This article reviews club lounges in hotels in Melbourne with a club or executive lounge. By reviewing each of these club lounges, in turn, I conclude which hotel club lounge comes in at the top and which hotels I would select as having the best club lounge in Melbourne.
Club Lounge Access For Free
Book a standard room at the InterContinental in New York, Paris, or London, which partner with our luxury travel concierge, and you will get a guaranteed room upgrade and free club lounge access. This free access has got to be one of the best hotel deals in New York, Paris, and London!
Unfortunately, the InterContinental in Melbourne does not offer free club lounge access via our concierge. This is also not the best club lounge in Melbourne. Unlike its counterparts in New York, London, and Paris, which are all fantastic hotels, the rooms at the Melbourne InterContinental here are dated. The food in the lounge is fine but uninspiring, even though the drinks are plentiful. The Langham Melbourne is currently our top pick for the best executive club lounge in Melbourne.
Why Book A Club Lounge?
Club or executive hotel lounges provide an interesting environment to work and relax in. Some lounges also provide dedicated meeting rooms, although I find holding meetings in the main lounge more friendly. When I travel on my own for business, I don’t like to sit in restaurants on my own. Room service is also a lonely affair, so a club lounge provides the ideal environment to enjoy good food and atmosphere whilst being completely comfortable that you are sitting at a table for one.
The clubrooms themselves are often a little bigger and offer more luxurious facilities than standard rooms, with more space, plus they are often on higher floors with better views.
Finally, executive and club benefits are great for early check-in / late check-out, as you can often stay in the club lounge room with all the benefits in the afternoon if you have a late flight. Conversely, you can use the club lounge and executive facilities from early in the morning if you arrive early and your room isn’t ready.
I have compiled a list below containing the club lounges available across luxury hotels in Melbourne. I list the ones I consider to be the best at the top. I have also reviewed the best executive lounges in Sydney in case you are traveling there too.
1. The Langham
The Langham Melbourne is brilliantly located along the riverside in the Southbank precinct, just a few minutes walk from the heart of the city. Rooms are stylish with traditional furnishings, patterned carpets, and lovely big decked balconies large enough to fit a couple of loungers.
Executive Rooms are on higher floors of the 24-story hotel and include access to the club lounge for free breakfast, afternoon tea, light snacks, and evening canapés. Private check-in and check-out service, complimentary meeting facility, and complimentary pressing of up to 3 garments per person are also included.
2. Melbourne Crown Towers: Crystal Club Lounge
Melbourne Crown Towers club lounge (pictured above) is called the Crystal Club and offers guests an exclusive and private lounge in one of the world’s leading hotels.
Located on the third floor of Crown Towers Melbourne, the Crystal Club offers a dedicated private check-in service and concierge facilities. The open design and light-filled ambiance highlight the Club’s unique features, including carefully selected artworks and exquisite crystalware that reflect its name.
Amenities included are complimentary breakfast, light snacks, evening canapés and pre-dinner drinks. Breakfast offers a range of hot food and continental pastries as well as made-to-order items like perfectly cooked Eggs Benedict.
The light afternoon snacks are particularly good with afternoon tea, delicious cupcakes, chocolate éclairs, mini cheesecakes, and macaroons, as well as scones with jam and cream and, of course, tea and coffee.
The evening pre-dinner drinks also include a full all-you-can-eat buffet, so you can have a cocktail or champagne with delicious sushi, cheeses, antipasto, and bread, as well as hot food like Asian pork belly and vegetable samosas.
This beautiful space offers high ceilings and a glitzy feel, with hexagonal shiny chandeliers, lots of mirrored walls, and circular white sofas. There is marble, chandeliers, and gleaming, reflective surfaces everywhere you look. It feels very slightly like luxury from the 1980s but in a good way!
What is particularly nice here is the expansive sun-filled outdoor deck, a stylish seating area surrounded by greenery. Crystal Club is the perfect escape created for comfort, relaxation, and privacy.
Guests have the opportunity to enhance their experience at Crown Towers Melbourne and purchase access to the Crystal Club during their stay for $210 USD per couple.
UPDATE: Since writing this article, Crown Towers Melbourne has changed their policy, and their club lounge is now chargeable.
3. InterContinental Melbourne: Club Lounge
InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto is located in the beautiful red brick Rialto Building (built in 1885) that is famous for its Venetian Gothic architecture. The lobby of the hotel is stunning, with massively high ceilings.
The Melbourne Club InterContinental lounge is available exclusively for guests booking into Club InterContinental rooms and suites. It is not open to guests in Executive rooms. If you are in an Executive room, you will have to pay a premium to access the Club, although the rooms at this hotel are a little dated and will hopefully be refurbished soon.
With private access on level 4, this lounge is a place of sanctuary with all-day refreshments and Barista Coffee. It is a modern lounge but has a historic balcony area where you can have drinks and a bite alfresco if the weather is nice.
If you book into this lounge, you can enjoy private check-in and check-out throughout the day.
Breakfast is served daily from 6:30 – 10:30 am with a full buffet selection featuring freshly brewed barista coffee, fresh juices, and fruit, pastries, bakery items, cured meats and cheese, gourmet yogurt and cereals, hot dishes on the buffet, and eggs to order.
Afternoon tea is served daily from 2:00 – 4:00 pm with a tempting array of savory treats and sweet delicacies, served with gourmet teas and barista coffee.
In the evenings, between 5:30 – 7:30 pm, guests can enjoy canapés and drinks in the Club InterContinental lounge, choosing from sparkling, red, and white wine, beers, and spirits matched to a selection of uniquely Melbourne dishes.
The canapés are good, and there is also a small buffet if you would like something more, but you will probably need to eat out as the offering isn’t overly filling. This lounge is undoubtedly lovely and one of the best executive lounges in Melbourne, but the evening food array is a little lacking.
4. Club Sofitel in Melbourne
Club Sofitel in Melbourne offers some of the best city views in town. This lounge is hugely high on the 35th floor, offering unique views of the St Patrick’s Cathedral, Yarra River, and MCG and abundant natural light provided by floor-to-ceiling windows. There is a fun circular fireplace in the center of the room.
Melbourne’s Club Sofitel is for guests in clubrooms on levels 47 to 49. You get a private check-in and check-out, the usual all-day refreshments, an open bar with canapés in the evening, a wireless workspace, private meeting rooms, plasma televisions, electronic games, and stunning views.
5. Melbourne Grand Hyatt Club Lounge
I reviewed Melbourne Grand Hyatt during my recent trip to Melbourne. The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is located in the bottom right corner of the Melbourne CBD, right at the intersection of the upscale shopping stretch of Collins Street and Russell Street.
The hotel is a close walk to other attractions as well; Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, Hosier Lane, Chinatown, the Theatre district, the Old Treasury Building, the Parliament, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Fitzroy Garden are all within a few blocks. There is also a tram station right outside the hotel, and trams within the Melbourne CBD are free, which makes the trip to other attractions in the Melbourne CBD just a short commute.
The decor in the lobby is luxurious, with a few artworks prominently featured. The hotel’s restaurants – Lobby Lounge and Collins Kitchen, are opposite the check-in area, while the bars – Bistro bar and Ru-Co, are next to them, tucked in a corner.
As a Diamond member, I used a Diamond Suite Upgrade in conjunction with my booking. This got me booked into the Grand Suite King on a high floor. The room was 80 m², with huge windows offering a great panoramic view of the city. The suite opened into the living room with a nice seating area, as well as a large work desk. There was a small bathroom next to the entrance as well as a closet that concealed the minibar and Nespresso machine.
The bedroom was separated from the living room with a sliding door. There was also a small sofa set in the bedroom. At the back of the bedroom was the marble bathroom, which featured a bathtub and a separate shower area. Toiletries were from June Jacobs, which is a common brand standard across most Grand Hyatts. As a Diamond member, I was also given a welcome amenity of grapes, a jar of salted nuts, and a bottle of wine.
The standard rooms in the hotel start from 33 m² and are quite similar to the bedroom module of the suite. If possible, ask for a room on a higher floor with views of the CBD or the Yarra River.
The hotel has a huge, fully-fledged gym that spans the entire 9th floor and more. The gym is called City Club Health & Fitness and has all the equipment and facilities that one would expect from a proper gym. It is open to hotel guests as well as external members 24 hours, although some parts of the gym close after certain hours.
The gym also has an indoor swimming pool, plunge pool, and jacuzzi next to the changing rooms, which also contain a sauna and steam room. The spa treatment area is also located here. More impressively, you can also walk up a flight of stairs to get to the roof of the gym, where the basketball half-court, golf swinging areas, and tennis court are located. I really cannot remember the last time I was in a city hotel with both a basketball and tennis court together!
The hotel has a Grand Club Lounge on the 31st floor. You can see my pictures of this lounge in my review of the Melbourne Grand Hyatt. Access is available for guests who booked a club room and above, as well as Diamond members. The Grand Club Lounge is a huge, long space overlooking the Melbourne skyline. The entrance is right at the elevator lobby, with the reception desk in the middle of the club. Both the left and right sides feature comfortable seating spaces. On the far left, there is also an impressive meeting boardroom. Both sides of the lounge also had a workstation near the bathrooms.
In the evenings, the lounge serves food and drinks. Desserts are on the left side, while hot food and appetizers are on the right. In my time there, there were 2 red and 2 white wines available, and Chandon champagne. There was also a selection of beers and hard liquor, as well as regular drinks and a coffee machine. The lounge also serves breakfast in the morning. Diamond members are entitled to breakfast here only. Eating in the hotel restaurant is an additional $20 USD surcharge.
6. Park Hyatt Melbourne
Overlooking St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fitzroy Gardens, and the cosmopolitan mix of Victorian and modern architecture of the central business district, Park Hyatt Melbourne offers an exclusive sanctuary in the heart of the city.
The hotel is renowned for having the largest 240 luxury rooms & suites in Melbourne, with Italian marble ensuites and open windows. Guests are invited to enjoy the award-winning ‘radii’ restaurant & bar, a decadent Tea Lounge, and Park Club Health & Day Spa featuring an indoor aquamarine pool, spa, sauna, gym, and private sun deck.
This Melbourne hotel is only 25 km from Melbourne Airport and is convenient to most city attractions around the city center. It is within walking distance to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), home of the Australian Football League (AFL), and test cricket, the world-renowned Tutankhamen exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and the best boutique shopping, cafes, restaurants, and theatre districts.
Noteworthy features of this hotel are the Aesop toiletries (which smell wonderful of orange and Christmas and really work, their hand cream is amazing!) and the fact that this is one of the few Park Hyatt hotels in the world with an executive club lounge.
The club lounge is very large and feels a little dated, but it is very good nonetheless. The lounge has soft drinks, coffee, and cookies available throughout the day, including cans and big jugs of juice. The evening snacks include nuts, cheese, cold cuts, smoked salmon, bread, veggies, and cakes, plus a couple of hot dishes. There’s also breakfast in the morning.
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