The Hotel Windsor

Recent Reviews: 11093

• User:Vicki R

  Trip type: Couples

  Comfortable rooms but needs some renovating.

  19 Apr 2026

  The Windsor Hotel is a beautiful iconic hotel but I would say it needs some renovating. The room was comfortable, the bathroom was small and needed updating. I would not recommend the High Tea at the hotel, the food was mediocre and way over priced. It was by far the worst high tea I have experienced in many years.

• User:Voyager54747744282

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Perfectly Located with Timeless Character

  04 Apr 2026

  I stayed one night at The Windsor at the end of a business trip and found it to be perfectly located for making the most of a limited time in the city. It’s ideal for a stroll and a quick immersion into Melbourne’s atmosphere.I was pleasantly upgraded on arrival to a street-view suite, which made the stay feel even more special. The hotel itself is full of character, and I really enjoyed wandering through and learning about its history and its place in Melbourne’s story.A charming and memorable stay. One that I would definitely recommend.

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• User:Journey19661970571

  Trip type: Couples

  Grand Old Hotel with charm

  03 Apr 2026

  Very Grand Old hotel.Booked a “traditional room” which was perfect for us. Comfortable bed and extra pillows came when we asked. Powerful hot shower in the clean bathroom.Service from reception and concierge could not have been more helpful. Hotel is a little on the old side but it is very charming and has many nice touches. Loved the cricket memorabilia on the walls of the Cricketers bar. Also liked the who's who of

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• User:S8087NPchristineb

  Trip type: Couples

  Terrible

  12 Mar 2026

  We expected to see a horse and carriage and a porter in front of the hotel upon arrival, but these 2, and other beautiful photos, are only PR ploys. Nobody will come out to greet you or help with suitcases. In fact my husband helped an elderly man carry his heavy suitcase up the entrance stairs. Upon check-in, no touristic map, no wifi code, no dining options, no opening times etc were given. I had to ask. The hotel is truly a magnificent building, one of the best, that must have truly been an icon in Melbourne. Today, inside, it is shabby, run down, looks dirty, stains everywhere, carpets especially, broken/damaged furniture and poorly managed with little communication between the staff. We were staying for 10 days, and our initial small room (due to the F1 race, we couldn't choose the suite we had wanted for 10 days, fully booked) had very little space to put away our clothing, 3 hangers in the cupboard, no water, no slippers, no pen/pencil and paper, no vanity set, no cosmetic mirror, no soap dish, the safe was placed so high up in the cupboard but no stool to access it, the cold water tap for the shower just turned and turned and no water would come out ... Here, you must ask for everything . It's not automatic and it's not regular. Water for example, the 1st 3 days okay, after I had asked, then they left the empty bottles on the table, never taking them away for 5 whole days, and never replacing them either. And 2 hour's before checking out, I was asked if I wanted a bottle of water!!! Inconsistent. We were then upgraded to a bigger room to discover, only at night, the horrible loud noise of the air vent, as if it were on full power, impossible to sleep and impossible to turn off, according to the maintenance man. I was told I could be given earplugs! When the bathroom lights were switched on, cold air would flow into the bedroom through the air vent. Then the shower, boiling hot or freezing cold water. The maintenance man said I had to fiddle about with the taps to get warm water, complicated, and this led to little water pressure. We were promised another room, when the hotel would have one available room, so yet another change of rooms, but they never came back with this offer and I was fed up with the way things were run and the management was full of hot air, very "Yes of course, certainly, anything to please you" attitude all the time, but no follow-up, so I let it go, waking up for the next 8 mornings very unrested, due to the extremely noisy ventilation that could not be turned off. There were so many issues, unfit for a 5* hotel, that I gave up in the end and didn't bother to speak about them because nothing could be done to fix them . They seem to want to please but don't go through with it. Towels changed just once a day, in the morning, and of course no turndown service at night. I wonder if anyone there truly knows what a 5* hotel should offer in terms of service, because it certainly wasn't.The cleaning staff and the restaurant personnel were the best. Very friendly and helpful. This cannot be said for most of the people at reception, especially 2 of the men, most unpleasant, who should not be at the front desk or conciergerie. They looked like they hated their job. Disinterested and neutral, no smile, no "Good morning " etcI think that the management want to please but are stopped by the lack of funds from the Indonesian owners concerning the plumbing, A/C, renovation, windows, painting, etc. And equally, the teams seem to run around like headless chickens, no coordination, no efficient management. I saw people waiting ages for a table at breakfast, very displeased. And heard a lot of complaints. Breakfast, 9 mornings, no buffet, got very boring, frozen viennoiseries, bacon and sausage were not good quality, and the freezing cold A/C in the restaurant was due to the fact that the windows could not be open, so the renewal of air was done through the cold A/C. All throughout the hotel. Horrendous and unecological.When you ring reception at other 5* hotels, they greet you by your name and know what room you're in. Here, it's the old fashioned way, they have no idea who you are or where you are.I saw the most vulgar and shameful toilet paper I've ever seen in a 5* hotel. "Don't give a crap" written all over the paper cover.When you check-out, no "How did your stay go"? Or even "Have a good flight". Nothing. Didn't care. And I never saw the manager or assistant manager ever again to ask me if I was satisfied with everything. All in all, this marvellous beauty of a hotel needs a lot of TLC, and a heavy face-lift to modernise it. And a lot of money to do it. Obviously, I shall never return to this hotel and would never recommend it. It must be restored to its former glorious splendor before, if possible. We stayed in the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok before staying at the Windsor, and afterwards, at the Shangri La in Sydney. I recommend both 300%. True, total luxury with 5* service from the personnel and the hotels in general. The Windsor should take note or else its (now) bad reputation will linger. Such a shame for such a once magnificent majestic building and piece of history.

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• User:David P

  Trip type: Couples

  This is NOT a 5 star hotel. AVOID

  10 Mar 2026

  This is NOT a 5 star hotel. 2 star would be a gift. Misleading at best and pure fraud at worst. - Room - 1-2 star hotel level, 32” TV pushes it to 1 star, old, but not neat character old, just old. Missing working outlets- Safety - 1 star, the in room “safe” is on a shelf and can easily be picked up and walked out of the building. - Bed - 1 star, didn’t feel any bedbugs- Bathroom - 1-2 star, very few amenities, certainly not 5 star- Elevator - 1 the left one smelled like feces on day one. One smelled like intense body odor on day 2 - Concierge - nice guy. Didnt ask much of him, but nice guy- Amenities - 1 star- Front desk - 2 of the front desk tried to be helpful. System issues prevented them from producing an accurate receipt. Time and energy wasted. Have to check everyday for a fraudulent double charge. One front desk person was very unhelpful regarding check out time. My wife couldn’t believe his behavior. The “hotel is an dump and that guy is a bad person”. She had a great point, I’ve stayed in 2 star hotels and at least the workers pretend to be nice. The biggest issue with this hotel is the indirect theft of travelers hard earned money through the misrepresentation of the 5 star rating. If it was rated properly at 1-2 star, I wouldn’t have paid the ridiculous rate that I paid. Nor would most people. This is most falsely rated and misleading property I have stayed at anywhere in the world. Sad.

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