EPL teams headed down under

The English Premier League season hasn't finished yet but a couple of their biggest names are headed down under. My team, and recently crowned League Champions, Chelsea FC along with Liverpool are coming to play in Australia in the upcoming months.

Chelsea recently announced they are coming to Sydney June 2 to play against Sydney FC while Liverpool will play the Brisbane Roar in Brisbane on July 17 (I'm lucky enough to be going to this game) and Adelaide United in Adelaide on July 20.

All these matches should mean good things for each city's hotels so if you're going to the matches I recommend you book early.
(note: We have a stash of rooms available for the Adelaide United game at really good rates.)

Edit: I spoke too soon ... it turns out there are actually THREE EPL teams headed to Australia in their off-season! I saw on TV last night that Tottenham Hotspurs are also playing Sydney FC on May 30.

Sofitel Melbourne - overnight stay

Over the ANZAC Day weekend I spent a night at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins before heading to the Yarra Valley for my friends' wedding.

I'd seen the hotel and its rooms many years ago but was yet to actually stay there. I'm a member of Accor's Advantage Plus program so I booked early and used a free night.

Our room overlooked the burbs rather than the river, Crown and the bay but all the rooms at the Sofitel are on high floors so its still a nice outlook. The weather wasn't great so the view for the one night wasn't that important. The rooms themselves are what you'd expect from a 5 star hotel with the only letdown being the shower over bath (common amongst older hotels) but this was definitely made up for by the comfy Sofitel signature bed.

We had dinner in the lounge on the 35th floor and this was the only disappointing part of the stay. The service was poor, the food took forever and was cold. The positive that came from this was that after I filled out the hotel's post-stay survey I was contacted within a couple of days by the head of Food & Beverage to discuss the situation. I appreciated the follow-up from him and his sincerity regarding the matter.

The Sofitel Melbourne is located at the "Paris end" of Collins Street, just around the corner from the designer shops and a short walk down to the MCG.