The Lyall Hotel and Spa

I haven’t stayed at the Lyall for a few years and I must say after the renovations it’s even better than before. The staff throughout are amazing and make you feel at home. The rooms are huge for Melbourne and beautifully decorated. Public areas cost and bright. Breakfast on the balcony under the oak trees fantastic. Surrounded by awesome restaurants and cafes. Hard to beat.

What a wonderful boutique hotel in the elegant and leafy suburb of South Yarra. So close to shops and cafes. Everything was seamless, the staff were so friendly and helpful. The room was spacious, there was a large walk in wardrobe and lovely bathroom. Felt like a home away from home. Would highly recommend.

The Lyall has been on my radar for a while and when our neighbours let us know they’d be having an all night party, I promptly booked. I rang direct, disclosed I live with disability and mobility is limited, that I needed a softer bed (not saggy) to prevent my body going out, and a night of restful sleep. Staff assured me that guests said the beds ‘are like sleeping on clouds’. So I was looking forward… 1. The whole hotel and restaurant was heavily fragranced. Nose, eyes, throat all inflamed, and I only barely got through the night by having the balcony doors open and the aircon on. All my clothes required laundering to get rid of this fragrance, and I left very early in the morning to escape, cancelling breakfast plans. You could smell this fragrance wafting down the street as people walked out of the hotel. 2. The bed was hard. Not firm. Hard. With a bit of linen on top as a ‘softening’ factor. I sat on the bed and all the air left my lungs, that’s how hard. So, my joints seized up in pain and I slept for 1hr to 2hrs before the pain had to be dealt with (exercises and rationed out heat packs). I contemplated getting my car and going home to get a camping mattress…but, did I mention disability and mobility limitations? 3. Aircon kept turning off. No instructions. Given I had it on to help blow out the fragrance (I even put a rolled towel against the floor door gap to the corridor to help prevent more fragrance from entering), the overpowering fragrance building up every time the aircon turned off was another reason to get me out of bed all night long. 4. If you like fragranced bath products, happy days for you. I could not even use the hand soap it was so perfumed - go prepared. 5. I was planning to use the restaurant to fit in with my mobility limitations. Fortunately they had outdoor seating. Unfortunately the restaurant doesn’t do anything but breakfast in the morning, so that scuppered dinner plans. Or perhaps I’m just invisible? I sat there for a while (20mins) and saw no staff. 6. Shower has a rain/hand held shower apparatus but the switch to convert to hand held did not completely work. The whole time I got bonus COLD water dripping down from the rain head. 7. Staff all very pleasant. Apparently nothing they could do. I gave feedback as I checked out and was told they would look into giving me a fee reduction (cost was over $400 for one night, which included $60 for valet parking). I also wrote to the manager. I have heard nothing further. Except for repeated requests to review the hotel - so here I am to do that independently and give you all the heads up in case you also need this information. I would describe this hotel as quiet (yay), with opening doors to outside, but with no breathable air inside, and with a need to provide information instead of marketing gloss. Oh, also, chairs in all the outdoor areas where quarter backed, made out of large crosshatched metal wires. The ones in the restaurant had some cushions, the ones on my balcony were bare wire, and both were entirely un-ergonomic, not worthy of the name ‘chair’.

My first visit since The Lyall reopened after four years! It has enjoyed a total renovation and you enter a luxurious sanctuary hosted by a very friendly international team, and it truly is a tranquil home away from home. The property no longer features kitchens; but there is a beautiful bar/restaurant for breakfast; and tons of superb restaurants and coffee shops on nearby Toorak Road and Chapel Street. And you can take the tram into the city within minutes. Best of all you can open the sliding mesh doors to have fresh air, a real treat after suffocating hotels with windows you can't open and noisy air conditioners. Super comfortable mattress and high quality linen, and Moltan Brown amenities, mini bar etc. Not so many TV channels, but you can order Netflix, and the room was silent at night; so rare in any city. A lovely outdoor terrace on Murphy Street is also perfect on sunny days and there is underground parking. I have travelled a lot over decades and I would not stay anywhere else in Melbourne. Dreaming of my next visit! There slogan, 'for people who don't like hotels' is very apt!

The newly refurbished Lyall South Yarra did not disappoint. Let me start by saying that if you’re looking for a truly authentic Melbourne experience, this is where you will find it. A relaxed and understated check in greets you with a welcome drink and beautiful surrounds, exclusive furnishings and all round well thought out reception area. The location in exclusive South Yarra cannot be beaten. You can certainly feel like a local wandering just metres down the oak tree lined street to all that Toorak Rd has to offer. Once in our rooms we were thoroughly overwhelmed by the opulence. Separate powder room, double vanity and huge bathtub in the bathroom with a walk in robe opposite giving plenty of room for luggage, coats and his and hers hanging areas. The ironing board and iron was tucked away in the cupboard with plenty of room to use the walk in to iron as needed. The bedroom, lounge area furnishings are exquisite and the room is very well thought out offering plenty of space to sit and relax. I felt cocooned in the whisper quiet bedroom with muted fabric wallpaper covering the walls to offer a warm and quiet nights sleep for all. Our view was nothing to note but was softened nicely with lots of greenery which was pleasant enough to enjoy from the balcony. The room felt more like an apartment with all the extra space touches needed for a longer stay such as a built in microwave. We were sincerely grateful for our complimentary upgrade to an executive suite for all three of our rooms and were so well looked after by the team here who are really intent on making an impression and ensuring your stay is special. Thank you Harry for looking after us. We will all be back. There is nowhere else I’d rather stay in Melbourne.