I am a resident of Sydney who had an unpleasant experience over the recent Christmas holiday with Barkly Apartments in St Kilda.

I booked and paid for a stay Dec 28, 2010, to Jan 1, 2011 and prepaid $875. When my partner and I arrived we were told we had to stay in an alternative room in the lower floor for the first night. It turned out to have a broken window (apt 5 I believe) and smelly carpet and was very dark. My partner wanted no part of it and insisted on leaving for another hotel.

The manager said he couldn't do anything about the monies since they had a cancellation policy but offered to refund the monies if another client could be found. I phoned the manager today (Jan 12, 2011) and he claimed no one was found. Therefore he couldn't refund any of the monies.

Very unpleasant experience.

We've stayed in Melbourne a few times and this time we needed somewhere that was close to where we needed to be for a few days and was somewhere we could cook if we needed. We weren't sure what it might be like so close to Ackland Street in terms of noise, but it was fine. The Quest is a set of self contained apartments with a small front reception. It's showing its age a bit but having said that it was clean and comfortable. The apartment had a separate bedroom, living room and kitchen. Being June, Melbourne can be cold, but the heat pump was great for keeping warm. Reception staff were helpful and friendly. The location is very convenient. Immediately opposite is a Coles supermarket and through from there is Ackland St. with its myriad of restaurants, bars and cafes. There are two tram lines within 3 mins walking as well as bus services. It suited us and when returning to Melbourne and need something in the area again, would use the Barkly. The manager mentioned they are negotiating with the apartment owners to have them refurbished sometime soon which will make them more attractive. One thing to note is that getting to St Kilda is not the easiest from the airport. We needed a taxi and the cost one way was around AU $60. If you don't mind lugging suitcases on public transport take the Skybus to the city and then a no. 16 tram from Swanston St to the Ackland Street terminus.

My husband, 9yo son and I had a long weekend in Melbourne. We decided to stay in St Kilda rather than the centre and were not disappointed. It was vibrant, interesting and convenient to town.

We chose Quest on Barkly for the price and location. The location is terrific, just a few doors up from the tram terminus and the wonderful Acland St. It is also directly opposite a Coles supermarket which would be brilliant if you were staying for several days and wanted to self cater. Barkly St itself is a little uninspiring in this particular vicinity but there are some good restaurants and shops just down from the Hotel.

The rooms were tired and need updating but it was very clean. The little contact we had with the staff was all positive, they were helpful and polite. Our apartment had 1 bedroom, lounge room, kitchen, bathroom/laundry and toilet. Our son slept on a sofa bed in the lounge. The different living spaces were good, making it much less cramped than an ordinary hotel room.

I would recommend the apartment to anyone who wanted a good, basic short term apartment in a great location.

Went to melbourne with bf last year and organised staying here through his work (hotel chains), so got the room rate at a discounted price. Easy to access from the airport shuttle, but little annoyed to find that when we arrived the receptionist could not find our booking and did not seem like she cared about it. After some floundering around she found us a room.

Room was great place (minus the view which although being on the 2nd floor up, managed to look straight at eye level onto the floor of a courtyard which contained bins and a large airconditioning unit). Bed was comfy and room was large with tv, fridge, whiteware, couch and bathroom which had a shower/bath.
Tram stop to access the city was only a 1min walk from the front door, so was in a location to be able to access the city while also having St Kilda in walking distance.

We choose to go and buy breakfast supplies and have our own breakfast in our room before heading into the city, the restuarant and bar looked OK, yet never saw anyone at all in them