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.

Office closed - ANZAC Day long weekend

Okay, so its not actually an ANZAC Day long weekend but it is for us. The office will be closed Monday and Tuesday as I'm down in Melbourne and the Yarra Valley for a long weekend.

If you need anything during that time please leave a voice-mail message or send me an email and I'll get back to you first thing on Wednesday.

Chinese New Year

I don't remember Chinese New Year having this much of an effect in the past but that's the main reason hotels are giving as to why they're so busy this week. Sydney is full, Perth is full and Melbourne is virtually full.

February/March is also one of the peak corporate travel seasons as businesses begin travelling (after the quiet month that is January) so it sometimes doesn't need a specific major event for the hotels to fill. 

Sydney at it again

Sydney hotels' busiest times of the year are February/March and November. Last year, November was huge for Sydney hotels and the momentum has definitely continued in to this year.

February/March sees a lot of concerts, concerts, festivals, cruise ships and many other things happening in Sydney. This all means good things for the hotels, not so good for people looking for availability at reasonable rates.

Things started to pick up last week and the city was close to filling, this week is huge and next week is even worse! The lesson is, if you need to travel to Sydney during their peak times, make sure you book at least two weeks in advance otherwise rates will be a lot higher than expected.

Sydney - The New Perth

Over the last few years, Perth has been the busiest hotel market where accommodation is regularly hard to find and rates are through the roof. Perth was busy again during peak season this year but nowhere near as bad as it was in previous years. Sydney however was as busy as I've seen it for a number of years.

Sydney virtually sold out for four straight weeks starting from the second week of November. It started with the Rolling Stones concert, then there were conferences, sporting events and more concerts. Week after week, it became virtually impossible to find rooms for under $500/night. Yes, the hotels saw what was happening and rates went through the roof.

The two busiest times of the year for Sydney hotels are February/March and November. On the back of a huge November for them I can only imagine what hotel's rate expectations will be for Feb/March 2015. If you travel to Sydney regularly, book early.

The event that stopped Melbourne

And no, its not The Melbourne Cup.

Back in October saw the busiest week that the Melbourne hotels experienced all year. Bigger than The Melbourne Cup, bigger than the AFL Grand Final, bigger even than the F1 Grand Prix.

What was it I hear you ask? The Jehovah's Witnesses Convention! Yes, you read that correctly. October 15 - 19 thousands and thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses descended on Melbourne and the hotels were full for most of the week. The Saturday night was also the Caulfield Cup which created a melt-down as availability was virtually non-existent and rates were through the roof. 

Concert season

The end of the year tends to be when a lot of the big name artists tour Australia. This year is no exception with names such as Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Katy Perry and The Rolling Stones over the next few months.

Not surprisingly, these concert tours bring a lot of people to the host cities and therefore accommodation can be extremely limited. If need a hotel room, make sure you book early. To find out where and when the concerts are, check out our peak travel dates page.