Hotel Element di Richmond

The building is only a few years old but already showing early signs of wear in public areas. However the room itself was very clean and well designed. We stayed in a base rate room and while on the smaller side was ample space for what we needed. The king bed was very comfortable and the shower was spacious and great pressure. A coffee machine with pods is provided. Access to the hotel from the west is extremely easy but if you are approaching from the east there is no way to turn right into the hotel and you have to go a fair way down the road before you can turn around and come all the way back. Once on property there is a nice curved driveway to park while you are checking in. Parking onsite was $35 but as I had read these reviews I knew to ask about the street parking and was told it would cost $15. I said ‘I thought on the weekends it was free’ and they responded ‘oh yes, we can give you complimentary parking’ (Haha). The staff were very friendly. The street parking is on the street along the nearby river (Yarra Blvd) and takes 1 min to walk across a grass parkland to this street. On the weekend it seemed a very quiet street and safe to park. This street parking is metered parking between 8am-5pm Mon- Fri so the hotel can provide a pass for $15 but if your stay is outside these hours you can park for free. The tram station is immediately out the front of this hotel so although it is a fair way from the CBD it is easy access to Melbourne. Our T.V. remote was not working (maybe old batteries) so we were unable to watch T.V. and the clock beside the bed lit up the time while the lights were on but seemed to be light activated because once all lights were switched of it also switched off so you could not see the time during the night - so keep your phone clock handy.