From the exterior, the modern Tune Hotel Melbourne looks like a trendy office block. Inside, the decor is reminiscent of a European upmarket hostel with loud block colors, Ikea-like furniture, and a wall of mirrors. There’s a smoking-friendly outdoor courtyard that seems like an extension of the lobby decor with bold red and black contemporary furniture. The hotel cafe is bright and airy, with floor-to-celling windows and a retro tile service counter that reflects the morning light. The hotel seems to be a revolving door for the everyman, from business travelers, to families, and couples; we checked in behind a crew of flight attendants on our stay.

With more than one and a half million international visitors a year Melbourne’s CBD is a popular tourist destination for music, art, gastro pubs, and shopping. The Queensberry street/ Swanston Street Tram stop is within a one-minute walk of the hotel doorstep. Guests are two tram stops or a 10-minute walk from Melbourne’s Free Tram Zone which covers Melbourne’s CBD tourist pit stops like Federation Square and Queen Victoria Market. For shopping, guests are a 12-minute walk from both Melbourne Central and Queen Victoria Village, an open air mall with 120 high street stores. For Italian cuisine, Lygon Street is a five-minute walk and for nightlife the Crown Casino, perched on the Yarra River is 11 minutes in a taxi. 

Tune Hotel’s room decor looks like an advertisement for Ikea. Rooms are contemporary and pristine with quirky features like wall-mounted clothes rails and foldout suitcase holders. Sci-fi inspired red leather headboards and bed bases are a bold statement that add a splash of color. All rooms are air-conditioned and come with built-in safes and office desks. Bathrooms are modern and clean and have been outfitted with a hairdryer and rainfall shower-head. Some rooms are small, there’s no in-room coffee- and tea-making facilities, and no mini-fridge. For those that booked a limited service room, towels and toiletries will come at an extra daily cost as will use of Wi-Fi and the TV. There’s also no hotel phone in the rooms and no room service available to guests. All rooms are equipped with windows that open with a safety lock, an uncommon feature in high rise hotels. 

The limited service Tune Hotel Melbourne offers guests the option to book a basic room and pay for additional services if they choose to via the 24-hour hotel reception. Facilities include a 24-hour self-service laundry on the ground floor and hotel parking, for an added cost. Guests are given 15 minutes free Internet on the jump-on computers in the hotel lobby and Wi-Fi packages are available in rooms for a daily fee. There’s no on-site fitness facilities but the hotel compensates by offering discounted passes for the local Anytime Fitness Gym. There’s an outdoor courtyard and the hotel cafe serves breakfast and lunch till mid-afternoon.