Just had 3 nights at the Langham Hotel over the long weekend and can thoroughly reccommend it to others who want to splash out for something a little special. Booked a River Room (17th floor) and the views were spectacular. Room really comfortable and the bed bliss - felt like putting my head on a cloud, I know, but true!! Really helpful staff and everything in good shape (a few people had put 'looking a bit tired' but can't say I saw it. Maybe they're just a bit tired of hotels?)
I umm'd and ah'd for ages reading the trip advisor reviews before I booked, as it was this place or the Como - really happy with the decision. Location is fantastic (although avoid the 'Bare Brass' on southbank for breakfast - a single small mushroom was $2.00 'extra' as was 1/2 a tomato).
Cheers,
Anna

stopped in the langham for a week for the commonwealth games the hotel was first class,Tony blair was staying at the same time,also a lot of the F1 drivers stayed,had a river view very good for the kids great location great city.

We got a good deal for a basic room through hotels.com for a weekend in June 2008. We were given a river-view room, which added to our experience. Lifts seemed to arrive instantly all weekend! Room décor is traditional and furnishings slightly tired. Lovely, snuggly bedding.

I generally ignore hotel toiletries and use my own, but the Langham’s were so gorgeous I kept mine stowed. The bathroom is decently sized, with separate bath/shower, and classic design. Thoughtful five star touches include a full-length mirror, and shaving/make-up mirror. Bathroom lighting is weirdly lop-sided, so you are practically in the dark when you are in the shower.

REALLY disappointing wi-fi connection. Usual exorbitant Australian hotel cost for this service, at $25 per day. Signal so poor that internet connection crashed every few minutes unless you sat at the desk, REALLY SLOW. I’ve had better wifi in third-world resorts, so the cost felt extortionate.

Wonderful location – easy, pleasant walks to key sights. Footbridge across the river fronts the hotel. Enjoyed running along the river paths to the Botanic gardens and (later) walking to fine dining restaurants.

Service at the Aria bar was fine, rather delicious ‘Langham’ cosmopolitan and tasty tiered platter of Asian snacks including steamed prawn dumplings, duck pancakes and skewers of teriyaki chicken. Petit fours not so good - tasted of heavy chocolate.

Fabulous, expensive massage at Chuan Spa. I would say that this is the best spa in an Australian hotel, WAY surpassing Sydney Park Hyatt and better than the Sydney Four Seasons. Wonderful serene atmosphere and generous space. Great steam room with cool coloured lights.

Room service breakfast ok - wrong toast, wrong newspaper, no spoon for yoghurt, average coffee. Good all day room-service menu. Buffet breakfast was better, stylish lay-out and a good range of choices.

Very good, unobtrusive housekeeping service. Our room looked like a hurricane had hit each time we rushed out. Came back to orderly room, loads of fresh towels and (much appreciated) bottled water by our bedside of an evening.

We had a really pleasant weekend, but our credit cards took a hit!

We have never written a review before, but felt so strongly about our bad experience that we had to share. We are Americans living in Melbourne temporarily and staying near the Langham. The location is very good, but I would never recommend anyone stay at this property.

We booked the chocolate tea at the Aria Lounge a week in advance and really looked forward to it. The price is $55pp. Well, the Aria is a bar. There is no check-in. We looked around for someone to seat us and finally one of the bartenders directed us to a table. It was right near the bar so the ambience included the waitstaff hurrying around and arguing with each other. We sat and waited for 10 minutes. The table was set up, but not clean. There were boxed chocolate truffles on the table that had dirty finger prints all over them. Even though there were loads of servers around, nobody came to our table. Meanwhile everyone around us was being served.

So we decided to leave. After taking our time getting up, getting our coats on, etc. someone finally came over to ask if she could help us. There were no apologies given and we found the server to be quite rude. This is certainly not the service or ambience one expects from a five star hotel.

A better hotel choice is the Crown Towers nearby. Also, if you want tea, try the Windsor Hotel or Hopetown Tea Room in the Block Arcade. They both offer much better service and ambience. A lovely tea for two at Hopetown including scones and cake is only about $10pp.

We did get a call from the manager at Aria since we had made the reservation and they wondered where we were. He did apologize for our experience and offered to make up for it, but we honestly have no desire to return to the hotel or visit any other Langham. There are such better choices out there!! Their rating is definitely too high.