I had the opportunity recently to stay in room 120 at Rydges on Swanston St in Melbourne. This room is an executive queen room located on the inside of the building away from the guest elevator and stair well.
It’s location means the view from the window is of the centre of the building which is not particularly thrilling, but this does on the flip side mean it is a very quiet room.
The Room
The room is fairly large with room to move around quite comfortably. The furniture, decor and fittings are quite modern and work well together.
In addition to a small table with two chairs there is also an armchair and footrest which is great. Even though I was there on my own I find it ideal to be able to relax in an armchair and not be restricted to the table or bed.
There is a mid-size flat screen TV with access to free-to-air stations, no satellite TV though.
The furniture though comfortable and homely is also obviously well used, as evidenced by some items like one of the bedside lamps that is a bit loose.
The Bed
The bed is actually two mattresses joined together unfortunately. I’m always disappointed when this is the case. The plus side though is that it means it was actually a king size bed, not a queen. The join was also fairly unobtrusive so it wasn’t too bad. They are usually quite uncomfortable but in this instance it was pretty good. I was not entirely sure that the bed was actually a Rydges Dream Bed though, it was just so soft, too soft. The Rydges Dream Bed’s I’ve slept on previously were more comfortable as they offered more support. I did pull the sheets up to check though and it indicates it is a new Rydges Dream Bed. I’ve since also slept on another one that was just as soft so I guess this is the direction they are headed now. In a way, the softness is good, it’s very comfortable when you are on your back and if you are a back sleeper. For me though, I’m a stomach sleeper so I ended up with a sore back from being bent in the wrong direction after the first couple of hours on the first night. I had to sleep on my side the rest of the time to ensure I didn’t do myself some damage. So I’m of two minds about the new Rydges Dream Bed. Overall, it’s no good for me as a stomach sleeper, but it is very comfortable otherwise.
The Bathroom
The bathroom is a simple ensuite, but I loved it personally. It is very modern with square fixtures. The shower is a ceiling shower head with an additional adjustable hose shower head which is awesome. I love ceiling shower heads, it’s nice to not have to duck or bend over to shower properly.
The problem I noticed with the bathroom though is that the bathroom door is a bi-fold and the shower doesn’t have a door on it. The proximity between the two meant that water sprayed on the back of the wood bi-fold door, leaving water stains along the bottom of it and water all over the bathroom floor.
Not a huge deal except that if you walk in in the dark and forget about it, the floor is slippery.
