InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto

This is a lovely hotel — from the minute you step inside from Collins Street, the relaxed, opulent but peaceful atmosphere envelops you, it’s fabulous. I enjoyed a suite, with Collins Street and internal atrium views. The bathroom was well appointed, shower great, bed comfortable and lighting good. The room was a bit dark, with no sheer curtains so the choice was heavy drapes drawn or complete openness, neither one ideal. The Club Lounge is small, but nicely supported by respectful staff, with good quality food. The room service is nice too — I enjoyed Tomato and Basil Soup, steamed green beans and a good garden salad. Overall, very good — thank you.

The InterContinental Melbourne (Rialto) is a work preferred hotel, but as I stay here at least once a month, I thought it worthy of a review.
I have stayed in various rooms now, but it was only when my wife joined me on a recent trip and put in a request for a balcony room so she could «work with a pleasant view» did I find a favourite. The other rooms without the balcony are however equally nice, I just recommend saving on the upgrade for a balcony when you know you’re not going to make good use of it.
Of Note: If you’re a light sleeper or bothered by outside noise, best to avoid the room above the entrance, facing Collins St. Amazing room, but you do get some rattles from the tram and car traffic.
I’ve only ever found the staff at this hotel to be pleasant, responsive and helpful.
The historic internal architecture of this hotel makes it a standout, and the CBD location is perfect for both business and leisure travel.
Given the vast array of amazing Melbourne restaurants and cafes all within walking distance, I am yet to eat in-​house.
Lastly, my wife loved the scent of this hotel so much (you’ll smell it the minute you walk in the front doors) she went into sleuth mode and tracked it down. Our house now smells just like the Rialto InterContinental. Who would have thought… ;)

*REVIEW BASED ONLY ON THE AMAZING BREAKFAST BUFFET*
Okay, so never ever before (okay, maybe once in KL) have i experienced a breakfast buffet that was THIS amazing! The food was fresh and there was huge variety, as well as some very cool, fancy little touches — think a rack holding fresh honeycomb with delicious honey dripping out; a simple jar will never again meet my needs.
The egg bar, offering fresh omelettes and a range of egg options was brilliant — I managed to have poached eggs Benedict and it was AMAZING. Juices galore are on offer, as well as a juicing station where you can come up with your own concoctions and don’t even get get me started on the cheese platters.
I want to move in. Tomorrow, if possible — the problem is that it won’t be long before I’ll be so fat I’ll have to roll from place to place rather than walk.
To top it all off, finish off with a visit to the pastry section — often a let down in buffet breakfast scenarios, all of the offerings here were top notch, fresh and oh so tasty.
I’ll be back — that’s a promise!

Gorgeous hotel inside and out. Rooms were super clean and big, but a little too dark. Don’t order room service unless you have some money to spend. We spent about $ 500 in 2 ½ days. Every item on the menu is overpriced, but all the food was worth it. The restaurants in the hotel are really nice too. One of the nicest Intercontinental hotels I’ve stayed at.

We have stayed here a few times. It is a cute little hotel on the busy Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
On this visit, I am both an Ambassador member along with being an IHG Dining member which entitled us to a double upgrade to one of the suites overlooking Collins Street.
From check-​in, we were treated like absolute royalty. The girl at the desk was so nice & helpful. After issuing us the key to our room, she even walked from behind her desk, went to the elevators, while keeping the doors open for us, she pressed the button of our floor number.
The room was absolutely awesome. Very roomy with all the amenities which you would require. We had an issue with the power points not working first up, however this was rectified very quickly.
The bed in comfortable with the linen feeling fresh. The bath towels are huge & extremely fluffy for a comfortable wipe down after your shower or spa bath. The toilet is separated from the bathroom with a separate door which is hard to find in some hotel establishments.
We had access to the executive level room, which offers canapés and drinks throughout certain times during the day.
The restaurant downstairs for breakfast is always good here. The quality of food gets an A+ and you should always try their omelettes which are to die for.
Unfortunately housekeeping on this particular visit was a little substandard. Leaving half eaten peaches from breakfast on the counter along with dirty dishes was a big shock to us. If we were paying normal rack rate for this room, we probably would have complained, however we let it slide on this occasion. On previous visits, housekeeping was good so we let it slide. This was probably the only downfall to our stay.
All other staff have been extremely friendly & accommodating.

This is a great hotel for location and quality of room and service…
We stayed in a basic King room, so I can only speak for that specific room type as far as size. It was very small. With two large suitcases, it borders on cramped.
However, there are different room layouts. On the ground level, the rooms are bigger, but the TVs are angled to the side of the bed, not the foot of the bed, so we decided to go with the smaller room to not to turn our heads in bed at night…
The location is very central and the concierge and bell service were both friendly and informed.
The overall feel of the hotel is a bit corporate, but far more stylish than say a Holiday Inn… We paid roughly $ 175 a night. I wouldn’t be comfortable paying more than that unless I was staying in an upgraded room with a balcony.
No real complaints. It was a fine hotel.
Other notables…
WIFI is free for a certain amount of usage. I think it’s 500−1000MB per 24 hours…
Also, if you are an IHG member, WIFI is FREE.
We didn’t have a car, but parking is $ 50 per night.
Breakfast buffet is between $ 30 – 40.

Everything you would expect: great location, blend of historic building and modern facilities, excellent customer service, and if you chose wisely a reasonable price…
So why only 4 stars you may ask? Well the base rooms are close to the ground and with the numerous bars and clubs in the area you do get some noise of revellers travelling across town.
Would I stay here again — absolutely; but try and sweet talk yourself into a higher room if you are staying over the weekend and need your beauty sleep

The hotel is situated at the base of the rialto and was close to the shopping and restaurants of Melbourne.
Arriving late at night, reception promptly served us and we were in our room in no time.
The next day when we were in the room, we noticed a flickering light. I called the operator who had somebody in the room fixing the light within ½ hour. Great service.
Our checkout was just as fast as the checkin and they even enquired if we had sorted out our reward points as we had advised them of some issues we had.
A nice comfortable hotel and on the list for repeat visits.

Beautiful hotel in a historic building, superb service, clean, sleek, modern. There was a photo shoot in the bar of the hotel when we arrived. Very trendy, perfect location, highly recommended when visiting Melbourne.

There really are no words to do this place justice. Imagine if the most pristine and professionally shot photographs you’ve ever seen posted for a hotel online actually fell BELOW what the reality was — that’s the Rialto. After staying in some cheap dumps to indulge my partner’s budget-​consciousness, I booked this one myself and I don’t regret the bottom line for a minute.
Everything was nearly perfect. The room was a good size, the bed was like floating on a huge dream, the bathroom was large and fastidiously clean. Service was amazing and the television even greeted me with my name programmed in upon arrival. The heated indoor pool on the top level looks out over the city — nowhere else have I so enjoyed swimming during the winter. The hot rocks sauna next door is not to be missed. There’s a gym with top-​notch equipment as well, but that went unused in our relaxation.
I’m not a breakfast person, but the free included buffet is SPECTACULAR. A great use of the courtyard, for one thing, and the sheer scope of fruit juice selection alone will blow your mind. Even with labels, I had never seen most of it before, and certainly not in breakfast buffets — guava nectar, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, orange juice, apple juice, cranberry, white grape, and I’m sure I forgot some. Bread, muffins, pastries and cakes galore… although the DIY toaster line invites firestarter troublemakers… Cereal of every variety, milk, yogurt, muesli, and more fruit than even the juice options — figs, blackberries, blueberries, and again, things I can’t even name because I simply don’t recognize them.
The staff are composed of a worldly group who seemingly all spoke at least three languages. I like feeling inferior to the concierge. Seriously. However, they were almost too eager to be helpful; i think if I had walked any slower out the door a few times they would have helped me put on my raincoat (maybe verging on intrusive and/​or obsequious).
Some small criticisms, since I can’t help myself — the bathroom door doesn’t go all the way to the floor, allowing a considerable amount of noise to transfer back and forth to the room outside. There was no bathtub, although online when we booked it said there was (I think). Our room looked out over the interior of the courtyard instead of outside anywhere, although this view was pretty spectacular in itself because you feel like you’re inside an architectural renovation of magnificent proportions — the hotel consists of two buildings joined together with giant domed glass above and all around the former road that intersected them, which results in a magical fantasy vibe like wonderland, a looking glass, or maybe just a great glass elevator.
I really felt like I didn’t have to leave the hotel to enjoy my trip to Melbourne while staying at this magnificent hotel. When I occasionally did leave the building, the location is convenient to walk to shops and many if not most of the major tourist destinations like Flinders Station, the GPO, Chinatown, the Block Arcade and other area shopping, and if you’re wearing sensible shoes, even the casino across the bridge is relatively nearby. If you don’t feel like walking, no worries, because the hotel has its own cab rank formed outside every minute of every day. Just one word of advice — don’t tell them you’re going to the casino BEFORE you get into the cab, because they may wave you off (it’s too short to earn them a good fare, but they can’t refuse you once you’re inside the vehicle).

I haven’t stayed here, but have had a tour of the rooms, and they’re amazing. Very luxe! The Turret Suite has a king bed in the circular turret room and is larger than a city one bed apartment — with a private courtyard — the perfect honeymoon spot (not that I am looking!)
The bar here has over 140 whiskies to choose from as well — one of Melbourne’s largest collections, and in the day from 2pm — 5pm they serve High Coffee, a very Melbourne take on High Tea, complete with Melbourne’s signature dish, the Espresso Martini! Perfect.

Helpful staff. Beautiful hotel.
I really couldn’t fault the service, food or staff; each time we entered the hotel we were greeted and any passing staff also acknowledge you.
The food is amazing, we sampled canapés and breakfast all of which were tasty and well presented. we conducted several functions here, there was ample food and no having to chase the waiters around to get the food either.
The hotel itself is upmarket and comfortable.

Just in love with this beautiful heritage InterContinental, great service, super facilities and very tasty rooms!

Great spot near the trains (easy to get to/​from airport).
Beautiful old building. The atrium is quite pretty at night, and if your room doesn’t face outside you might be happier opening the little Juliet balcony and looking into the atrium.
Spacious rooms with a desk, tv, super comfy bed (as good as the Starwood’s Heavenly Bed)!