Stayed here for a week in February with a girl friend to explore Melbourne for the first time. We're both uni students on a budget so initially we booked our stay at Kingsgate Hotel, which is dirt cheap from all the online booking sites. However, after reading negative reviews about Kingsgate on Tripadvisor, we quickly cancelled our booking and were relieved when we were able to get very good rates for Vibe Savoy instead.

Its location is probably the best thing it has to offer. It was great to be across the road from DFO Spencer and the airport shuttlebus station. It was convenient to drop off our shopping bags in our room before heading out again. Trams are close by which made it easy to get to the CBD everyday.

The room we stayed in was dark, the window faced the atrium and the blinds were black - consequently we overslept on several occasions as it created the illusion that it was still something like 5am. The bedside alarm is very faint so if you're a heavy sleeper and have something important to attend in the morning, don't rely on the alarm! The bathroom is very small and quite aged but clean. The single beds are small but reasonably comfy. There was a big black moth perched on our head board for the whole duration of our stay and did not budge, which was a bit gross and creepy. The air-con takes a while to take effect so you might turn it up just before you go to bed thinking it's a little warm, but then wake up shivering in the middle of the night.

The gym was small, with only one of each type of equipment but it was always empty so we had it all to ourselves. Water and fresh towels were provided inside.

The front desk staff were friendly and helpful. We enquired about a day trip to the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles and the lady (I think her name was Renee) was more than happy to provide us with brochures and book the trip for us. She was also helpful in giving us directions and travel tips.

The breakfast is nothing to get excited about, especially if you have to eat the same thing for a whole week. But it was included in the price so we made the most of it. Towards the end of the week we'd figured out what our favourites were: the mini crossiants and the greek yoghurt. The front desk is mostly unattended, but don't think for a moment that the fact that you just got out of bed and are probably really hungry is going to make the restaurant staff attend to you faster. If you get impatient and decide to seat yourselves (like we did on the first day) you'll get told off by the staff later on. The tip is to get there early (before 9am) before the food runs out and all the staff disappear.

Vibe Savoy is definitely not luxurious but considering the price we paid, we had nothing to complain about. It's a convenient place to stay in Melbourne if you're on a budget but would also like to keep your dignity and not resort to places with shared bathroom facilities. The only reason I wouldn't come back is if I'm able to afford an expensive hotel by the time I visit Melbourne again.

I stayed here for business.

Good Points:
* The foyer is lovely, and the bar downstairs looks like a great place to have a drink.
* Across the road from the Spencer St factory outlets.
* Room Service was good.

Bad Points:
* My room was quite old (stained carpets, old furnishings).
* Small, old TV.
* One of the phones in the room was broken.
* Gym only has one treadmill.

Overall, I thought this was a good budget stay at only $A138 a night. I wouldn't be prepared to spend over $A160 here.

It really needs a good renovation done on the rooms.

We stayed here (self, wife and grown up daughter) during the F1 Grand Prix. One reason that the hotel was chosen was its close location (over the road) from the free trams to Albert Park. These worked really well, even after the GP finished.

Hotel was modern and well looked after, but lacked the personal feel of an owner operated establishment. The breakfast was OK, but overpriced. Room service quick.

We stayed in a 'mezzanine' room, with a double bed upstairs and roll away downstairs. Not much room downstairs when rollaway opened up. There was a heatwave during our stay and although the room had air-conditioning, it didn't reach upstairs, leaving me and wife sweating and daughter freezing.

As it was GP time, prices were hiked up and had to pay in advance, although the request for payment was made some weeks after we booked. I would suspect they either had financial problems or had bad experiences from cancellations.

We stayed at Vibe Savoy Hotel over a long weekend about a year ago.

The location of this hotel is great - tram right at the doorstep and right across the road from Southern Cross Station, making interstate and state-wide train travel so easy. It's also just a few minutes walk from the DFO where there are so many bargains. The Telstra Dome is also walking distance, so if you're visiting for a footy game, this is definitely the place to stay!

The hotel itself is wonderful for the price: great little reception with fast and friendly check in, little lifts that zip you up to tastefully decorated hallways with funky little black and white framed photos throughout.

The room itself was amazing for the price - great sized bathroom, fantastic little kitchen and everything you'd need if you were travelling around Australia and you wanted a nice, clean self-catering room. The room is small, but efficiently set out and is kept spotlessly clean.

The continental buffet breakfast in the morning was also good. It's served in a tiny breakfast bar (which also serves lunch and dinner) and includes cereals, yoghurt, fruit, bread, tea, coffee and juice and you can also order from the menu if you prefer. It's not plentiful and the service is pretty shocking with our waiter (there was only one for the whole room) neglecting to refill the food that had run-out on the buffet table and often disappearing for 10 minutes at a time, which was incredibly frustrating when all you want to ask for is some extra butter or something equally as trivial. The breakfast may not have been the most amazing offering in the world, but considering the price it's all you can really expect and it will easily tie you over until lunch time.

The only major issue we had was that we could hear every word that was said by the people in the room next to us. And unfortunately for us they decided to have friends over for pizza until 3am (yep, we heard the pizza delivery guy and everything!). The walls are so paper-thin there is simply no way you could get a decent nights' sleep at this hotel unless there were no other guests staying on either side of you. It was a real shame because we thought we had found our 'traditional' city hotel stay until this happened.

All-in-all, I'd love to say that we'd stay here again - the location, check-in, rooms and facilities were great, but if you can't sleep in a hotel or get service at breakfast time, then there really isn't any point staying at all.