Ovolo Laneways

Yet again, another massive TICK for Melbourne. as Ben mentioned, Melbs accomm is miles ahead of Sydney.
Ovolo Laneways really delivered. like same day delivery type of delivered without an exorbitant fee. First up, it’s this cute little boutique-​ey style hotel, its super modern with some quirky twists (‘sup astroturf couch and full length mirror IN the shower). The rooms themselves feel spacious thanks to ceiling to floor gunmetal grey translucent curtains (totally stealing this look), their low lying dining tables and chairs (perfect height to dump all that shopping altho not so good for hanging a coat off the back of the chairs) and their enormous beds and pillows. Depending on the rooms, the bathroom can be a tad too small (the 1 bedder is a GREAT size but found the 2 bedder bathroom a little «intimate»).
Here’s where Ovolo really bring it home to win the gold — SERVICE! Let’s talk about the freebies: free wifi in all rooms, loot bag filled with chocolate, nuts and chips, free mini bar, breakfast to go (muffins, pastries, croissants, donuts both sweet and savoury options for all), happy hour (or 3) downstairs with wine and beer (which you can take upstairs), lollies/​sweets during the day, bottles of water to your hearts content, Apple TV, ipads and self laundry !!! That’s a hell of a lot of free stuff for a hotel in one hell of a location. Speaking of, this hotel could not have been placed in a more perfect location — its on Little Bourke, right between Spring and Exhibition Sts. A couple of steps away from Chinatown and surrounded by bars not to mention the incredible restaurants on Flinders Lane, and because it is on the outskirts of the city — no drama getting around the place! I can’t finish off this review without mentioning the staff — the staff at Ovolo are truly exceptional. Polite, knowledgeable, accommodating and just a downright pleasure to deal with — it was pouring down on one of the days we stayed and to our delight, they offered us large umbrellas as part of the service — who does this? Nice touch Ovolo. You certainly know your business !!

So nice, so so nice.
Walking into the lobby of this trendy little joint to be greeted by free Mexican beer and ginger energy drinks and a lolly counter will do awesomely in any of my many books.
The service was great, the air-​conditioning was even better… and the rooms (we had a 2 bedroom room) were such a great little trendy bachelor or bachelorette pad… with sliding walls to divide the room, ipod speakers in all rooms, a cool blackboard to greet us and a free minibar/​fridge restocked everyday. come on.
Free pastries for breakfast and more free beer… this place is definetely worth every cent. It’s cool, trendy, located right in the Chinatown precinct about a 10 minute walk to the centre of the mall… it is pretty good. Best small hotel I have stayed in ever.
Free wifi, coffee… what’s not to love.
Love you Ovolo, I will definetely be back. xo

I stayed at Ovolo during Grand Final weekend. (Look, I’ve only just returned to Melbs & didn’t realise what weekend it was, give me a break.) The price was reasonable given the weekend. The fact I could get a room at all was amazing.
This is the epitome of hipster hotel. Tucked down a laneway, includes ALL THE THINGS in the nightly rate, friendly staff to greet you, clever interior design & functionality. Ticks a lot of boxes. Very cool & well thought out inclusions are those that have been mentioned before, free mini– bar, Loot Bag on welcome, free happy hour, free grab-​n-​go breakfast, free wifi. And AppleTV, free wi-​fi.
Now, because I booked at the last minute, I was limited in options of rooms. As such, my room was tiny — just 18sqm. The bed not really comfortable, you could feel the springs through the mattress. Also, for being new-​ish, I found parts of the room to be quite worn (the sink in the tiny, functional bathroom; some of the tiles; the interior of the room door itself). Also, I had to request maintenance to come to the room to secure the toilet seat back on. (This was handled to the best of their ability without issue.) Also, I thought for such a hipster, trendy hotel it was a bit disappointing to discover their Apple docking stations only cater for pre-​5 series iPhones. Given we are now onto the 6, the older, pre-​5 technology is really quite dated.
You may wonder why I worry about a tiny details or wear & tear on a room. Well, I guess it’s because I enjoy a quality hotel experience and I look at things like that. I want to be impressed by my lodging, even if just for a night.
I would stay here again if I could get a larger room.

Look, I love Sydney, but Melbourne craps all over us in the hotel stakes. We’ve got, oh, like, no really cool affordable hotels. Anyone? Bueller?
Melbourne drips with them, and Ovolo is a prime example. As I type this I’m sitting in a giant soft queen sized bed that just gave me the sleep that angels dream about. I’m drinking fresh coffee and eating an almond croissant from the free grab’n’go breakfast available downstairs every morning. I’m using superspeed wi-​fi, also free, and after cleaning my teeth will tuck into the free loot bag with chips and chocolate I can see on the desk, and later on tonight I’ll hit the free minibar, replenished every day. See how many times I used free in that string of sentences?
The hotel itself is compact, well-​designed in a funky IKEA kind of way, and the staff are hella friendly. I’m in the Queen Studio room ($ 209/​night) and it’s everything I could ever want in a hotel room. The bathroom showers are a triumph. I’m having six a day, it’s glorious.

So many great touches at this hipster, colourful boutique hotel. Loot bags, free wifi, brekkie to go and free mini bar waters, juices, quality tea and snacks too. They really throw in a lot.
I loved my funky room, Apple TV and street art.
Smallish bathroom but who cares. Good products!

Beautiful place, nice rooms and lovely staff.