Jasper Hotel, Melbourne – A Review

Location

Right in the heart of Melbourne City Center, Jasper Hotel is just about a 20 minute drive from the Melbourne Airport.

A tram line passes right outside Jasper Hotel so it is easy to get around via public transport from here. In fact, the hotel is in the Free Tram Zone so you can hop on and off the historic trams as often as you like.

Service

This is the one point where I was not satisfied with the hotel. We originally had a booking for three nights but due to an initial flight delay of around four hours, we missed our connecting flight and ended up reaching 14 hours late. That is technically, on the morning of the second day of our booking.

As soon as our check in was complete, I enquired about the complementary breakfast. The concierge mentioned that we had missed it by 5 minutes. I was astonished! We had just spent the last 20 minutes at the reception, explaining that we were supposed to check in the night before but had just reached Melbourne due to the flight delay. The concierge, who had initially assumed we were early for that day’s booking, had taken time to understand and confirm that we still had bookings for two more nights. This despite the fact that we had called ahead and asked our tour operator to inform the hotel about the delay. We were hungry and exhausted after our looooooooooooooong journey. In this situation, any Indian hotel worth its salt would have immediately offered us refreshments or sent something up to our room. I understand it was no fault of theirs that we reached late and missed a night of rest and the breakfast. But still, it wasn’t our fault either. All they had to do was offer us a plate of sandwiches, we would have been happy.

Room and General Ambience

The hotel front is a bit disappointing. It is kind of squeezed in between a McDonalds’ and some stores. But the interior is quite nicely done. Too much emphasis on wooden rafters maybe, but otherwise bright and cheerful. As our visit was in December, the decor was all about Christmas.

We stayed in the Jasper suite. The sitting area was quite spacious and well-lit, as was the bathroom. The bed was quite comfortable, but overall the bedroom and dressing area was a bit claustrophobic, probably because of the wood paneling that hides the bathroom.

Food

We were out for day-long trips – the Penguin Parade at Philip Island and the Great Ocean Road trip – so the only meal we had at the hotel was breakfast. Although the choice was limited to four or items on the menu displayed on the table, everything that was served looked beautiful and was delicious. I’ve forgotten the names of the dishes but I remember enjoying them thoroughly.

Nearby Attractions

The famous Queen Victoria Market is just across the street from the hotel. This market is considered a historic landmark and is well known for its fresh produce stalls with many exotic (to them!) fruits and vegetables. Of course in India, there are many such markets, though maybe not so neatly organized.

Flagstaff Gardens, one of the oldest parks in Melbourne, is also just a short walk away from the Jasper Hotel. We spent a couple of hours here after strolling through the Queen Victoria Market. It had a nice playground, a barbecue area, many well-positioned benches under shady trees, and beautiful, well-maintained lawns.

The University of Melbourne is also in the vicinity, probably just a little over a kilometer away.