Not much to look out at from the grey heritage façade or the simple interiors and tucked away in corner next to the upcoming Emporium site, BreakFree Heritage on Little Bourke is actually a foodie's and shopaholic's gem.
Its location is fantastic for foodies to access all the good food Melbourne has to offer including those featured in the State of Victoria Library's
Gusto! Exhibition and the City's
Look.Stop.Taste Food Festival.
The closest are cheap eats that average AUD9.50 along Swanston Street and authentic Asian food synonymous with Chinatown on Little Bourke including notable restaurants like Supper Inn, Nam Loong, HuTong, Crystal Jade and
Longrain, and even the odd German fare from
Hofbrauhaus. Further up Little Bourke and crossing over Russell and Exhibition Street are some of the popular non-Asian dining in the city including French at
PM24, traditional cakes and coffee at
Pellegrini's, Italian at
Grossi and contemporary at
Pei Modern in
Sofitel on Collins.
Flinders Street Station and Federation Square
Down Elizabeth Street and you're at
City Square, hub of the annual
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and the excellent wine bar of
La Vita Buona and Allegro of
Westin Melbourne. Attractions like Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra river and Southbank lie just beyond.
Melbourne GPO
Melbourne Central
Located near the junction of Elizabeth Street and Little Bourke, this quaint hotel is directly opposite Melbourne's GPO, Myers and David Jones, and in the heart of the city's retail precinct.
A quick walk through either Myers or David Jones and you're through to the Bourke Street Mall lined with even more retail therapy. Widening the shopping perimeter to parallel Lonsdale opens up additional floors of boutiques in Melbourne Central. For serious shoppers, the hotel offers a quick return to store purchases and empty busy hands for the next round of buying.
The BreakFree brand has over 30 properties in throughout Australia and New Zealand and focuses on providing self-contained hotel apartments that are ideal for weekend leisure traveller and busy executives with access to the key attractions in the city and beaches.
BreakFree Heritage on Little Bourke offers the same value with its close-to-everything location in Melbourne that makes getting around the city a breeze. Reception staff are generally friendly and helpful with airport transfers, bus tours and general information.
The 61 guest rooms are spacious 1 and 2 bedroom apartments that include living/dining and kitchen spaces, bathrooms with baths and showers and comfy beds. The benefit of occupying an old-world heritage building means soaring ceilings and vast windows. All rooms also come with a microwave, Foxtel TV, iron and ironing board and air-conditioning and heating.
The temporary downside is the construction of Emporium Melbourne, a large shopping mall next door, but with most guests out and about in the day while building works occur, the noise may not an issue with all guests. The upside is the hotel has started its refurbishment program to update the property, scheduled to finish in late 2013.
