In a city where “real” hotel prices are outrageous, the Melbourne Inn offers a cheaper, no frills, alternative. I stayed for six nights at $55/night. Not a place for a vacation.
For my money I got a reasonably clean small room with a double bed & private bathroom (shower). The room also had a/c which was good and a very small colour TV with many cable channels. The hot water is solar heated .
No restaurant or room service, however you can get a cup of (instant) coffee at most times of the day and they will make you a reasonable cooked breakfast advertised from 8 am to 10 am but in reality the cook does not usually show up before 9. The breakfast timing is of course useless for anyone on business!! They have cold beer and soft drinks for sale up to 10pm.
No wireless internet. Hotel has a hook up near the reception for which the charge a very expensive $3/hr.
No problems with check in or staff however it would appear that smiling is frowned upon and reading the bible is mandatory.
Location is quite good. One minute walk up French street is the intersection with Arapita Avenue which is a major nightlife location with restaurants and bars ranging from wildly expensive to reasonable. Very busy on Friday and Saturday nights (late).
Tips:
1 minute walk away is the “Sweet Lime” restaurant & bar open from midday to midnight. It has a free wireless hot spot for customers with laptops. Reasonable food – mainly fried.
1 minute walk away is the “Curry Corner” open until 6pm. Excellent local rotis etc for take away.
5 minutes walk away is “Garibaldis” Italian restaurant. It is run “hands on” by the couple that own it. The pasta is homemade and the food excellent. Quite expensive.
10 minutes walk away is “Jenny’s on the Boulevard”. Great atmosphere and very good food in the downstairs bar.
Traffic in Port of Spain is horrendous especially at rush hours. Bear this in mind when heading for the airport.