly, the 11/10 comfort-level bed also deserves a special mention and might be the closest you come to actually get that “sleeping on a cloud” feeling.
Other Facilities
A great hotel is more than just an amazing bedroom, it’s all the other little bits here and there that truly make it shine. Exceptional customer service and grand entrance aside, The Langham Melbourne has a bunch of 5-star facilities to really elevate your stay. A beautiful pool deck with an incredible city view, a luxurious spa, and the exquisite Aria Bar & Lounge on the podium level offering fine dining and high tea experiences, to name a few.
That’s Not all
Yes, there is more. The hotel has introduced exciting offers and packages to make an already great thing, even better. Take the Celebrate Romance package for example that is available from $1,250 per night; it includes a night stay in a suite, a bottle of Taittinger Champagne and chocolates on arrival, in-room breakfast, a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers, valet parking and a 2 pm late check out. Not too shabby for the ultimate luxurious romantic getaway. There are also proposal packages, Summer staycations, and as of February this year, a Pampered Pets package meaning you can take your pup (or cat) along to live it up with you.
So to get back to the question of whether The Langham Melbourne is worth all the awards it’s won… The answer is most certainly yes.
