Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Centrally Located
Property amenities
Free parking
Parking
Non-smoking hotel
24-hour front desk
Laundry service
Self-serve laundry
Room features
Air conditioning
Safe
Seating area
Telephone
Kitchenette
Dishwasher
Flatscreen TV
Bath / shower
Iron
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Microwave
Refrigerator
Kitchenware
Hair dryer
Location
528 Swanston St Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria 3053 Australia
Plum Carlton Serviced Apartments Melbourne
142 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
When we arrived the external look of the building and the fact you have to go past a laundry area to get to reception concerned me a bit but once in our apartment it was better than I thought it would be. Great situation close to Lygon Street. The lower 2 floors of the complex are Plum Carlton and the rest seems to be accommodation for students. We booked a 1-bed apartment but were down graded to a studio apartment but weren't informed and were still charged the 1-bed price until we complained - so watch for this. The "24 hour laundromat" they mention on their website is not owned by Plum Carlton and reception are unhelpful with queries about this. Mostly reception people are not that friendly or helpful with the exception of Russell who was really helpful, professional and friendly - if you need anything done ask for him I reckon!! I guess good value for money. Really hard beds tho!!
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Date of stay: April 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Rooms that look into the internal courtyard will be better as away from the road noise and the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Good value for @ $95 per night with a tight, last minute conference budget & Melbourne heavily booked at the time. Location is super convenient. The room was spacious, well appointed, spotless, bed & pillows very comfy.
But like other reviews have said, the cooking smells are very pervasive & once outside your door this place feels like a budget youth hostel or budget high rise residential living. My air conditioner was very noisy, the door handle & lock was wobbly. The common areas were a bit grimy & hallways really need to be aired out of cooking smells & they are breathtakingly hot as they have no aircon. Trying to get an invoice & confirm payment at the Plum end was very difficult although the CFO at my organization had paid the account.
I think Plum need to decide what they are trying to be; are they catering to budget travelers or overseas students basically as I don't know that the 2 mix. However, I'd probably stay there again if my budget dictated.
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Date of stay: February 2016Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spent one night here at start of a business trip due to lack of accommodation available elsewhere. First impressions count and the first impression was pretty unimpressive. The reception area is small and feels more like a bank, with the receptionist locked behind a counter with glass windows. There is plenty of security, with swipe pass access to the building. The corridors are dark and dingy. The weather notices that you tend to find in the lifts were over a month old. The room itself was what at the lower end of what you would expect for the price. Smallish, with a combined kitchen/lounge, bathroom and bedroom. The TV was tiny. The bedroom door could not be opened properly as it hit the bed(which was comfortable), but in effect you would need to close the door to use both sides of the bed. Reception is not 24hrs. It opens at 8 or 8.30 am, and there is no drop off box for early checkouts. I had to force my key under the reception door in the morning. This site also seems to be a working serviced apartment/hotel with permanent residents along with transient travelers. The corridors had the strong smell of people's dinners cooking. The hotel is only a couple of blocks from the CBD and trams run right past it to the city and beyond. The room was clean if a little cramped and the hotel would serve for a cheap stay in Melbourne. I believe that the windows also open which is unusual for a hotel. Would not suggest staying here for a family, but probably fine for someone on a budget looking for something closeish to the city.
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Date of stay: February 2015Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Booked 2 nights for myself and 3 kids. Walked into our 2 rooms and was mortified at the stale smells in both rooms and how filthy the walls and carpets are, spilt liquid marks on the walls, cups dirty, no kitchen bin, no available parking on site, iron burn marks on the carpet, table dirty, mattress and pillows very hard, shower head leaks and sprays everywhere. My autistic son had a like warm shower as there was no hot water. Have emailed to company multiple times with no reply. They took a $300 bond, Gosh knows why when I've seen public toilets that are cleaner. Not as advertised at all. There is no balcony or courtyard. I felt dirty staying here
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Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What an absolute joke of a place. Do not stay here. If you have a dog, borrow the kennel and pull up on the side of the road somewhere! We checked in very late with the request of a roll away bed for our autistic son. 2 phone calls, a booking.com booking and an email to ensure it was there. Arrived at 10:30 pm to no bed. Called the after hours number and spoke to a seemingly friendly person who said he would move us to another complex 10 minutes down the road. He let us in to a room remotely that he had said was sufficient. We walked in on a family sleeping in the room. Imagine if they were awake and aware of us walking in on us. It could have been very dangerous. My wife and son at this stage, beside themselves. He then gave us another room and said "I hope there is no one in this room". We walked in to find the bed half made and peoples belonging in the room. I called him back furious at this stage at 11:30 pm and said forget it. I will stay elsewhere and seek a refund. Fast forward 2 days and I call to speak to the manager. He is unavailable twice so I spoke to the same incompetent person that confirmed the bed will be there. She gave me the number to call which funnily enough was the same person that "helped" us on Saturday night. He hadn't identified himself as the manager that fateful night, so i told him that the business they run was below standard and they shouldn't be in the industry. He told me he didn't care for my opinion and didn't need it. So here we are. STAY AT YOUR OWN PERIL
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The day before my husband and his friend were meant to book into these apartments we found they had cancelled our booking citing we had not paid the bill … the money went out of our account several days before on the agreed upon date. When I rang them up to see what happened and if the room was available as we had actually paid. I was told that someone would ring me back in 30 minutes it never happened so I rang them again. I was told by someone that they would ring booking.com who I made the reservation with and get back to me in 30 minutes, after another hour I had to ring them again I got told “there is no reservation for you here” and they were booking people in and couldn’t attend to my enquiry right now as my husband was due to be in Melbourne the next day this made me very anxious. I then decided to ring booking.com who refunded our money “that they claimed we hadn’t sent through” and provided us with alternative accomodation. These people did not get back to us at all and if I had waited for them my husband and his friend would’ve had no where to stay whilst attending the Grand Prix. We have received no communication from the hotel at all, an apology would be nice.
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Date of stay: March 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My experience was incredibly frustrating and unprofessional. On the morning of my booking, they suddenly tried to move me to the North Melbourne complex, much further from Melbourne CBD, citing an electric fault in the building I originally booked. This last-minute change caused immense stress as I had specifically chosen this location for an appointment. When I confronted the manager about this sudden change, they nonchalantly and all of a sudden assured me I could stay in the original building after all, contradicting their earlier insistence. This inconsistency raises serious concerns about their honesty and integrity.
Moreover, the alternative complex they tried to move me to had abysmal reviews and was noticeably less well-maintained and cheaper. It felt like they were trying to push me to a lower-quality option under false pretenses, making up lies to get me to move to their other building. The way they handled the situation suggests an extreme lack of transparency disregard for customer satisfaction. I've also noticed the only 5 star reviews on google recently are from the same person, and sounds like the owner trying to make up for everyone else's negative reviews.
Don't fall victim to this deceptive practice like Plum Serviced Apartments!
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I arrived late around 11pm to a room you wouldn't let your dog sleep in. Feaces on the toilet seat, dirty walls, stains, dirty fridge and microwave. The tv was 1980's with no remote. The room was disgusting. I rang and was given options of another room. That room was not properly clean and had red wine marks and hair. The next morning i cancelled my week stay. I was told the rooms had been let out to homeless and they had cleaner issues. I was told by the male manager that he wanted me to return. And that they were renovating. I went back later only to find rubbish bags full of clothes and crap piled in the glass waiting area. It looked dreadful. I waited an hour and he never showed up. In the past week the receptionist rudely dismissed me over 3 days and the manager does not call back. I want this place health inspected. Years ago, it was amazing, but this group are charging for substandard rooms and service
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed 3 nights here.....3 very long nights. 1st floor apartment is very dirty and noisy. To sleep all windows need to be closed but the air conditioner barely works.
Bed was clean but stains on iron, floor, couch and extensive damage to the walls showed a real lack of care. I seriously considered leaving at 1am to find somewhere else on the first night.
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Date of stay: November 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Room is nothing like the photos, book something closer to Lygon St as its a much better area.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked through Agoda and paid in full 4 months earlier. Received confirmation from Agoda and was ready for my holiday. I arrived in Melbourne and was told by plum apartments that they had cancelled the booking over one month ago. I checked Agoda and they still had confirmation of the booking. Here is the part that doesn't seem right... The girl who told me it was cancelled a month ago said I should call Agoda and cancel my booking and then she will put me in contact with the same apartment owner directly and I will be able to still get the room but work a direct booking.
This had red flags all over it!!!
I don't know if Agoda are involved in any way but my instincts told me to steer clear. I called Agoda who couldn't get in contact with the apartments even though I had already been in direct contact with the girl running the apartments. They could only offer me a refund and cancel the booking.
So I cancelled the booking and luckily found alternative accommodation on booking.com that could accept me on the same day.
I told the apartments girl I'm not interested to do a private booking and went on with my holiday.
Be careful with this place! Something there is not right and I almost ended up stranded in Melbourne without a place to stay.
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Melbourne area.
PRICE RANGE
S$173 - S$191 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
plum carlton serviced apartments melbourne hotel melbourne
LOCATION
AustraliaVictoriaMelbourneLygon Street
NUMBER OF ROOMS
127
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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