TR18 Travel and Accommodation guide

Where can you stay?

We’ve found and negotiated a convention hotel, but before we talk about that you’ll want to know that there are many hotels in the area surrounding the Maltese Club, and all the ones that we’ve checked within walking distance are perfectly adequate (or better).

This link takes you to a hotel listing for the area.  Note that Google Maps starts with all hotels that exist, so some properties show up that don’t actually have accommodation – they will be identified with a cocktail icon.  The packaged search should identify room availability for the core Technorama dates, but take no risks with the form.  Ensure you have the correct dates on the form before you book.

Important information:     Melbourne is known to be a bit of a sporting city.  You knew that, right?  Demand on hotels can change very suddenly, depending on which teams are playing locally that weekend, and state of the league ladders – which applies to AFL, NRL and ALeague.  Don’t leave things to the last minute or your room could be expensive or unavailable.  Or both.

The Vibe:  Technorama Hotel

Technorama has locked down a very attractive deal at the Vibe Carlton, which is arguably the best hotel in the area and certainly the closest to the Maltese Club;  about three minutes walk.    The Vibe is midway between tram stops 16 and 17 on Royal Parade (Route 19).

The Technorama deal at the Vibe is $140/night, post-paidINCLUDING BREAKFAST for one person.  This is good value compared to pre-purchase at $112-134 without breakfast.  The $140 or lower rate is available for the nights of Technorama, and there are cheap nights available either side of the TR dates.

We know the TFE Hotels booking site is weird, and we know it’s going to show you confusing rates.  If you take the Technorama rate, you will get the best deal, and we’re providing lots of feedback to the hotel.

Follow this link to access the Technorama deal and note a few important points:

  1. The calendar exposed by the link works on basis of check-in and check-out days, so it looks like you are booking three nights.  The nights counter shows the actual  number of days selected
  2. the rate shown on the calendar is the lowest rate possible, which is a prepay rate with no breakfast.
  3. when you follow the link, you will be offered the correct code and the two nights of Technorama.  You can select another date range by clicking on the check-in then check-out dates.
  4. the rate shown on the tab when you pick your nights will be the average price per night for the number of nights you’ve selected.  That might well be less than $140, and it’s what you will pay.
  5. If you want additional nights, just highlight the dates or change the calendar entries.
  6. Click on   Check Availability  , and then select the “Technorama Daily Rate” under “Guest Room King” or Guest Room Double Double.  If you select any rate other than “Technorama” you will not automatically get breakfast, and you will be required to prepay.
  7. There are Technorama rates on the bigger rooms.  Click on the “view available rates” bar to see if rooms are available.
  8. Click on the red   BOOK   button.  On the next page you can also add breakfasts to cover additional occupants at $15/day/person.
  9. Bookings can be changed later.

Committee members collectively have stayed many times and nights at the Vibe, and can attest to the quality of the rooms and the goodness of the breakfast.

Use the Web

We contacted a number of hotels in the area, and the advice is the same:  check the aggregator websites (Wotif, Trivago, booking.com, etc) for general pricing, but BOOK DIRECT for best pricing (and see below for specifics against some of the hotels).  Aggregator rates will most likely be higher than or the same as the hotel-direct rates and, while the hotels can’t say this, they can give you a better deal if you book direct.    Let us know if you find an amazing deal, and we will update this page.

The most important thing to do is book now, and hunt around a little when you do.  You might still do better on the web with a bit of checking, and last year one of the hotels had an amazing deal that came in after we’d negotiated the rate – and we were able to switch rates after making the booking.

Also:  if you are booking online check the number of guests defaulting on the booking form.  Almost all sites will default to two adults, which might or might not be what you want – and it can certainly change the rate or availability.

Many hotels in the area have no-charge parking.   On street parking is metered on Saturday, but is low risk and highly available.