I booked this hotel because of its good location and having been to its very good restaurant. Arrived quite late and park outside to unload - the hotel has no car park or valet parking beware - within 3 minutes got a parking ticket - no unloading allowed outside. Reception OK but now where to sit in comfort. No assistance offered with bags. Corridors dismal, room dated with useless lighting system. View - brick wall across an alleyway. No rooms service available. DON’T GO TO THIS HOTEL IF YOU WANT TO USE THE INTERNET. There is a download limit per day and the speed is sloooow very slooooow. I am in marketing and advertising and had to download a file from London and the estimated time was 7 hours (in Hong Kong the same file was 15 minutes). The bathroom is a steamy joke, with the water too hot and the controls too sensitive. Careful with the window blinds they fall down when opened. Forget an early start breakfast not until 7am. Overall very tired hotel, trying to be trendy but now just faded, style less . Give it a miss much better places in Melbourne. Stayed one night and cancelled the rest

My partner and I often stay at the big hotels about town but we also like to experiment with different things life has to offer - it is difference that makes life so wonderful. We recently stayed at the Adelphi for two nights. After we lugged our suitcases up the main stairs, check in was very efficient and the staff were very pleasant. From the outside, I didn't expect that this famous hotel would be so small looking and located in what seemed like a back alley (if you want rare views of Melbourne stay at the Sofitel). I guess this is what boutique hotels are all about and you must admit that Melbourne certainly knows how to capitalise on its amazing alley culture. Once inside, the intimate atmosphere and designer feel was enchanting. While the stainless steeliness of our room initially seemed a bit industrial, cold and clinical it didn't take long for the Adelphi spell to take hold of me. We really liked it. Our room was a very generous size with room to move and good storage and excellent beds. The attentive staff truly went out of their way to make our stay more enjoyable and the attention to detail, that is so often over looked, was very impressive. Being a coffee addict, I really appreciated the complimentary plunger coffee (not to mention the T2 tea), the flat screen TV, the artistic vase arrangements, the designer bathroom products, decent iron +++ ironing spray (!!! a world first I must say) and the Bose ipod dock. As for the coffee, could I suggest that if you wanted to take it a step further, you could include a complimentary espresso machine that I recently had the pleasure of using in a Hong Kong boutique hotel. We thought the mini bar was also well priced compared to other hotels. The introductory commentary in the room service menu actually discouraged us from ordering a late night meal the night we arrived (late) ... it basically read that the surrounding abundance of Melbourne eateries were far better so why bother with room service (no matter how tired you are). So we didn't order anything until the morning we checked out (due to wanting to sleep in but still wanting a quick breakfast) - we wished we hadn't. The room service breakfast was very average - the hotel compendium was right but maybe this is what was intended. Edward Scissorhand must have been working in the kitchen that morning by the way our fruit was cut up - seeds and cores were also included. Plus the uncomfortable sofa desperately needs replacing - it's past its use-by-date and is not practical. The roof top pool and bar area lived up to its reputation. The staff were extremely eager to please (just wonderful really) and this hotel scores many bonus points for their fantastic attention to detail - guests like us notice the smaller things in life. It's certainly not a grand five star hotel, but for the above reasons, we would definitely stay here again.

We found that the Adelphi did not live up to our (admittedly high!) expectations. It wasn't a bad experience by any means, just, well.......average and a little soul-less. It has a curiously un-lived in feel - and it's not just because of the modern interior, which we like! I am not sure if it was because the Hotel wasn't busy whilst we were there, but it was unnaturally quiet and the 'social' areas of the hotel were completely unpeopled whilst we were there - the area just off the foyer where breakfast is served etc was all dark and just looked disused, which was strange. Our room (standard room) was ok - the bathroom was great and the bed was very comfortable and reasonably stylish, however the remainder of the furniture didn't live up to our expectation - looked a little cheap and 'motel-ish'. There was a nice note from management wishing my partner a 'happy birthday' in our room on arrival, which was nice. The location is also excellent - on Flinders Lane just around the corner from all the action. The downside of the location, is that until the early hours of the morning, we could hear the drunks downstairs in the lane, swearing and shouting, but I understand that is not the fault of the hotel, rather just the downside of city hotels! The staff were discreet and helpful. Overall, it is not a bad hotel, just falls well short of the luxury boutique experience we were hoping for.

This used to be one of my favorite hotels. Having not stayed at the Adelphi for more than 6 years I thought I would try it out again. The location remains perfect and the rooms are still very large for the price. My experience was badly let down by a series of maintenance issues with my room (multiple blown light globes, blinds that were broken, the toilet was loose, a shower head that was hanging off the wall etc). Really not good enough for $300 per night and so easily fixed. The entire hotel also looked slighly shabby, what was once cutting edge design is now being badly let down by a lack of maintenance. The hotel also had a desolate air about it (as reflected by another reviewer). On the positive the staff were great, the bed very comfortable and the shampoo range exception. I think the new owners are trying but it needs to fix the basics.